ECOWAS: LIBERIA CONTACT GROUP MEETING

UNCLAS ABUJA 002565

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE


DEPARTMENT FOR AF DAS PERRY; AF/W FOR ARIETTI
FROM JETER


E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2012
TAGS: PREL XY LI ECOWAS UN
SUBJECT: ECOWAS: LIBERIA CONTACT GROUP MEETING


REF: Perry/ Arietti/ Jeter 8/30 Telecon


Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter; Reasons 1.5(B)
and (D)



1. (SBU) I managed to reach ECOWAS Executive Secretary
Mohammed Chambas before he left Sweden on August 31.
Chambas will be traveling in Europe for the rest of this
week and returns to Abuja over the weekend.



2. (SBU) The Executive Secretary confirms that ECOWAS is
proposing a meeting of the Liberia Contact Group on
September 17, at UN Headquarters in New York. (Chambas was
not aware that Burkina Faso might also be calling for a
meeting of the Contact Group). Presidents Wade and Obasanjo
will both be in New York on September 16 for a meeting on
NEPAD, and Chambas hopes that both will stay over for the
CG meeting on the 17th. Chambas said that the UN should
call the meeting, and his hope is that the UNSYG will
personally convene it. (Chambas said that he has spoken
with A/SYG Turk, who is in favor of the idea).





3. (SBU) Chambas has concluded that the Contact Group
should be small. Compositions should include the UN,
ECOWAS, Senegal, Nigeria, the African Union, the U.S.,
France, and the EU, represented by Special Representative
Hans Dahlgren.



4. (SBU) Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, was
attending the same meeting in Sweden as Chambas. The two
discussed the proposed 9/17 Contact Group meeting, and the
Foreign Secretary thought it was a useful idea. Straw said
that London would urge the Secretary General to convene the
CG meeting. Chambas said that it would be very helpful if
Washington would also indicate its support to the Office of
the Secretary General.
JETER