VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHZP #0698/01 2342003
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 212003Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2439
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS PANAMA 000698 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: HUMAN RIGHTS ROUNDUP 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U) Post plans to provide a regular human rights update 
to supplement the yearly Human Rights Report in order to 
track emerging changes in the human rights situation in 
Panama.  Below follows a summary of Post's most recent 
contact with a number of groups advocating for the rights of 
individuals, including women, homosexuals and persons with 
disabilities.  END SUMMARY 
 
------------------------- 
Women: Murders by Spouses 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) More than 30 women were killed by their spouses 
last year, according to Maribel Jean, Executive Director of 
the Catholic NGO Justice and Peace, who met with POLOFF on 
June 5.  The concern that domestic violence was on the rise 
was echoed by Dayanara Salazar Medina of the Human Rights 
Ombudsman's Office of Women's Affairs on July 9.  Salazar 
noted that 20 more women were killed already this year in 
domestic violence situations, the majority in impoverished 
areas, and she speculated that the economic pressure on poor 
families contributed to the spike. Jean noted that Panama 
needed more shelters or other safe places for battered women 
to go after making an accusation of abuse. 
 
---------------------------- 
Quotas for Women in Politics 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Panama's electoral law states in article 239 states 
that "political parties will guarantee that, at a minimum, 
30% of their candidates for posts inside the parties or for 
candidates for popular election are women."  In June, a 
women's political organization, the National Forum of Women 
in Political Parties, filed a complaint with the Electoral 
Tribunal (TE) that the parties were not complying with this 
requirement.  For example, for the primary elections, the 
only 17% of Panamenista Party candidates were women and 16% 
of Patriotic Union candidates were women. In reply, a 
magistrate of the TE noted in an interview that it was not 
obligatory for the parties to have 30% of eventual general 
election candidates be female, but only that the list of 
initial primary candidates have the requisite number of 
females.  Salazar of the HR Ombudsman's Office said that the 
TE could - and should - take action to restrict the subsidies 
received by political parties, part of which was earmarked to 
create incentives to encourage women to become involved in 
politics, until they complied.  However, she expected the TE 
to take no action, because they had in the past looked the 
other way when parties subverted this rule by loading up long 
primary lists with women who had no chance of winning a 
primary election slot.  (NOTE:  The HR Ombudsman's Office has 
no enforcement power, but exercises its "moral authority." 
 
¶4.  (U) The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the 
constitutionality of this phrase.  Attorney General Ana 
Matilda Gomez on August 13 asked the Supreme Court to declare 
this phrase constitutional, on the basis that this is a 
positive and internationally accepted measure.  She further 
noted that this rule would eradicate traditional barriers 
against female participation and the exercise of political 
power. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Sodomy Decriminalized; Homosexuality a "Grave Fault" 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Sodomy was decriminalized by an Executive decree on 
August 1, to little notice other than short articles in the 
mainstream press.  The reason given for this action was 
complaints from homosexual rights groups. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The internal regulations of the Panamanian National 
Police (PNP) still described homosexuality as a "grave 
fault," which was punishable by dismissal or no more than 60 
days in jail, President of the Association of New Men and 
Women of Panama (AHMNP) Ricardo Beteta told POLOFF on June 5. 
AHMNP lobbies the government on homosexual rights.  Judging 
by the comments of the Minister of Government and Justice, 
Daniel Delgado Diamante, this is unlikely to change.  In an 
interview on April 6, Delgado declared, "as long as I am in 
this job, gays will not be permitted" in the police, and on 
April 10 he said that "I cannot imagine a homosexual police 
officer."  Beteta also reported individuals being stopped and 
harassed by PNP officers due to their supposed homosexual 
appearance. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In the area of health care, Beteta reported that 
authorities had prevented his organization from distributing 
condoms on the parade route during annual Carnival events and 
had forced them to the margins of the event. Additionally, 
medical privacy was generally not respected for persons with 
HIV/AIDS, according to Orlando Quintero, Director of 
Probidsida, a NGO that provides services to persons living 
with HIV/AIDS, POLOFF learned on June 6.  Additionally, 
although pre-employment HIV testing was prohibited in Panama, 
this law was not always followed, according to Quintero. 
 
------------------------- 
Persons with Disabilities 
------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Little has changed in the past year for most people 
with disabilities, Maria Claudia Garcia of the HR Ombudsman's 
Office of Disabled Persons told POLOFF on July 8.  Although 
Panamanian law prohibits discrimination and in fact 
guarantees a host of rights, substantial discrimination 
exists in employment and public schools. Most public schools 
did not comply with the law requiring equal access to public 
education, citing the high cost and lack of adequate funds 
needed to offer sufficient services. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Garcia personally intervenes when the Ombudsman's 
Office receives any kind of complaint, and she claims that 
employers are often willing to make accommodations that woul 
permit a disabled person to work, but they usually make the 
accommodations over a long period of time, due to cost.  The 
Ombudsman produces educational materials about the kinds of 
disability and the rights of disabled persons and distributes 
them at public events throughout Panama. 
 
¶10. (SBU) SENADIS, the government agency charged with 
integrating and coordinating the efforts of government 
agencies on behalf of people with disabilities, is largely 
ineffective, Fanny Wong, disability activist and Latin 
American coordinator for the Christian Fraternity of Sick and 
Disabled Persons, told POLOFF on August 14. SENADIS is 
largely staffed by family members of disabled persons who 
lack necessary expertise. For example, she noted that 
although SENADIS is charged with making public areas 
accessible, in accordance with Panamanian law, they have no 
architects or city planners on staff and thus the ramps built 
are often too narrow, or too steep, or placed where they are 
inaccessible to persons using wheelchairs.  SENADIS focuses 
its attentions on children and equal education, and ignores 
the needs of disabled adults, which is due to the fact that 
President Torrijos has a developmentally disabled daughter, 
according to Wong. 
STEPHENSON