Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05NEWDELHI1554
2005-03-01 12:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy New Delhi
Cable title:  

US-INDIA PEACEKEEPING JOINT WORKING GROUP MEETING

Tags:  PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM KPKO XA IN 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 NEW DELHI 001554 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM KPKO XA IN
SUBJECT: US-INDIA PEACEKEEPING JOINT WORKING GROUP MEETING

Classified By: PolCouns Geoffrey Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 NEW DELHI 001554

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM KPKO XA IN
SUBJECT: US-INDIA PEACEKEEPING JOINT WORKING GROUP MEETING

Classified By: PolCouns Geoffrey Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: At the fourth US-India Joint Working Group
on Peacekeeping on February 14, IO PDAS Swigert underscored
US concerns about sexual exploitation committed within UN
peacekeeping ranks and asked India, a main troop contributor,
to play a leading role to ensure that the problem is dealt
with forcefully and effectively. The US delegation
encouraged India to consider the merits of the "Peacebuilding
Commission" recommended in the UN High-Level Panel (HLP)
report, but India reacted coolly to the notion that a new
body be created as a Committee of the Security Council. Both
countries agreed that the increasing number and complexity of
peacekeeping operations (PKOs) and the difficulty of
transitioning from peacekeeping efforts to economic
development are growing burdens on the international
peacekeeping system. A "menu approach," "hybrid
interventions," and regional approaches to peacekeeping were
discussed as options to alleviate some of the burden on
troop-contributing countries (TCCs). India raised UNSC
reform in several contexts, asserting that current Security
Council procedures lack transparency and that the UNSC is not
representative of the developing world. The group agreed to
convene a meeting of working-level experts to discuss
operational issues and construct a framework for the next
meeting, but did not specify a timeframe. End Summary.


2. (C) In opening remarks, both delegation heads expressed
confidence that growing Indo-US relations would also enhance
collaboration in peacekeeping efforts. MEA Joint Secretary
Prakash specifically cited the US Enhanced International
Peacekeeping Capabilities (EIPC) Initiative funding and joint
exercises with the US Pacific Command as bringing the two
governments even closer. Prakash hailed the timely and close
cooperation between the two militaries in the aftermath of
the Tsunami as further evidence of an expanding military
relationship. IO PDAS Swigert emphasized the increasing

strain expanded peacekeeping activity places on the UN, and
explained the challenge for the USG as it responds to growing
demands while maintaining troop levels in Iraq and cutting
domestic spending at home. Summaries of agenda items follow.


Sexual Exploitation in Peacekeeping Operations
-------------- -


3. (C) Swigert stressed that the large-scale "sex for food"
scandal in the DRC PKO will severely undermine the UN's
ability to carry out UNSC resolutions. He made three
recommendations to enforce the Secretary General's "zero
tolerance" policy for abuse and exploitation:

-- All civil and military PKO personnel should receive
training in the UN Code of Conduct and human trafficking;

-- Professional investigators, not UN human rights workers,
should investigate allegations so that evidence can be used
in civil or military trials;

-- Since the UN lacks prosecution authority, Special
Representatives of the Secretary General for PKOs should have
appropriate disciplinary and administrative tools to deal
decisively with offenders.


4. (C) Swigert noted that India's standing as a leading
contributor to UN PKOs puts it in an ideal position to
propose corrective action to the UN, e.g., that all PKO
participant nations be required to sign an agreement to
uphold the UN "zero tolerance" policy and take appropriate
disciplinary and administrative measures against violators.
The Indian delegate responded that because this issue had
only recently come to light, the GOI was not yet in a
position to endorse such a recommendation and was still
evaluating the problem and proposed solutions. Swigert
reiterated the world must see the UN taking serious action on
its own policy, not becoming mired in extended debate.

Indian Views on Multidimensional Peace Operations
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Prakash highlighted India's support of the UN system
overall and its significant contributions to UN PKOs
specifically. He enumerated several changes which add to the
complexity of contemporary PKOs, including:

-- Nature of conflict: Non-state and intra-state actors are
becoming more prevalent, as are "spoilers" and terrorists;

-- Number of PKO participants: What was once a strictly
military operation now includes civil police, human rights
and election monitors, jailers, constitution writers, etc.;

-- Mandates: "Hybrid" mandates, i.e., where the UN takes
over from a non-UN regional or national force, non-UN PKOs,
and UN-mandated, but coalition-run PKOs. Prakash noted,
however, that the regional approach to PKOs is not a
universal model since there is no regional security
organization in South Asia similar to NATO or the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS);


6. (C) Prakash then raised UNSC reform, a recurring theme
from the Indian side during the meeting. Recognizing that
most conflicts are in developing countries, he argued that
the UNSC as presently constituted was not representative of
the developing world and lacks transparency. Further, the
"CNN/BBC factor" is creating more demand for intervention in
areas where there is little capacity for an effective
response by either the UN or regional entities.


7. (C) Swigert acknowledged that a regional approach to PKOs
could raise questions about the legitimacy of such
interventions, but added that it had great potential as well,
pointing to the African Union (AU) mission for Darfur as an
important example where a regional organization could do more
than the UN to encourage a cease-fire by deploying monitors.
On UNSC reform, Swigert stated that the US is seriously
considering the recommendations presented in the UNSC's High
Level Panel report, and is open to proposals for improving
the organization, including the possible expansion of the
Security Council, and stressing the importance of broad
international consensus before adopting any structural
reforms.

