VZCZCXRO7977
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHSN #1037 1481435
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281435Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6431
INFO RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 001037 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ES PGOV PHUM PREL KMCA
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR:  MCC DEPUTY CEO BENT MEETS WITH HUMAN 
RIGHTS OMBUDSWOMAN 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  In a free-ranging May 18 discussion with Deputy 
CEO Rodney Bent of the Millennium Challenge Corporation 
(MCC), Dr. Beatrice Carrillo of the Office of the Human 
Rights Ombudsman (PDDH) outlined what in her view represent 
the most serious threats to continued progress in rule of law 
in El Salvador.  Carrillo perceives significant problems in 
many areas, including lack of respect for workers' rights, 
incompetence and corruption in the judicial sector, and 
inefficiency among the nation's police force, investigators, 
and prosecutors.  Deputy CEO Bent expressed the MCC's 
interest in these areas and its commitment to doing as much 
as possible, within the parameters of its mandate, to 
contribute to solutions to these challenges.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  The meeting was held at the Embassy; attendees also 
included Acting DCM Deborah Kennedy-Iraheta, MCC's Kenneth 
Miller, and Human Rights Officer Philip Thompson.  Deputy CEO 
Bent began by thanking Carrillo for the opportunity to meet 
and discuss her concerns, and he underscored the importance 
of rule of law and the integrity of the judicial system to 
the MCC's "Ruling Justly" benchmark indicators. 
 
¶3.  Carrillo discussed what she viewed as the poor state of 
respect for labor rights in El Salvador, and related that 
this was partly a legacy from wartime years, when some labor 
unions maintained close ties with guerrilla insurgents.  She 
went on to offer her view that the problem was not due to a 
lack of resources on the part of the Labor Ministry, as many 
attest. 
 
¶4.  Carrillo decried the poor state of the judicial branch, 
which she viewed as a symptom of the overall declining state 
of legal education at El Salvador's universities.  She was 
especially critical of the country's Civilian National Police 
(PNC), averring that they are widely feared by the people, 
and that they represent the greatest single source of human 
rights abuses in El Salvador.  She stressed that lack of PNC 
expertise in crime scene management and evidence collection 
often resulted in failure to bring guilty parties to justice, 
and cited the November 2004 murder of American labor activist 
Jose Gilberto Soto as an example of this inefficiency. 
 
¶5.  Deputy CEO Bent listened attentively to Carrillo's 
discourse, and asked whether, inasmuch as only long-term 
solutions may ameliorate many of the problems Carrillo had 
outlined, she might identify the most pressing issue 
requiring the most urgent attention.  Carrillo immediately 
responded that, notwithstanding her personal respect for PNC 
Chief Rodrigo Avila, the police are the most serious threat 
to the continued consolidation of rule of law in El Salvador, 
and that purging the PNC's bad apples must be accompanied by 
significant improvements in training. 
 
¶6.  COMMENT:  Post concurs with many of Carrillo's views, 
including her assessment of the judicial branch's serious 
shortcomings.  We may differ in other areas, including the 
harsh degree of criticism she conveyed regarding the Civilian 
National Police, who are unquestionably one of the region's 
most professional police forces.  Notwithstanding occasional 
differences in perspective, our continued engagement with the 
PDDH represents a key source in the Embassy's staying 
informed of developments in human rights issues as 
implementation of the MCC compact moves ahead.  END COMMENT. 
Glazer