VZCZCXRO0769
OO RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHCO #0872/01 3200530
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 160530Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0004
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1190
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
RUEHLS/AMEMBASSY LUSAKA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COTONOU 000872 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W (BANKS), INL (SUSAN SNYDER) 
PARIS FOR D'ELIA 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY (ADDITIONAL ADDRESSEES) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL EAID BN
SUBJECT: BENIN: GOVERNMENT PROPOSES AMENDMENTS TO WJEI LETTER OF 
AGREEMENT 
 
REF: (A) STATE 135996 (B) STATE 64896 
 
COTONOU 00000872  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. This is an action request.  Please see Paragraph 9. 
 
¶2. SUMMARY: Post transmitted the Letter of Agreement (LOA) (Ref B) 
to the GOB on September 11, 2007.  Post received the GOB's response, 
a revised draft of the LOA, on November 5, 2007. In its response, 
the GOB renamed the LOA an Accord, re-organized the LOA, and 
proposed 5 amendments to the original LOA. Post has translated into 
English the sections of the French draft that contain the amendments 
and will forward an electronic copy (in French) of the entire 
proposed agreement to INL. END SUMMARY 
 
---------------------------------- 
"Lettre d'Entente becomes "Accord" 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. The GOB restructured the Letter of Agreement to conform to the 
outline and format of an agreement in the French legal tradition 
which is used in Benin. The document was renamed an "Accord" in 
French instead of the Department's translation of Letter of 
Agreement as "Lettre d'Entente". Eusebe Agbangla, the MFA's 
Americas' Office Director, explained that in Benin "Accord" refers 
to an agreement between states and has more legal force than a 
"Lettre d'Entente". 
 
---------------------- 
AMENDMENT #1 - Funding 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. The GOB proposed that the funding available under the LOA may be 
increased if an evaluation of the GOB's obligations requires it. 
Post's word for word translation of this proposal, contained in 
Article 14 of the revised LOA submitted by the GOB, follows: 
 
Article 14: General Obligations 
 
Funding could be increased in case an evaluation of the GOB's 
obligations requires it. 
 
------------------------- 
AMENDMENT #2 - Evaluation 
------------------------- 
 
¶5. The GOB proposed changes giving more structure to the Evaluation 
Plan contained in Ref B and changing the frequency of evaluation 
meetings from every 3 months to every 6 months.  The GOB proposed 
the creation of an evaluation committee, named the "Women's Rights 
Promotion Joint Committee", to evaluate the WJEI's progress. The 
proposed committee would be composed of representatives from the 
GOB's ministries of Justice, Interior, Family and Women, and Foreign 
Affairs and their USG counterparts and would meet every 6 months. 
Post's word for word translation of the new Evaluation Plan, 
contained in Article 16 of the revised LOA submitted by the GOB, 
follows: 
 
Article 16: Monitoring Body 
 
In order to ensure the evaluation of this Agreement, a "Women Rights 
Promotion Joint Committee" shall be set up, named hereafter "the 
Joint Committee" 
 
The "Joint Committee" shall comprise the representatives of the 
following ministries of both countries: 
 
The ministries of Justice 
The ministries of Interior 
The ministries of Family and Woman 
The ministries of Foreign Affairs 
 
The "Joint Committee" shall meet every 6 months in Cotonou 
During the sessions of the "Joint Committee", its members shall 
review progress towards achievement of the programs and project 
goals referred to in Article 2 of this Agreement. The results 
attained shall be assessed using the criteria described in the 
Article 6 of this Agreement. 
 
------------------------ 
AMENDMENT #3 - Protocols 
------------------------ 
 
¶6.  In this amendment the GOB proposed the creation of separate 
protocols (guidelines) between the USG and the GOB's relevant 
agencies setting out the methods which will be used to implement the 
two DOJ components of WJEI in Benin.  Post's word for word 
translation of this proposal, contained in Article 18 of the revised 
LOA submitted by the GOB, follows: 
 
 
COTONOU 00000872  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Article 18:  Conditions and mode of execution of the Agreement 
 
The conditions and modes of execution of this Agreement shall be 
defined in separate agreements signed with Beninese agencies that 
are responsible for the portions 1 and 2 of the project set forth in 
Article 3 of this Agreement. 
 
----------------------- 
AMENDMENT #4 - Duration 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.  The GOB proposed a change to the agreement giving the WJEI a 
length of 3 years which will be renewed unless one of the parties to 
the agreement states it wants to end the agreement. The change also 
states that the agreement can be amended with the agreement of both 
parties.  Post's word for word translation of the GOB's proposal on 
the WJEI's duration, contained in Article 19 of the revised LOA 
submitted by the GOB, follows: 
 
Article 19:  Term, amendment and termination of the Agreement 
 
This Agreement shall cover three years and be renewed by tacit 
agreement. It may be amended by a joint agreement of both parties. 
 
--------------------------------- 
AMENDMENT #5 - Dispute Resolution 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  The GOB's final amendment calls for the use of negotiation to 
settle any dispute arising under the agreement. Post's word for word 
translation of the dispute resolution mechanism, contained in 
Article 20 of the revised LOA submitted by the GOB, follows: 
 
Article 20: Dispute Resolution 
 
Any dispute arising from the execution and the interpretation of 
this Agreement shall be resolved by negotiation. 
 
¶9. Action Request. Please inform Post if the Department accepts 
these changes. 
 
BROWN