Cablegate: Possible Unodc Terrorism Project in Vietnam

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HANOI 000726

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/CT; INL/AAE AND EAP/BCLTV

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER VM CTERR
SUBJECT: POSSIBLE UNODC TERRORISM PROJECT IN VIETNAM

1. (U) This is an action cable. Please see paragraph 6.

2. (U) Poloff met February 27 with Dolgor Solongo, Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, Terrorism
Prevention Branch, UN Office of Drugs and Crime. Solongo
was in Vietnam to review the GVN's approach to
counterterrorism, particularly the legal and regulatory
environment and prospects for achieving Vietnamese accession
to the remaining four counterterrorism conventions. The
GVN, she said, would need to undertake legislative reforms
to be able to accede to the four CT conventions it had not
yet signed.

3. (U) Solango said UNODC might consider a legal assistance
project in FY 2005 with the goal of working with the GVN to
review and reform the legal code in such a way that Vietnam
would be in a position to accede to the remaining CT
conventions. Such a project would conceivably last one year
and cost USD 500,000; the expected outcome would be GVN
accession to all four remaining CT conventions. However,
Solango noted that UNODC was not ready to make a commitment
to doing a counterterrorism project in Vietnam, and
cautioned that obtaining GVN agreement to do such a project
would be a delicate matter.

4. (U) Poloff told Solongo that obtaining GVN accession to
the CT conventions is one of Embassy Hanoi's strategic goals
and that a project like this might interest the USG. Later,
the UNODC Representative in Hanoi told Poloff that UNODC
would prefer to do a legal assistance project that was wider
in scope than just counterterrorism and covered more of the
criminal code. One way or the other, a decisive factor
would be what sort of project the U.S. might be willing to
fund, she added.

5. (U) Comment: Deficiencies in Vietnam's legal code and
interagency conflicts over resource allocation represent the
main obstacles to Vietnam's accession to the remaining four
CT conventions. Legal reform will be necessary to overcome
these hurdles, and UNODC has the expertise and personnel to
carry it out. In addition, UNODC has a track record of
working with the Ministry of Justice on legal reform in the
areas of counternarcotics and trafficking in persons, and
has excellent contacts within the MOJ and the Ministry of
Public Security. This represents the best possibility we
have seen to date of achieving the goal of Vietnamese
accession to the remaining four CT conventions. If the U.S.
were prepared to fund the project or part of it, UNODC would
likely carry it out. End comment.

6. (U) ACTION REQUEST: Please advise if FY05 funding might
be available for the project described above.
BURGHARDT

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