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