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FM USEU BRUSSELS
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INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000192 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/GC:MWILLIAMS 
DOJ FOR MATTHEW OLSEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2020 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDRG EUN PTER
SUBJECT: GUANTANAMO CLOSURE: SE FRIED DISCUSSES EUROPEAN 
COOPERATION WITH PSC AND COUNTERTERRORISM COORDINATOR 
 
Classified By: USEU Political M-C Christopher Davis for reasons 1.4(b) 
and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.  Special Envoy for Closure of the Guantanamo 
Detention Facility Daniel Fried, along with Assistant 
Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and 
Labor Michael Posner and Guantanamo Detainee Review Task 
Force Director Matthew Olsen discussed the detention 
facility's current status and European assistance during 
meetings with the EU's Political and Security Committee (PSC) 
ambassadors and EU Counterterrorism Coordinator Gilles 
DeKerchove on January 26 and 27.  Additionally, the 
delegation met with key members of the European Parliament 
(EP) and exchanged views with NGOs.  The delegation also met 
separately with the Irish, French, and Portuguese Permanent 
Representatives to the EU to encourage their governments to 
share their positive experiences with other European 
countries that may be considering resettlement.  END SUMMARY. 
 
THE PSC 
 
¶2. (C) SE Fried began the January 26 meeting with the 27 PSC 
ambassadors by thanking those EU member states that accepted 
detainees for resettlement: France, Portugal, Ireland, 
Belgium, Hungary, and Slovakia; noting also Italy which took 
two for prosecution.  He said that despite some success over 
the past year, the United States still needs Europe's help to 
resettle the 33 detainees approved for transfer but whom we 
cannot return to their country of origin due to post-transfer 
treatment concerns.  Additionally, S/E Fried referenced the 
significant Yemeni population at Guantanamo and the need for 
Europe's help to create the conditions in Yemen that would 
allow those detainees to return home.  A/S Posner then 
described how the administration is determined not to allow 
past decisions regarding Guantanamo dictate future detention 
policy, which, he said, would be law-based and in accordance 
with universal standards consistent with the Geneva 
Convention and the UN Declaration on Human Rights. DOJ's 
Matthew Olsen described how the interagency review process 
made unanimous determinations on each of the 240 detainees it 
reviewed. 
¶3. (C) The Portuguese PSC Ambassador thanked Fried for 
recognizing Portugal's assistance.  He described the 
resettlement as a success and encouraged said other member 
states to cooperate as well.  The PSC Ambassador from 
Slovakia, which that same day announced it's resettlement of 
three detainees, said that although the decision to accept 
detainees for resettlement was not easy, Slovakia is 
satisfied by the openness and support provided by the United 
States.  He asked for advice on avoiding recidivism, to which 
SE Fried responded that appropriate assistance and prudent 
security measures, in combination, were keys to success.  The 
French Charge then asked about the effectiveness of 
rehabilitation programs like the one in Saudi Arabia and 
about U.S. plans for Yemen.  S/E Fried described the Saudi 
program as "serious but not perfect," with a 10-to-20 percent 
failure rate.  He said that although the United States is 
discussing a Yemeni rehabilitation structure, the country 
needs broader assistance.  S/E Fried said he was profoundly 
grateful for Europe's help and he urged member states that 
have taken detainees to take one more, and encouraged member 
states considering to accept detainees to do so. 
¶4.  (C) During the PSC discussion, EU Counterterrorism 
Coordinator Gilles DeKerchove congratulated the U.S. 
delegation for its success, but noted that resettling 
detainees was made difficult since the U.S. itself is not 
doing so.  He asked about the status of a Spanish EU 
presidency draft statement on guiding principles in combating 
terrorism, as called for by the June joint U.S.-EU 
declaration on Guantanamo.  He said these principles, once 
accepted by the U.S. and the EU, would have "worldwide 
impact."  DeKerchove further congratulated AG Holder for 
deciding to try the 9/11 suspects in federal court, but 
lamented the prospect of the death penalty, which Europe 
opposes.  Referring to the detainees designated for 
indefinite detention, DeKerchove said, "It is not the EU 
position that you can hold 50 without trial." 
¶5.  (C) S/E Fried said that the U.S. response to the draft 
Spanish statement on guiding principles is not yet ready, but 
"what we agree to we will implement, which is why we are 
being careful in our response."  S/E Fried further applauded 
the leadership of Spanish head of government Zapatero, noting 
that Spanish FM Moratinos had said publicly that Spain would 
accept five detainees eventually.  A/S Posner reiterated the 
importance of first closing Guantanamo, and then developing a 
comprehensive detention policy that advocates trying 
 
BRUSSELS 00000192  002 OF 003 
 
 
detainees as criminals in federal court. 
DEKERCHOVE SEPARATELY 
¶6.  (C) On January 27 DeKerchove discussed the strategy for 
closing Guantanamo in a separate meeting with S/E Fried, A/S 
Posner and Olsen.  DeKerchove noted that he is talking to the 
Belgian government about accepting the two Belgian detainees 
convicted in absentia and noted that he will meet with the 
German Interior Minister in mid-February.  S/E Fried inquired 
whether the EU has mechanisms in place to manage resettled 
detainees traveling outside their country of resettlement but 
in the Schengen zone.  DeKerchove said that although the EU 
has not agreed to specific actions when and should this 
occur, the EU is prepared to use established structures 
within the Schengen Information Service that allow member 
states to support surveillance and share information.  On 
Yemen, DeKerchove expressed his shared concern, described the 
European Commission's stabilization funds as inadequate, and 
he noted that he is pushing the EU to do more. 
EU PERM REPS 
¶7. (C) During meetings with the Portuguese and Irish 
Permanent Representatives to the EU, and separately with the 
French Permanent Representative to the EU, Fried urged them 
to share information about their governments' experience in 
taking detainees with other European countries considering 
resettlement, in an effort to demystify the process.  Irish 
PermRep Rory Montgomery described the resettlement process in 
Ireland as "very smooth."  If anything, he argued, the media 
has portrayed the decision as politically positive for the 
Irish government and with some saying the government should 
do even more.  Similarly, Ambassador Manuel Lobo Antunes 
called the resettlement process a "non-issue" for the 
Portuguese government.  He indicated that Portugal will 
continue to press other countries to accept detainees.  S/E 
Fried mentioned specifically that the governments of Hungary 
and Slovakia might benefit from their advice.  In their 
meeting, French Ambassador Philippe Etienne noted that the 
process has been difficult for the French government, 
especially in regard to relations with Algeria (both 
detainees' country of nationality), but he agreed that there 
is a need to exchange information and best practices. 
Montgomery and Etienne suggested, separately, that while 
diplomatic pressure continued in capitals, it might also be 
useful to arrange exchanges between working level technical 
experts. 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS 
¶8. (SBU) President of the European Parliament (EP) Jerzy 
Buzek welcomed the delegation on January 26 and highlighted 
the importance of human rights for Europeans.  S/E Fried 
likewise framed Guantanamo's closure as part of a common 
U.S.-EU human rights mission.  He thanked Europe for its help 
in resettling many of the detainees in the past year and he 
asked the EP to encourage member states to accept more 
detainees for resettlement.  Buzek assured the delegation 
that he would talk with member states to explain the U.Sion), and 
the Comittee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Afairs 
on the Guantanamo Review Task Force nd underscored the need 
for Europe's assistace in resettling the remaining 
detainees.  A/ Posner thanked the EP for its February 2008 
resolution on the return and resettlement of the Guantanamo 
detention facility inmates and asked the MEPs for their 
guidance, recommendations, and help in closing the facility. 
Vice Chair of the EP's U.S. Delegation and former Special 
Rappoteur on Guantanamo Sarah Ludford (United Kingdom, ALDE) 
said that although it was "brave" to move forward and try 
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the alleged September 11 
conspirators in federal courts in New York, she found it hard 
to expect EU member states to offer more assistance when the 
United States had not yet answered how it will handle 
prosecutions in military commissions, which she does not 
support, or what the new framework is for U.S. detention 
policy.  Olsen explained the process for deciding who will be 
tried in federal courts versus military tribunals.  A/S 
Posner added that her questions are similar to those 
currently being debated internally.  But, he noted, it is 
important that the closure of Guantanamo be viewed as a 
unique case and not dictate the discussion on future 
detention policy. 
¶10. (SBU) Other MEPs joined the questioning mixing in their 
 
BRUSSELS 00000192  003 OF 003 
 
 
own comments.  Vice President of the EP and member of the 
U.S. Delegation Stavros Lambrinidis' (Greece, S&D) posed a 
lengthy list of questions about the process the United States 
had undertaken to engage European governments on resettling 
detainees, including what measures we have asked those 
government receiving detainees to take.  Barbara Lochbihler 
(Germany, Green) also asked about the case of Canadian Omar 
Khader, expressing concern for his age at capture. 
Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights Heidi Hautala 
(Finland, Green) expressed concern about the remaining Uighur 
detainees and Ana Gomes (Portugal, S&D) described how she 
lobbied the Portuguese government intensely to accept 
detainees.  She suggested that both trying the detainees as 
criminals and providing more information on European 
involvement in $ecret renditions would help sway public 
opinion toward accepting more detainees.  Finally, Ludford 
said that she hoped to get a vote on a new Guantanamo 
resolution on a future plenary schedule. 
NGOS 
¶11. (SBU) A NGO roundtable discussion on January 27 offered 
another opportunity for the delegation to outline progress 
and discuss where the United States still needs help.  While 
noting the NGO's criticism regarding judicial and detention 
policy, S/E Fried focused the conversation on ways the United 
States could work with the NGOs to further their common goal 
of closing the detention facility.  S/E Fried encouraged the 
representatives from Amnesty International, Human Rights 
Watch, International Crisis Group, Reprieve, International 
Commission of Jurists, and the Center for Constitutional 
Rights to offer support to European governments that recently 
accepted detainees.  Amnesty's representative noted that his 
organization has been working behind the scenes to help the 
U.S. resettlement effort.  Reprieve's representative, noting 
also that her organization represents detainees offered a 
specific post-transfer assistance program that receiving 
governments might consider to help in their own integration 
efforts. 
¶12. (U) Special Envoy Fried and Assistant Secretary Posner 
have cleared this cable. 
KENNARD 
.