ITALY - DOUBTS ON INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION FORCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 002765

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR AF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2014
TAGS: PREL PHUM PREF PARM MOPS AU SU IT HUMAN RIGHTS
SUBJECT: ITALY - DOUBTS ON INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION FORCE
FOR DARFUR

REF: STATE 153857

Classified By: A/PolMil Counselor Kelly Degnan. Reasons 1.5 (b)(d).


1. (C) Stefano Dejak, MFA East Africa Office Director,
expressed doubts and concerns regarding an expanded
international protection force for Darfur. He stated that
introducing such a force at this stage may be premature and
that internationalizing the presence on the ground may not be
wise. He stated that he would share reftel points with MFA
and other officials.


2. (C) Dejak stated that the current plans for an AU
monitoring mission should be completed before considering an
expanded international protection force. He stressed the need
to ensure the success of the current effort to deploy troops
to protect the AU mission. He stated that the main stumbling
block to moving forward with this mission is the GOS argument
that monitoring mechanisms should be independent of a
protection force and that Darfur should not be an exception.
According to Dejak, this argument "does not hold water" but
would be even more pronounced in the context of a broader
international protection force.


3. (C) Dejak agreed with the critical need to rapidly deliver
humanitarian assistance and stressed that to be successful in
this effort, the international community must continue
pressuring the GOS on its commitments. He highlighted the EU
Foreign Minister's statement of July 12, Italy's support for
our UNSC resolution on Sudan, Italy's participation in the
EU's military observer group supporting the AU monitors
(scheduled to travel this weekend),work on the monitoring
mission's protection force, and current efforts to find
funding for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights' proposal to send six human rights observers to
Darfur, as examples of the type of pressure the EU and Italy
are exerting on the GOS. He also focused on the recent visits
by Secretary Powell, UNSYG Annan and MFA Undersecretary for
Human Rights Margherita Boniver as the "unabated pressure"
needed to influence GOS attitudes.

Visit Rome's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/rome/index.cf m

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2004ROME02765 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL