VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCO #0073/01 0401711
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091711Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1311
INFO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1566
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS COTONOU 000073 
 
PARIS FOR ARS (DWINTON) 
DEPARTMENT FOR S/GWI, AF/PD, AF/W, INL, 
DOJ FOR OPDAT 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KWMN KPAO BN
SUBJECT: S/GWI Project Proposal for Benin. 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY OF PROPOSED PROGRAM: This S/GWI project proposal for 
Benin consists of equipping and renovating Benin's existing DNA 
laboratory in order to give it the capacity to perform DNA 
comparison analysis in criminal cases and to thereby furnish the 
courts with the valuable forensic evidence they need in many 
gender-based violence (GBV) cases.  This would in turn increase the 
number of convictions in GBV cases.  The Women's Justice and 
Empowerment Initiative (WJEI) in Benin already has a budget for 
public awareness raising, victim support, and law 
enforcement/judicial training.  There is even a budget to equip 
police and gendarmes to collect forensic evidence.  The DNA lab is 
the missing piece to the WJEI in Benin, and by funding this project, 
the overall efficacy of the WJEI will be improved, resulting in more 
convictions for GBV and the justice systems having a greater 
dissuasive effect vis-a-vis GBV. 
 
¶2.  PROBLEM TO BE ADDRESSED: Benin is an otherwise relatively 
peaceful country with a high rate of (GBV).  A recent study by the 
Family Ministry revealed that 74 per cent of Beninese women reported 
having been the victim of physical violence and 28.5 per cent of 
Beninese woman reported having been the victim of sexual violence. 
The two primary factors that explain the prevalence of GBV in Benin 
are that GBV is culturally accepted by many Beninese and that law 
enforcement and the justice system are poorly trained and equipped 
to handle GBV cases, resulting in few convictions and little 
dissuasive effect. 
 
¶3.  Starting in November 2007, the WJEI has been working to reduce 
GBV in Benin.  In Benin, the WJEI is run by USAID, DOJ/OPDAT, and 
DOJ/ICITAP.  Specifically, the WJEI in Benin has raised public 
awareness in every area of the country about GBV, has encouraged 
victims to press charges, and has offered support to GBV victims. 
The WJEI has also trained police, gendarmes, prosecutors, and judges 
on how to best investigate, prosecute, and hear GBV cases. 
Recognizing that in GBV cases, law enforcement and the courts are 
often dependent upon the evidence furnished by medical 
professionals, the WJEI has also trained gynecologists in legal 
medicine as it pertains to sexual assault cases. 
 
¶4. Since the WJEI began in Benin, socio-cultural attitudes towards 
GBV have begun to slowly change for the better.  GBV is no longer a 
taboo subject, and it is now a subject that garners much attention 
in the media and among ordinary Beninese.  Additionally, law 
enforcement and the courts have taken a greater interest in GBV 
cases and are now better trained to handle them.  With the help of 
the project, more victims have come forward and there are more cases 
before the courts. 
 
¶5.  However, even with this increased willingness to press charges 
on the part of victims and this increased willingness to 
investigate, prosecute, and sanction on the part of law enforcement 
and the courts, most GBV cases are still either being dismissed or 
being reduced to misdemeanors for which the available sanctions are 
 
lenient.  The reason for many of these dismissals and reductions is 
a lack of sufficient evidence.  GBV, by its very nature, usually 
takes place either in the home or in a secluded place where there 
will not be any witnesses present.  As such, most GBV cases are what 
law enforcement and the courts would consider 'he said - she said' 
affairs.  In the United States, advances in forensic science, 
particularly in the science of DNA, have allowed law enforcement and 
the courts to obtain the type of evidence that allows for 
convictions, even in 'he said - she said' situations.  Benin does 
not currently have the capacity to produce such evidence during 
investigations and at trial, and as a result, many GBV cases are 
dismissed or reduced, thus demoralizing victims and limiting the 
dissuasive power of the justice system in its fight against GBV. 
 
¶6.  Benin's existing DNA lab currently does DNA paternity testing (a 
simpler, more straightforward experimental procedure than DNA 
comparison analysis in criminal cases).  Organizationally, the lab 
falls under (and is financed by) the Ministry of Higher Education. 
In July 2009, the WJEI financed an audit of this lab in order to 
determine its capacities.  The forensic scientist who audited the 
lab found the scientists to be well-trained, capable, and eager to 
increase their skill set to include DNA comparison analysis in 
criminal cases.  She also found the lab to be fairly well-equipped, 
as it already possessed much of the equipment necessary for DNA 
comparison analysis in criminal cases.  However, if the lab were to 
engage in DNA comparison analysis in criminal cases, the auditor 
determined that minor renovations would need to be made to the lab 
in order to institute unidirectional office flow, prevent 
contamination, and improve the electrical supply. 
 
¶7.  PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This project would be overseen by US 
Embassy Cotonou through its DOJ/OPDAT and DOJ/ICITAP representatives 
who already work on WJEI-Benin.  It would involve first signing a 
letter of agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education 
establishing a partnership in this project.  The necessary 
renovations would then be put out to bid, and the additional 
laboratory equipment procured.  At the same time, the WJEI would 
finance the training of the Beninese laboratory scientists with 
respect to the additional equipment used in DNA comparison analysis 
in criminal cases.  Once the renovations are completed, an 
experienced forensic scientist would then supervise the installation 
of the additional equipment and the initial start-up 
experimentations.  It is envisaged that the entire time frame for 
this project would be no more than one year. 
 
¶8.  DESCRIPTION OF RECIPIENT ORGANIZATION: The recipient 
organization would be the Beninese Ministry of Higher Education, and 
more specifically, the Laboratoire Cytogenetique de Cotonou.  The 
laboratory is headed by a doctor who is a former Health Minister, 
and has two other scientists on its staff, one of whom holds a Ph.D. 
in molecular biology.  To date, the lab has handled almost 100 
paternity cases, and their work has been verified by a Belgian 
forensic laboratory which has shown their work to be 100 per cent 
accurate.  The staff of the lab has shown itself to be dedicated and 
competent, and the lab is well-managed.  Sustainability concerns 
should not be an issue with the lab given that it already has a 
Higher Education Ministry-funded budget to replace consumables 
(pipettes, beakers, chemicals, etc.)  There is also an additional 
revenue stream that comes from the paternity tests themselves. 
 
¶9.  BUDGET: Based upon the audit already done in July, the cost of 
the various pieces of laboratory equipment necessary to upgrade the 
lab's capacity to include DNA comparison analysis in criminal cases 
would be USD 62,500.  This amount covers over 70 different pieces of 
equipment, kits, and chemicals.  USD 30,000 is budgeted for an 
automatic generator.  USD 7500 is budgeted for the minor renovations 
(sealing doors; building temporary walls; repainting the walls) that 
would be necessary to create the single-flow work environment 
necessary to prevent contamination. 
 
¶10.  DESIRED OUTCOMES AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES: The desired outcomes 
of this project would be 1) access to forensic DNA evidence in GBV 
cases, particularly sexual assaults; and 2) an increase in 
convictions in GBV cases as a result of this newly available DNA 
evidence.  Taking a broader view, this project would aid the WJEI in 
reducing GBV in Benin.  The logic behind the WJEI is two-fold: that 
GBV can be reduced through greater public awareness and through 
greater prosecution.  The addition of a DNA lab would allow the 
prosecution access to much stronger evidence in many GBV cases, thus 
augmenting the dissuasive effect of the justice system on GBV.  The 
success of this project would be measured by the number of GBV cases 
in which the lab provided useful DNA evidence, and by the percentage 
of these cases that resulted in conviction.  This 'lab-aided' 
conviction rate would then be compared to the conviction rate in 
other GBV cases where the lab's services were not utilized. 
 
¶11.  RATIONALE: As mentioned above, the WJEI in Benin takes a 
comprehensive approach to combating GBV.  The WJEI recognizes that 
raising awareness, changing socio-cultural attitudes towards women, 
and helping GBV victims are all essential if the overall rate of GBV 
is to be reduced.  But the WJEI also recognizes that a meaningful 
reduction of GBV cannot occur without a simultaneous effort at 
increased prosecution and conviction.  As long as the justice system 
either will not or cannot convict and sentence those who are guilty 
of GBV crimes, there will be little incentive to stop committing 
them.  As things currently stand, the WJEI in Benin has a budget for 
public awareness raising, victim support, and law 
enforcement/judicial training.  There is even a budget to equip 
police and gendarmes to collect forensic evidence.  What is missing 
is the forensic crime laboratory to analyze this evidence.  Funding 
this project would complement the existing WJEI, and would result in 
an overall greater impact in the fight against GBV in Benin. 
 
KNIGHT