ECOWAS/West African Security Conference in Accra

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 002168

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CDR USEUCOM FOR GEN WALD/POLAD SNELL FROM AMBASSADOR YATES
DEPT FOR PM/PPA MSWEBERG AND AF/W

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS MARR GH ECOWAS
SUBJECT: ECOWAS/West African Security Conference in Accra

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, HANDLE ACCORDINGLY


1. (SBU) Summary: The International Peace Academy (IPA),
in association with the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS),held a conference on West Africa conflict
management and prevention in Accra on October 17-19. Among
the specific themes discussed were: the need for ECOWAS to
play a greater role in conflict prevention and post-conflict
development; the need for greater ECOWAS coordination with
the UN; the gains made in Liberia and Sierra Leone; the risk
of renewed conflict in Cte d'Ivoire; and the threat to the
sub-region posed by bad governance in Guinea. Ghana's
Deputy Foreign Minister stressed Ghana's continued
commitment to helping conflict resolution in West Africa,
including efforts to deal with tensions in Guinea Bissau.
End summary.

Peacekeeping Conference
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2. (U) The International Peace Academy (headed by former
U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone John Hirsch),in partnership
with ECOWAS and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping
Training Center, hosted a conference October 17-19 on
conflict prevention and resolution in West Africa. Among
the 60-70 participants were: ECOWAS Executive Secretary
Mohammed Ibn Chambas and Deputy Executive Secretary Cheick
Oumar Diarra; the UN's Special Representatives of the
Secretary General (SRSG) for West Africa, Sierra Leone and

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Cte d'Ivoire; Deputy SRSG for Liberia Abou Moussa; Dr.
Christopher Landsberg, Director of the Southern Africa
a
Development Community (SADC); and a number of NGO
representatives and academics from across West Africa. The
conference was a follow on to similar meetings organized by
the IPA in Abuja (2001) and Dakar (2002). The goal of the
conference was to review the effectiveness of the ECOWAS
security mechanism and to make recommendations for
improvements to the African Union and UN.

The Role of ECOWAS
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3. (U) Participants noted that ECOWAS was set up to deal
with economic and development issues, and was growing into
its role in handling conflict situations. ECOWAS Executive
Secretary Chambas and others praised ECOWAS' role in

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conflict resolution, but stressed the need to do better at
conflict prevention and post-conflict development. He
highlighted the need for a regional standby force with
possible US training, further development of the
peacekeeping training center in Mali, expansion of the war
college in Abuja, and adoption of an ECOWAS small arms
convention by December 2005. Conference participants were
generally pessimistic about the African Union's ability to
play a more effective role in conflict prevention.

Institutional Issues
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4. (U) Participants highlighted the need to improve
coordination between ECOWAS and the UN. ECOWAS will hold
consultations with the EU beginning on November 8 in Accra,
with peace and security issues expected to be at the
forefront. Chambas stated that the International Contact
Group of Liberia is expanding its mandate to include Guinea-
Bissau and Cote d'Ivoire, and will now be called the
International Contact Group on the Mano River Region.
Participants discussed the creation of an ECOWAS rapid
response force. Despite the challenges ECOWAS faces,
participants noted that ECOWAS has greater institutional
capacity than most African regional organizations.


5. (U) The Program for Coordination and Assistance for
Security and Development in Africa (PCASED) will be renamed
the ECOWAS Small Arms Project. Participants discussed
turning the ECOWAS moratorium on small arms and light
weapons (SALW) into a convention by December 2005. While
early warning remains a weakness, Chambas said ECOWAS is
working with experts from the US, UK and France to improve
this capacity. Chambas said he expects significant support
for the SALW unit from the UK, France and the Netherlands.

Regional Conflicts
--------------


6. (SBU) Abou Moussa, Deputy Special Representative of the
UN Secretary General (SSRG) in Liberia, told participants
Liberia was making progress and could recover fully with
adequate resources and a few years of rebuilding. While
acknowledging challenges such as corruption, unemployment,
political infighting, he said Liberia has made substantial
improvements in strengthening the rule of law, he said.
Moussa was confident that the October 2005 elections will go
ahead as planned. Rebuilding infrastructure is key to
strengthening the peace, he said, underscoring the
importance of speeding the flow of donor aid into the
country.


7. (SBU) With the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) set
to draw down by December 2005, the country continues to make
progress, according to Daudi Ngelautwa Mwakawago, SSRG in
Sierra Leone. He acknowledged the need to reform the
judiciary, restructure the army, and improve the
infrastructure in Sierra Leone, but he presented a generally
positive picture of a security force and economy rebuilding.


8. (SBU) The SRSG for Cte d'Ivoire Albert Tevoedjre was
downbeat about the situation in Ivory Coast, saying "every
day brings a new crisis" and that a major crisis could be
looming several months away. He opined that next year's
scheduled election could result in new crisis if not well-
organized because President Gbagbo, who Tevoedjre said
remains unwilling to compromise, would then have no
legitimate claim to hold onto power. Tevoedjre refuted some
reports that there are divisions among the Forces Nouvelles,
while asserting that the Cote D'Ivoire army no longer wants
to fight.


9. (SBU) Participants expressed strong concern about the
situation in Guinea. Brigadier-General Charles Mankatah,
Commandant of the Kofi Annan Center, told poloff privately
that it was obvious to him Guinea would be the next failed
state in West Africa. Some conference participants called
on Ghanaian President John Kufuor, as Chairman of ECOWAS,
and Nigerian President Obasanjo (because he is seen as
respected by Guinea's President Cont) to go to Conakry
soon. Participants were critical that little was being done
by ECOWAS or others in the region to try to prevent a Guinea
crisis. ECOWAS reps responded that they had met with
President Cont prior to the 2003 election and found him
unwilling to compromise.


10. (SBU) Ghana's Deputy Foreign Minister Kwasi Osei-Adjei
addressed the conference, highlighting Ghana's commitment to
o
international peacekeeping and to playing a constructive
role in enhancing the security environment in West Africa.
He noted that Ghana had been providing some financial aid
and diplomatic support, through ECOWAS, to help stabilize
Guinea Bissau. President Kufuor continued to "work behind
the scenes" on Guinea Bissau. When asked why Ghana had not
succumbed to conflict like so many of its neighbors, he
responded that Ghanaian politics is inclusive, allowing for
input from civil society, traditional chiefs and others, who
have a voice through functioning democratic institutions.

Comment
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11. (SBU) The conference highlighted some of the vexing
challenges in regional conflict resolution - how to
reconcile humanitarian intervention with sovereignty issues,
whether pushing for early elections can exacerbate
instability, how to improve early warning systems and
preventive intervention, and how to best coordinate
multilateral efforts. Conference participants believed
ECOWAS recognizes the urgency for and has the capability of
playing a more effective role in conflict prevention. There
were no specific follow-on action items proposed, although
the IPA will publish a report on the conference in several
months.
YATES