VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #0590/01 0741903
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151903Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5606
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS MANAGUA 000590 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN AND INL/LP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AADP MARR MASS SNAR PINS PREL PHUM PINR NU
SUBJECT: MANAGUA'S LEAHY HUMAN RIGHTS VETTING PROCEDURES 
 
REF: A. 03 STATE 34981 
     ¶B. 05 STATE 21314 
     ¶C. O5 STATE 131486 
 
Introduction 
------------ 
 
¶1.  Embassy Managua's Political Section has developed a 
system to coordinate Leahy Amendment vetting.  All candidates 
for USG-funded travel, training (military or civilian), or 
material assistance -- in-country or in the United States -- 
must be vetted on human rights, corruption, narcotics, or 
criminal grounds.  Vetting is required to ensure that, to the 
Embassy's best knowledge, the USG does not fund travel, 
training, or material assistance to individuals (or groups of 
individuals) who have engaged in gross violations of human 
rights or other disqualifying activities.  The legal or 
policy requirements governing vetting vary depending on the 
activity in question, and the source of funds financing the 
activity. 
 
¶2.  The Political Section coordinates vetting under the 
supervision of the Political Counselor and the INL 
Coordinator.  The INL Coordinator will be the primary point 
of contact (POC).  The Political Section will retain paper 
files (and electronic if applicable) on all vetting.  Post 
has established a system for documenting the paper trail to 
demonstrate that we have conducted vettings and followed up 
on any derogatory findings.  Post will retain the records for 
at least 3 years and ensure that human rights abuses 
involving security force units are cabled to the Department 
and entered into the ACES database. 
 
Vetting Requirements 
-------------------- 
 
¶3.  Vetting requirements vary by source of funding and 
whether the training is for a unit or an individual.  All 
military and police units must be vetted at Post and by the 
Department to be eligible for USG assistance.  For DOD funded 
training, all individuals must be vetted at Post and by the 
Department.  For Department of State (including INL) or other 
USG-funded training, members of the police and the military 
must be vetted individually at Post to be eligible for the 
training.  Although not legally required by the Leahy 
Amendment, Post policy is to request Department concurrence. 
However, in some instances, this may not be possible. 
Civilians do not need to be vetted, although as a matter of 
policy, Post will vet former military and police personnel as 
well as public servants, both civilian and military, who 
participate in USG sponsored training.  In these cases, 
Department concurrence is not required. 
 
Standard Operating Procedures 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Post's standard operating procedures are as follows: 
 
Step 1:     The vetting request is sent to the Political 
Section via email or memo. 
 
Step 2:     POC circulates the names of units and/or 
individuals proposed for training/assistance to RSO, DEA, 
DAO, MILGP, CONS and ECON. 
 
Step 3:     Sections review paper and electronic classified 
and unclassified files (including search of ACES database) 
for credible evidence of gross human rights violations 
perpetrated by unit(s) or individuals proposed for training 
(DEA will also check records for involvement in drug 
trafficking). 
 
Step 4:     Sections respond in writing (e.g., via e-mail) 
within two weeks to the POC with results of their file 
search.  If credible derogatory information is found that an 
individual or unit is responsible for gross violations of 
human rights, that individual or unit must be denied 
clearance to participate in FOAA-funded training/assistance 
and the individual or unit's name must be struck from the 
list sent to Washington for clearance.  Information about the 
nature of the offense will be entered into the ACES database 
and sent by cable to the Department. 
 
Step 5:     Post POC sends a classified or unclassified cable 
of the list of names of individuals/units on whom no 
derogatory information was found to WHA/CEN, and requests 
clearance.  Post will try to ensure that the Department has 
at least 10 working days to conduct name checks and reply to 
Post.  Vettings for DOD-funded training are 'good for' a 
period of 12 months.  Vettings for other USG-funded training 
must be repeated each time training is planned for a unit or 
individual. 
 
Step 6:     If vetting at the Department identifies no 
derogatory information, WHA/CEN transmits a cable to Post 
indicating that the training/assistance may proceed.  The POC 
notifies the requesting entity that the candidates have been 
cleared and training or assistance may proceed. 
 
If vetting at the Department reveals derogatory information, 
the action Post takes depends on the whether the training is 
DOD-funded or FOAA-funded.  If the training is DOD-funded, 
the POC will inform all involved and the front office, but 
DOD will make its own determination as to whether or not to 
proceed with the training.  If the training is FOAA funded, 
Post has two options, either to inform the host government 
that the unit/individual is ineligible for USG-funded 
training or to seek additional Department guidance on the 
case. 
 
Reporting and ACES 
------------------ 
 
¶7.  Potential human rights violations by the Nicaraguan 
military and police must be reported by cable to the 
Department.  Now that ACES (the Department of State-hosted 
human rights abuses database) is on-line, Post must enter all 
allegations of human rights abuses by foreign security forces 
into the system.  Post will hold a quarterly country team 
meeting to ensure that reports are entered or to verify that 
no allegations have been received during the quarter.  If no 
incidents have occurred in a given quarter, Post will enter a 
negative report into ACES from the country team for that 
quarter.  Post will use ACES as a tool to organize existing 
files of past allegations by creating new records for each 
incident. 
TRIVELLI