SUDAN: SANT'EGIDIO OFFERS ROME MEDIATION VENUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 002892

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR AF/SPG - TSMITH, AF/RSA - BSCHOFIELD, IO/UNP, AND
EUR/WE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2014
TAGS: PREL SU VT
SUBJECT: SUDAN: SANT'EGIDIO OFFERS ROME MEDIATION VENUE
FOR DARFUR PEACE TALKS

Classified By: Ambassador James Nicholson. Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY and ACTION REQUEST: The Rome-based
Sant'Egidio Community, which specializes in conflict
mediation and has ties with both the Sudanese government and
main rebel groups, conveyed its interest in hosting informal
discussions at its Rome-based headquarters to establish a
political dialogue aimed at bringing about a resolution of
the ongoing conflict in Darfur. Sant'Egidio believes Rome
could offer a neutral venue acceptable to all the parties.
The Community's representatives at recent Addis Ababa talks
had mentioned this offer informally to U.S. officials, but
wanted to make a more formal offer to the parties involved if
such a step would in principle be acceptable to the U.S. If
the U.S. would be amenable to Rome as a venue, Sant'Egidio
would welcome U.S. support to secure the participation of the
government and opposition groups. Sant'Egidio maintains
excellent ties with the African Union, and would also work to
ensure their involvement should discussions eventually take
place in Rome. (See Action Request para. 7.) End Summary.


2. (C) Sant' Egidio Community representative Mario Giro
contacted DCM July 23 to reiterate the Community's interest
in offering a venue for discussions between the Sudanese
government and rebel groups aimed at establishing a genuine
political dialogue and defusing the situation in Darfur.
Giro noted that he had conveyed this offer informally to U.S.
officials at the recent African Union-sponsored talks in
Addis Ababa, but wanted to pursue it further. Before
discussing this further with the parties to the conflict,
Sant' Egidio wanted to secure U.S. support in principle.


3. (C) Sant'Egidio has well-developed contacts with both the
Sudanese government and the major rebel groups in Darfur,
and, according to Giro, is trusted by all sides. The SLA's
(Sudanese Liberation Army) leader has been to Rome three
times in recent months for meetings with Sant'Egidio, and
Sant' Egidio has met with JEM (Justice and Equality Movement)
leaders in Paris in February. Giro also met the Sudanese
President and Vice Foreign Minister during his recent visit
to the region. Giro understood that the rebel groups had
reservations about continuing discussQ
Q,QzGf}to facilitate their travel),preferring
Geneva, where they had close links to the Human Dialogue
Center. The government, however, would likely be reluctant
to go to Geneva, which they would see as a venue favoring the
rebel groups. For these reasons, Giro believed Sant'Egidio's
Rome headquarters could offer a neutral venue out of the
limelight for discussions on Darfur.


4. (C) Giro observed that if the international community
agrees on the need for a political dialogue on Darfur, it
would be necessary to find a better venue than Addis Ababa,
and a better mediator than the African Union (AU).
Sant'Egidio was prepared to offer their headquarters -- the
site of the successful mediation of the Mozambique civil war
and other African conflicts -- and their services as mediator
to both the government and rebels. Before doing so, however,
Sant' Egidio wanted to vet their proposal with the U.S.
Specifically, Giro asked whether this proposal would be
acceptable in principle to the U.S. and solicited U.S. views
on the benefits of a genuine political dialogue. If the U.S.
reaction is positive, Sant' Egidio would look to the U.S. to
convey to the parties our support for such a dialogue in Rome.


5. (C) Giro emphasized that Sant' Egidio, which is
concluding an arrangement for observer status with the
African Union, was sensitive to the need to incorporate the
AU into any dialogue. Giro said the Community's relations
with the AU were such that they could finesse AU
participation without offending the organization, and would
also ensure the AU's involvement in a way agreeable to all
the parties.


6. (C) As to the content of such talks, Giro suggested that
the first meetings, which would be confidential, would likely
aim at establishing an agenda. Once an agenda was
established, the meetings could be expanded to include
observers, including the AU. Giro noted that he understood
some were skeptical of a political dialogue, preferring to
focus simply on a cease-fire and a humanitarian dialogue.
The risk with this approach, he believed, was that the
underlying problems could easily resurface again, or could
have negative influence on the peace talks in Kenya or
spillover effects on stability in Chad.


7. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Embassy requests Department review
Sant' Egidio's offer to host confidential discussions between
the Sudanese government and rebel groups and advise Embassy
of reservations/support for this proposal to convey to Sant'


Egidio's senior representatives in Rome. As noted above,
Sant' Egidio has a long and distinguished history of conflict
mediation, particularly in Africa, where they worked closely
with the U.S to end the Mozambican civil war, and have
recently been engaged in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Sudan.

Nicholson


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2004VATICA02892 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL