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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 001731 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2019 
TAGS: KJUS KCRM PHUM YI RW SL FR
SUBJECT: S/WCI RAPP'S CONSULTATIONS IN FRANCE (DECEMBER 14) 
 
Classified By: Wallace R. Bain, Political Officer, for reason 1.4 (b/d) 
. 
 
¶1.  (C)  SUBJECT:  French officials on December 14 told S/WCI 
Ambassador Stephen J. Rapp that they would advise 
consideration of a French contribution to support the Special 
Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) but cautioned that GOF 
budgetary resources were quite limited and that a 
contribution might not be possible.  They welcomed U.S. 
participation as an observer to the International Criminal 
Court (ICC) and agreed that the UN Security Council needed 
the ability to exercise an oversight function over any 
attempt to label an action as an "aggression" subject to 
international sanction.  The French agreed with Ambassador 
Rapp on the need for residual mechanisms during the closing 
phases of the International Tribunals for Yugoslavia (ICTY) 
and Rwanda (ICTR). END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (C)  S/WCI Ambassador Stephen J. Rapp, accompanied by 
S/WCI Special Assistant Todd Anderson and Embassy 
AF-assistant, held two meetings with MFA officials in Paris 
on December 14.  The meeting with Jean-Luc Florent (PDAS for 
Legal Affairs), Olivier Guerot (DAS-equivalant for Human 
Rights and Humanitarian Affairs), and Ginette de Matha 
(Advisor to the A/S for Legal Affairs) focused on the SCSL, 
the U.S. and the ICC, and issues related to the end phases of 
the ICTY and ICTR.  The second meeting, with MFA AF 
DAS-equivalents Stephane Gruenberg (AF/C) and Frederic 
Clavier (AF/E), centered on the DRC and its war crimes and 
human rights problems. 
 
Sierra Leone 
------------ 
¶3.  (C)  In the meeting with Florent, Guerot, and Matha, 
Ambassador Rapp began by describing the SCSL as a success 
story that was nearing the completion of its function with 
all trials completed except for the trial of Charles Taylor, 
which was taking place in the Hague.  However, because of the 
way the court was established, it had always been necessary 
to conduct fund-raising to sustain its operation.  Florent 
noted that the UN had paid some costs, but Ambassador Rapp 
explained that that had been a one-time injection of 
emergency funding during the court's second year of 
operations, which the UN was not likely to repeat.  The 
SCSL's budget was declining as the number of trials 
decreased.  Sending SCSL convicts to Rwanda had gone well. 
The Taylor trial, including appeals, was likely to end in 
mid-2011.  Florent commented on the large sums paid to 
Taylor's lawyers; Ambassador Rapp agreed but commented that 
such costs were probably warranted in a case involving a head 
of state. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Ambassador Rapp said that the U.S. would probably 
contribute about $7.5 million of the SCSL's expected budget 
of about $20 million for 2010, deliverable in August 2010. 
In the meantime, the court could face shortages as early as 
February 2010.  Hence the need for additional contributions. 
He noted France's modest previous contributions in 2006-2008 
but the absence of a contribution in 2009.  Guerot, who had 
worked on IO budgets before moving to the human rights 
portfolio, provided a careful explanation of GOF budget 
difficulties.  He said that any contribution would have to 
come from the Cooperation budget; there was no funding, or 
very little, remaining in the UN/IO accounts.  He noted that 
the MFA's budget for voluntary contributions to international 
organizations had been cut 25 percent in 2009, after having 
been cut 25 percent in 2008, resulting in severe cutbacks. 
He said that even making France's mandatory contributions was 
a strain. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Florent said that he and his colleagues would signal 
to their political leaders the need to consider contributing 
to SCSL but he asked that the U.S. understand France's 
financial difficulties.  He said that the tight budgetary 
situation would persist indefinitely, especially with respect 
to voluntary contributions. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Addressing the costs of war crimes tribunals more 
 
PARIS 00001731  002 OF 003 
 
 
generally, Ambassador Rapp and the French agreed on the need 
for more efficient use of resources at the tribunals, the 
desirability of sharing resources (such as courtrooms) more 
readily, and, across the board, adoption of sensible measures 
to reduce expenses.  Guerot commented that ICC costs were 
soaring and that Japan (working with France) was one of the 
few countries engaged in trying to reduce ICC expenses. 
 
International Criminal Court 
---------------------------- 
¶7.  (C)  The French welcomed the USG's recent decision to 
participate in certain ICC activities as an observer. 
Ambassador Rapp provided background on the decision to work 
with the ICC, albeit on a limited basis, which he believed 
would further U.S. interests and provide useful input to the 
ICC.  He observed that the level of U.S. engagement in the 
ICC would remain a sensitive political issue in the U.S., 
making it difficult to predict whether U.S. involvement would 
increase.  Ambassador Rapp said the U.S. would attend the ICC 
Assembly on State Parties Session in New York in March and he 
believed the U.S. would also be represented at the ICC Review 
Conference in May/June 2010 as an observer and try to make a 
positive contribution to the proceedings. 
 
¶8.  (C)  The most pressing concern, with which the French 
fully agreed, was the ICC's intention to define "aggression" 
in the context of a potential criminal act subject to ICC 
jurisdiction.  Ambassador Rapp said that the U.S. would 
oppose ICC action in this area unless the UN Security Council 
were given an explicit power to approve or disapprove ICC 
labeling of a specific act as "aggression."  The French 
agreed that a control mechanism of this sort was necessary 
and expressed confidence, shared by Ambassador Rapp, that the 
other members of the P-5 shared that point of view.  They 
agreed that raising this clearly with ICC member states would 
be an important priority between now and the Review 
Conference and at the conference itself on appropriate 
occasions. 
 
End-Phase for ICTY and ICTR 
--------------------------- 
¶9.  (C)  The French agreed with Ambassador Rapp on the need 
to begin planning for the closing down of the ICTY and ICTR, 
bearing in mind that a "residual mechanism" would have to be 
established and maintained to address issues that would arise 
after the two tribunals finished conducting trials.  These 
issues would include records retention, appeals issues, 
enforcement of judgments, witness protection, possible new 
claims or cases, treatment of prisoners, and other similar 
matters that could emerge long after the tribunals themselves 
ceased trying cases.  Ambassador Rapp discussed the ICTR and 
the 11 fugitive cases (three "high value" cases and eight of 
lesser value).  In lieu of keeping the ICTR fully up and 
running in case of apprehension of the fugitives, it might be 
better (and far more cost effective) to transfer the cases to 
Rwanda.  The ICTR's judges, however, might balk, believing 
that Rwandan standards of justice were not adequate to 
prosecute the cases fairly.  Ambassador Rapp said that one 
solution might be to allow non-Rwandan judges to participate 
in any trials in Rwanda, a matter that he had discussed 
recently with Rwandan President Kagame, who seemed receptive 
to the idea.  Transferring these cases to Rwanda could be a 
way to ease one of the remaining obstacles to fully winding 
down the ICTR. 
 
¶10.  (C)  Florent expressed agreement with this approach, 
saying that he had met with ICTR Prosecutor Hassan Bubacar 
Jallow on December 11 and that Jallow said that he was 
increasingly impressed with the Rwandan justice system. 
Florent thought, based on Jallow's comment, that the ICTR 
judges might be more willing to transfer cases to Rwanda if a 
foreign judge were included in the panel trying a case. 
Florent cited the need to continue discussion in New York. 
He understood that creating an exit strategy for ICTY and 
ICTR would continue over the next three or four years.  There 
were real challenges and many ambiguities, and UNSC members 
might not all share the same perspective.  He said that 
France favored a "light structure" to carry out residual 
 
PARIS 00001731  003 OF 003 
 
 
functions, that should by no means include the possibility of 
reconstituting the courts.  Ambassador Rapp reiterated the 
value of being able to transfer cases to national courts.  He 
also hoped that a system would be developed for safely 
storing tribunal archives that would allow for easy 
electronic access while preserving original materials.  He 
also said that a residual office should be maintained in the 
region (rather than in the Hague or other distant place) to 
ensure a local presence and as a sign of the international 
community's continuing commitment. 
 
Meeting with MFA Africa Experts 
------------------------------- 
¶11.  (C)  During his later meeting with MFA DAS-equivalents 
Stephane Gruenberg and Frederic Clavier, Ambassador Rapp 
covered in abbreviated form the main points of his discussion 
with Florent.  Discussion then focused on the ongoing 
violence in the Great Lakes region, particularly in the DRC, 
and the dynamics within and among the FARDC, FDLR, and CNDP, 
elements of all which continued to commit violent acts 
against each other and against civilian populations. 
Violence seemed to be on the rise once again.  Gruenberg 
asked about CNDP Chief of Staff Bosco Ntaganda and his 
whereabouts.  Ambassador Rapp stressed the need to try him 
for a range of crimes, including the use of child soldiers. 
He had apparently returned to the bush but was reportedly 
seen recently in Goma, indicating that he had not 
"disappeared."  Ambassador Rapp regretted that there seemed 
to be a lack of will to apprehend him.  On Kimia II, 
Gruenberg expressed concern about MONUC's support of the 
FARDC (and mentioned in passing that the next mandate renewal 
would be for a "five-month duration"). 
 
¶12.  (C)  On programs to reform and improve the justice 
system in the DRC, Gruenberg said that France was "not a main 
donor," noting that France had just completed a 3 million 
euro (about USD 4.5 million) project for the justice system, 
which he described as support for infrastructure and 
laboratories to assist criminal investigators.  He repeated 
that these were all done on a relatively small scale. 
Ambassador Rapp reviewed U.S. assistance programs to the DRC 
and to MONUC, with Gruenberg marveling that such assistance 
was at a "completely different level" from France's. 
Gruenberg said he hoped that France could become more 
supportive of Security Sector Reform (SSR) programs, which he 
thought might gain traction with the new roadmap the upcoming 
MONUC mandate might delineate.  Gruenberg described some of 
the legal cases involving Rwandans and others from the region 
who were residing in France or elsewhere in Europe and the 
legal difficulties of bringing some of them to justice. 
 
¶13.  (C)  Clavier expressed disappointment with Kenya and its 
failures on the justice front.  He said that France and the 
EU had contributed to developing the Kenyan legal system but 
the Kenyans were not using what they had available to them, a 
point the French had made to PM Odinga, who had recently 
visited France.  Clavier said that he had discussed with 
Jallow the issue of reforming Rwanda's justice system, which 
would not be easy, in Jallow's view.  After a brief 
discussion of Sudan and the ICC, Clavier briefed on the 
re-establishment of relations between Rwanda and France, 
noting that the GOF was waiting for Rwanda's agreement for 
the proposed French ambassador (not identified by Clavier). 
He said that an advance team would soon travel to Rwanda to 
assess what would be needed to get France's embassy up and 
running quickly. 
 
¶14.  (U)  Ambassador Rapp has cleared this message. 
RIVKIN