NETHERLANDS/EU/AFRICA: DUTCH SEEKING SUPPORT FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 002776

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR AND AF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2014
TAGS: PREL PHUM RW CG BY NL EUN
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/EU/AFRICA: DUTCH SEEKING SUPPORT FOR
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE

REF: NEWTON-BUCKNEBERG EMAIL 10/20/04

Classified By: POL Counselor Andrew Schofer for reasons 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: The Dutch are fully invested in the November
19-20 Great Lakes Conference (GLC),having contributed
500,000 euros (and reportedly considering doubling that
amount). The Dutch will table by the end of December a draft
EU strategy for the Great Lakes region, based on the
long-term development strategy associated with the GLC, and
will press for its adoption within the next 8 months. The EU
will discuss the status of preparations for the GLC and
expected EU participation at next week's GAERC meeting. The
Dutch are also looking to garner additional international
support and seek closer coordination with the U.S. in the
region in general. End Summary.

Dutch Drafting EU Strategy for Great Lakes
--------------


2. (C) At MFA's request, Poloff met on October 26 with Senior
Policy Advisor for the Great Lakes Andre Dellevoet to discuss
the latest preparations for the November 19-20 Great Lakes
Conference. Dellevoet had just returned from the Second GLC
PrepCom and told poloff he believed the African delegations,
along with the African Union and United Nations, are fully
engaged and on board with the Great Lakes Conference. He
also revealed that the Dutch Presidency is currently drafting
an EU strategy for the region, to include a long- term
development perspective along the lines of the Great Lakes
Conference, which will be tabled by the end of the Dutch
Presidency in December. Dellovoet said he expected this
strategy to be adopted before the end of the Luxembourg
Presidency next June.


3. (C) Dellevoet shared with poloff the draft declarations to
be agreed at the November GLC Summit (faxed to AF/C October
27),and said the document had convinced him that "Dar Es
Salaam will not be a failure." Dellevoet explained that the
Dutch foresee the draft declarations will provide the basis
for action plans to be created prior to a second GLC Summit
in June which, he hoped, would yield binding international
protocols. He acknowledged that to a certain extent it
"remains to be seen" whether subsequent action plans and,
eventually, implementation can all follow feasibly from the
Conference. He reiterated, however, that if the Conference
can yield such concrete steps, the Dutch believe they can
convince the EU to come on board fully with a GLC-based
long-term strategy.


4. (C) Separately, MFA Director of Political Affairs Jaap
Werner told POLCOUNS October 26 that the Belgians have placed
the Great Lakes on the agenda of the November 2 EU General
Affairs and External Relations Committee (GAERC) under "all
other business." Dellevoet told Poloff October 28 he expects
"no breathtaking new decisions" but that the GAERC will be
updated on the status of Conference preparations and discuss
the expected level of EU representation at the GLC.

Dutch Believe Africans Seized With Wider View
-------------- -


5. (C) Drawing from ref points, poloff outlined to Dellevoet
U.S. concerns about the unwieldy scope and expanding costs
associated with the Conference. While Dellevoet agreed that
"certain issues and concerns remain" with regard to the
Conference, he believed they were not insurmountable. He
emphasized that the AU and Africans were taking "greater
ownership" of the Conference, which appears to hold the
"conviction of the African delegations." Dellevoet asked
that the international community appreciate the "dynamism" of
factors and personalities at play; as one example, he stated
that the Zambian leader holds enormous respect among the
African community and can easily bring the group to task, but
that a more limited forum would not provide the same dynamic.



6. (C) Dellevoet emphasized that "in the African view" the
issues at stake in the region are much broader than strictly
politics and security, and expressed concern that a narrow
approach such as that of the tripartite talks depends solely
on specific leaders who hold limited authority and
legitimacy. Resulting agreements, he said, might prove
fragile over the longer term. The more comprehensive
approach embodied by the Great Lakes Conference had already
won the buy-in of the African community -- which Dellevoet
attributed to the fact that the GLC is "broad enough" to
address the "complicated interlinkages" underlying the
conflict such as natural resources, population and
development. He argued that these issues are also "crucial
issues as Africans perceive them" and warned that such
linkages could prove spoilers to political settlements
reached separately. Emphasizing the importance of finding a
resolution process that is meaningful to Africans, he
commented that "Nobody has to tell the Africans how serious
this is."

Dutch Seeking Further International Support
--------------


7. (C) Dellevoet argued that without concerted international
community support to move the situation along, the gains
recently made would be lost. Dellevoet stated that the
"Group of Friends" is not sufficiently coherent to support
the AU/UN effort. He estimated that the EU was not quite
ready to take a more active role, although he thought the
European Commission itself would like to do so. Dellevoet
said the Dutch would be willing to come to Washington to
discuss a common approach, acknowledging that they would also
be requesting financial support for the Great Lakes
Conference. When poloff reminded him that the U.S. had
already made clear (ref) that it would not provide voluntary
funding, Dellevoet pressed on undeterred, describing the
mutual benefits short of additional funding that could be
gained in streamlining activities and identifying a joint
political and/or development approach in the region.


8. (C) Comment: The Dutch are quite literally invested in the
success of the Great Lakes Conference, having contributed
500,000 euros already and considering another 500,000 euro
contribution to be decided by mid-November. Dellevoet
rightly noted that Dutch Development Minister Van Ardenne has
staked her political reputation on the success of Dutch
initiatives in the Sudan and the Great Lakes region, for
which she has been the primary champion. We should expect
the Dutch to continue pressing in support of what they
consider the best chance for long-term development success in
the region.
SOBEL