VZCZCXYZ0025
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGV #0280/01 0931556
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 031556Z APR 09
FM USMISSION GENEVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8246
INFO RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L GENEVA 000280 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR, IO, PRM, S/WCI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019 
TAGS: PHUM PREF PREL KDRG PGOV PTER MOPS KAWK KISL
KPAO 
SUBJECT: S/WCI AMB. WILLIAMSON'S GENEVA CONSULTATIONS WITH 
ICRC AND UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
REF: GENEVA 263 
 
Classified By: Mark C. Storella, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., reasons 1.4 b 
 and d. 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: S/WCI Ambassador Williamson met separately 
with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and 
the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR).  In both 
meetings he outlined the Department of Justice (DOJ) -led 
review of the remaining 241 detainees at Guantanamo that is 
currently underway  and explored possible ways in which the 
organizations could contribute to USG efforts to resettle 
detainees in Europe.  Both offered to support resettlement 
efforts, the ICRC through information sharing and UNHCHR 
through more direct engagement with European countries on a 
case by case basis.  A separate cable was sent on Ambassador 
Williamson's meeting at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR - see Ref. A).  End Summary. 
 
Update on Guantanamo Detainees 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (C) Ambassador Williamson briefed both the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN High 
Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) on the DOJ-led review 
of Guantanamo detainees as well as diplomatic efforts to 
resettle 50-60 low-threat detainees in third countries.  He 
noted that President Obama signed the Executive Order to 
close Guantanamo on his second day in office, which 
highlights the high priority placed on the issue by the new 
Administration.  He explained that lead responsibility for 
the review of Guantanamo detentions has shifted from the 
Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of Justice.  A 
three-tiered review process is in place to examine the 
individual Guantanamo cases.  An interagency team reviews 
detainee information and recommends whether to pursue 
prosecution, clear for transfer, or clear for release. 
Recommendations go to a senior interagency Review Panel, for 
concurrence or modification.  These decisions are then 
approved by the Attorney General.  In the case of 
disagreement within the Review Panel, the Attorney General 
resolves the dispute in consultation with counterparts from 
other agencies. 
 
¶3.  (C) The Ambassador explained that there are approximately 
50-60 detainees who will be cleared for release, but who 
cannot go home due to humane treatment concerns.  While 
several European governments have sent promising signals on 
accepting detainees, deeds have thus far not completely 
matched these statements.  Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, 
Switzerland and Ireland have been very forward leaning in 
their efforts to reach an agreement with the U.S.  Italy, 
Spain, France, Germany, and Sweden, while considering taking 
some detainees, are not as far along in their internal 
deliberations.  An EU framework facilitating member states to 
accept detainees is a critical element to the resettlement 
strategy which will hopefully be finalized in the coming 
months.  Ambassador Williamson said that several Schengen 
countries unwilling to take detainees are concerned about the 
effects of another Schengen member admitting these people 
into their territory.  The U.S. is sensitive to these factors 
and is pursuing possible solutions with EU staff, including 
voluntary travel restrictions on transferees. 
 
¶4.  (C) Williamson highlighted the difficulty in resettling 
Uighur detainees due to fear of political repercussions with 
China.  He also discussed the 99 Yemenis currently detained 
in Guantanamo, who the USG would prefer to admit into the 
Saudi Arabian rehabilitation program rather than repatriate 
directly back to Yemen.  While the U.S. does not have 
significant concerns about humane treatment of detainees 
returned to Yemen, there are regional security concerns that 
would arise with their immediate repatriation. 
 
International Committee of the Red Cross 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Ambassador Williamson met with Pierre Kraehenbeuhl, 
Director of Operations for ICRC, Barbara Hintermann, Head of 
Region for North America, Western, Central and South-Eastern 
Europe at ICRC, and Jelena Pejic, Legal Advisor, ICRC. 
Kraehenbeuhl welcomed Williamson's comments and said that 
ICRC supported the closure of Guantanamo, seeing the action 
as a strong benchmark for international humanitarian law.  He 
also appreciated ICRC recommendations being considered in 
Admiral Walsh's recent report on conditions at the facility. 
After hearing of the new review process currently underway, 
Kraehenbeul offered to contribute ICRC information collected 
 
at Guantanamo to the review panels.  He also informed 
Williamson that in interviews  with detainees ICRC encouraged 
sharing of information on family ties in third countries. 
Williamson indicated that this is extremely helpful and said 
that the U.S. is also working directly with the lawyers 
representing the detainees to determine locations for 
resettlement.  However, when Ambassador Williamson suggested 
more direct engagement with European countries in 
resettlement efforts, Kraehenbeuhl noted that he was wary to 
actively encourage other governments to resettle detainees. 
Ambassador Williamson acknowledged ICRC's special status and 
said that he understood the limitations on what ICRC is able 
to do.  Kraehenbeuhl did say that ICRC would answer questions 
from other governments as to how it views the review process 
as a whole, which is generally positive.  To reinforce this 
opinion, Ambassador Williamson explained additional details 
of the U.S. resettlement strategy, noting that the USG was 
not asking for prosecution nor robust security measures for 
any detainees cleared for release.  The U.S. would be 
responsible for many of the most dangerous inmates at 
Guantanamo for years to come, prosecuting them in either 
Federal Courts or military courts martial.  The U.S. was 
asking European governments and international organizations 
to assist in resettling the lower threat detainees. 
 
¶6.  (C) On Yemen, Kraehenbuehl noted that ICRC has not been 
able to visit detention facilities in Yemen and does not have 
a prison visit program there.  He added that in the past ICRC 
has not been able to get support from the U.S. Embassy to 
pressure the Yemeni authorities to open these detention 
facilities.  For this reason he questioned the assessment 
that Yemen did not present humane treatment concerns for 
cleared detainees.  Ambassador Williamson explained that the 
we look at the totality of the situation in any given 
country, and while Yemen does not have a perfect record, the 
most compelling factor for the USG was that detainees 
previously returned to Yemen had not been mistreated. 
 
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Navanethem Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human 
Rights, welcomed Ambassador Williamson,s briefing on 
Guantanamo detainee issues and offered her assistance on a 
case-by-case basis.  She supported the closing of Guantanamo 
and called for the U.S. to move quickly to either prosecute 
detainees or release them.  Commending the thoughtful 
approach of the USG reviews, she called for them to include 
the "principle of reparation."  "If you do this well," she 
said, "it could be the example for tribunals and other 
countries to follow." 
 
¶8.  (C) Williamson explained how the US was actively engaged 
in discussion with a number of governments as well as 
detainees, lawyers, human rights groups such as Human Rights 
Watch and Amnesty International, Special Rapporteur on 
Torture Manfred Nowak, and others to try to match detainees 
to suitable resettlement countries and encourage governments 
to accept them.  The Ambassador stressed that public and 
private encouragement by UN bodies on the humanitarian 
imperative of detainee resettlement could strengthen the hand 
of governments.  Pillay responded that Nowak had raised the 
matter with her and that they are both prepared to help.  She 
indicated that she would be receptive to requests from the 
USG to engage specific governments if needed. 
 
¶9.  (C) Regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC), 
Williamson explained to Pillay that U.S. engagement with the 
institution had increased over the past two years, but that 
more could be done.  The Administration, he said, is 
undertaking a review of the US position vis--vis the ICC 
with an open mind.  While it is too early to say how the 
comprehensive policy approach might change, there will almost 
certainly be a further increase in engagement. 
 
¶10.  (C) Pillay stated that U.S. ratification of the ICC 
would be "excellent."  She reported that many countries are 
sitting on the fence regarding ratification and that a 
positive U.S. decision would bring many countries along in 
its wake, particularly in Asia.  Even short of ratification 
though, Pillay said that increased U.S. engagement would be 
highly beneficial.  For example, the ICC suffers from the 
lack of U.S. staff assisting with jurisprudence and other 
important tasks, and that since the quality U.S. officials in 
other tribunals has been so high, their absence at the ICC is 
keenly felt.  Williamson commented that he recognized that 
the Court had suffered from the absence of U.S. participation 
and from the lack of pro-active diplomatic support that the 
 
USG provided for other tribunals.  He noted that while some 
efforts had been made to address these issues over the last 
two years, the new Administration was inclined to do more and 
to put its relationship with the ICC on a more regular 
footing. 
Ambassador Williamson has cleared this cable. 
STORELLA