R 142206Z JUL 06
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY ABUJA 
AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 
AMEMBASSY BAMAKO 
AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 
AMEMBASSY COTONOU 
AMEMBASSY DAKAR 
AMEMBASSY DHAKA 
AMEMBASSY GABORONE 
AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA 
AMEMBASSY KIEV 
AMEMBASSY KIGALI 
AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 
AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE 
AMEMBASSY LILONGWE 
AMEMBASSY LUSAKA 
AMEMBASSY MANAGUA 
AMEMBASSY MAPUTO 
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 
AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 
AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR 
AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 
AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA 
AMEMBASSY TIRANA 
AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR

UNCLAS STATE 116138 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MASS PHUM
SUBJECT: LEAHY HUMAN RIGHTS VETTING REQUIRED FOR ALL GPOI 
ACTIVITIES 
 
REF: A. 05 STATE 111757 
     ¶B. 05 STATE 21314 
     ¶C. 03 STATE 34981 
     ¶D. 05 STATE 131486 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  The Department requests that all Posts 
participating in the Global Peace Operations Initiative 
(GPOI) conduct human rights vetting for related training and 
activities as mandated by the annual Foreign Operations 
Appropriations Acts (FOAA) (Section 551 in the FY 2006 FOAA). 
 Please see paragraph 4 for detailed instructions on vetting 
procedures.  End Summary. 
 
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BACKGROUND 
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¶2.  (U) The Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) is a 
five-year initiative to train peace operations troops around 
the world, train stability police units (SPU) to participate 
in peace operations, and provide deployment support through 
an international mechanism.  For more information, please see 
reftel A.  Addressees are GPOI partners and thus need to 
follow certain provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961, as amended, as well as other legislative mandates. 
 
¶3.  (U) Section 551 of the Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing and Related Programs Appropriations Act for FY 
2006, P.L. 109-102 (FOAA), includes a provision commonly 
referred to as the Leahy Amendment that states:  "None of the 
funds made available by this Act may be provided to any unit 
of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary 
of State has credible evidence that such unit has committed 
gross violations of human rights, unless the Secretary 
determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations 
that the government of such country is taking effective 
measures to bring the responsible members of the security 
forces to justice." 
 
¶4.  (U) In order to comply with the Leahy Amendment, State 
has issued policy guidelines that require Posts to perform 
human rights vetting for all units and individual members 
receiving FOAA-funded training or assistance.  Participating 
in GPOI activities requires such human rights vetting as 
well.  The Department encourages Post to consult "A Guide to 
the Vetting Process" located on the SIPRNet at 
http://aces.state.sgov.gov and reftels B and C for detailed 
guidance on Leahy vetting procedures and information.  The 
human rights vetting process may be summarized under the 
following steps which are detailed more fully in reftels B, C 
and D: 
 
(a) U.S. Embassy investigates unit/individual for human 
rights violations by reviewing files and databases, including 
the Abuse Case Evaluation System (ACES) database. 
 
(b) If derogatory information is found on an individual 
presented for vetting, the officer at Post tasked with the 
vetting will enter that information into the ACES database 
(please see ACES user manual for complete instructions on how 
to use ACES located on the SIPRNet at 
http://aces.state.sgov.gov). 
 
(c) The U.S. Embassy cables the regional bureau at the State 
Department with search results and requests a similar review 
of the Department's files/databases. 
 
(d) Information on the unit/individual is circulated to 
appropriate personnel in the State Department, including the 
Bureaus of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL); 
Intelligence and Research (INR); and Political-Military 
Affairs (PM) for review. 
 
(e) If no credible derogatory information is found, the 
regional bureau sends a reply cable to Post indicating that 
no credible derogatory information has been found and the 
individual/unit may participate in training/assistance. 
 
(f) If credible derogatory information is found, the regional 
bureau sends a reply cable to Post indicating that credible 
derogatory information has been found and the individual/unit 
may not participate in training/assistance.  Any ongoing 
training/assistance will be terminated immediately. 
 
¶5.  (U) The Department points of contact for GPOI are: 
PM/PPA Rachel Featherstone (202-647-7092), Christina Rosati 
(202-647-3034), and Michael Smith (202-647-7714).  The 
Department point of contact for Leahy vetting is:  PM/PPA 
Nicole Porreca (202-647-4998). 
 
End text. 
 
 
RICE