No senior Department officer has visited Libreville, Gabon in many years. At U.S. urging, Gabon contributed troops to a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Central
African Republic. During Gabon's recent term on the U.N. Security Council, it voted more often with the United States than any country but the United Kingdom.
Libreville has served as a base for five noncombatant evacuation operations in the last 7 years; there could be more. Gabon exports $2 billion in oil, mostly to the United States. Gabon's per capita income is Africa's highest. Gabon's human rights performance is fair. There were no reports last year of politically motivated killings, and the press was allowed to criticize the government in a limited way. Embassy Libreville's Mission Performance Plan goals are ambitious, and the Embassy's resources are overextended. This applies especially to the Embassy's support for extensive activities on behalf of the Department of Defense (Defense), which maintains no representation in Gabon. It has prevented the Embassy from developing and reporting on contacts with a full range of significant political figures. It has also had an adverse impact on consular management in an environment of persistent fraud. The Department is providing a no cost platform for another U.S. Government agency, at the expense of traditional diplomacy, which is the Department's core mission. Administrative services burden an overworked administrative officer who is responsible for security, immediate oversight of budget and fiscal and human resource operations, the community liaison officer, and the medical unit the Department shares with the Peace Corps. Further, he also supervises the general services officer, a first-term junior officer who is located at the warehouse, and the information management officer, whose section has suffered prolonged staffing gaps. Support from the Department and regional officers is inadequate. The post has faced long gaps at crucial positions. Working conditions are poor, and a 3-year tour of duty policy further discourages mid-grade officers from putting Libreville on their bid lists. Section chiefs are often on their first or second tour, and they are overwhelmed by the challenges of working in Central Africa. Embassy staff who coordinate assistance programs lack the training and information resources for efficient management.
After its 1995 withdrawal from Libreville USIA adopted a "no residuals" policy, denying public diplomacy resources of any kind to posts with no U.S. Information Service operation. The Bureau of African Affairs' Public Diplomacy Office is now considering a proposal known as "Africa Public Diplomacy-Lite" to provide basic product and program support plus access to specific programs, which could be ideal in meeting Libreville's public diplomacy needs. OIG recommended that the Department, in conjunction with other agencies, especially Defense, determine whether to remain in Gabon. If a decision is made to continue U.S. presence in Gabon, the Department and Defense must provide the post with adequate personnel and material resources.
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