Peacekeeping Lessons Learned
--------------


8. (C) Identifying common ideas about how PKOs can be more
effective in the future, US and Indian officials shared
lessons learned from their experiences in Haiti, Liberia, and
the DRC. Col. (ret) Brown presented a non-paper outlining US
lessons learned in PKOs in Haiti and Liberia, including:

-- Military action should only be an interim measure until
other options are available, such as intervention by a
regional coalition or the UN;

-- Selecting a PKO leader with experience and credibility is
critical for earning respect within the affected country and
among the international community;

-- The UNSC must give UN planners authority to procure
materiel and deploy staff rapidly; and

-- Root causes of instability must be addressed over the
long-term by appropriate international, regional, and
national entities, not by the military.


9. (C) Group Capt Gill, a Senior India Air Staff Officer
recently returned from a command in MONUC in the DRC,
reviewed positive factors in the Indian deployment in and
around Bunia, beginning in July 2003. Among the factors Gill
noted for the Indian units' success there:

-- Broad authority for Force Commanders;

-- Formation of a quick response team with airlift
capability;

-- Active search for intelligence inputs;

-- Relative success sealing the border (he admitted the
border was only about 60 percent "sealed");

-- Community involvement and immediate impact projects to
improve infrastructure in their AOR;

-- A specific MOU detailing scope of work, vice standard MOU
language; and

-- Committed troops with a high level of discipline.


10. (C) On the oft-discussed need for more robust mandates,
Army Col Pithawala asserted that even "Chapter Six" missions,
i.e., pure peacekeeping operations, must have the means and
training to be more assertive so "spoilers do not get the
upper hand" and endanger troops. Implementing a more robust
mandate, however, takes additional time for training and
"unlearning habits and mind-sets from previous missions."
Underscoring the need for resources for intelligence
gathering for both Chapter Six and Seven operations,
Pithawala stressed the "need to spend resources to cultivate
sources."

Role of Police in Peacekeeping
--------------


11. (C) Moran emphasized the necessity of civilian police
(CIVPOL) units, along with functioning legal, justice, and
prison systems to restore stability. He also discussed the
challenge of coordinating the efforts of peacekeeping
missions, including uniformed troops and CIVPOL, with those
of UN agencies, bilateral donors and NGOs, noting that
coordination problems are particularly acute in the case of
demobilization, disarmament and reintegration campaigns. He
outlined recent efforts to tackle complex crisis coordination
issues within the USG through the creation of the State
Department's Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and
Stabilization (S/CRS). Noting that the HLP had taken note of
some of these same difficult coordination issues and
recommended the creation of a "Peacebuilding Commission," he
distributed a paper describing the USG position to support
the establishment of such a body under the Security Council.



12. (C) In the discussion that followed, the Indians
responded that their national police and paramilitary forces
have much to offer PKOs due to cultural diversity, IT skills,
English language ability, and experience with numerous
low-intensity conflicts at home. The Indian delegation also
stated their police are better suited to conduct CIVPOL
training than their European counterparts because of this
real-world experience, and have set up a training facility
using UN PK models.

Peacebuilding Commission
--------------


13. (C) In the following discussion on the UN HLP proposal
to create a Peacebuilding Commission, Swigert explained that
such a commission should be a subsidiary of the UNSC with
observer participants from IFI's and ECOSOC, among others.
Swigert stressed that this did not represent encroachment by
the Security Council on General Assembly or ECOSOC issues.
While the GOI has not taken an official position, Prakash
expressed reservations that the proposed Peacebuilding
Commission should be a Security Council Committee. Other GOI
officials were concerned about how "failing" states would be
identified, and felt the Security Council should stick to
handling breaches of security and not have its authority
extended to include failing states.

Emerging Challenges in Contemporary Peacekeeping
-------------- ---


14. (U) The MEA's Nandini outlined overarching and
operational challenges facing future PKOs, including:

-- Increasing number, complexity, and expense of PKOs;

-- The "CNN/BBC factor" which generates attention and demand
for action around the world;

-- Formalizing more flexible means of engagement, e.g.,
"hybrid interventions" of regional forces or other entities,
followed by the UN;

-- The need for rapid deployment in the face of perennial
resource constraints;

-- Safety and security of troops;

-- Ensuring integration of all actors and effective
transition at the right time; and

-- "Soft challenges," such as increasing women's
participation in PKOs, preventing sexual exploitation, etc.


15. (C) Nandini asserted that "hybrid interventions" in
which regional or national troops would be deployed rapidly
to critical situations in the months before a UNPKO can
deploy should be standard operations. Formalizing this
arrangement would ensure rapid crisis stabilization and give
a UNPKO time to deploy. Discussion turned to the transition
between "green helmets" and "blue helmets." The Indian
delegation expressed concern that UN missions are often
perceived as "less robust" following a peacekeeping
intervention by US or other regional forces. Prakash asked
if the US would consider joining the "blue helmets" during
the transition period or extending their stay as "green
helmets" after the "blue helmets" have arrived. Swigert
noted a variety of ways the Security Council had acted to
allay concerns about capabilities of UN missions, for
instance by providing a strong Chapter Seven mandate and by
recruiting capable, well-trained forces to follow the
multinational forces, as India had done in following the EU
"green helmets" in Eastern DRC. Swigert added that the US
saw its contribution as most effective in providing "green
helmets" in select circumstances, as the US had done in Haiti
and in off-shore forces in Liberia before UN blue helmets
took over. The US evaluates each case individually, he
stressed.


16. (C) Citing the recent downturn in events in Bangladesh
and Nepal -- the first and fourth largest TCCs, respectively
-- MEA's Prakash asked whether "democracy-deficient"
countries should be allowed to participate as peacekeepers.
Rather than trying to formalize a "democracy test," Swigert
proposed that all TCCs should commit to uphold the UN Code of
Conduct.


17. (C) As the destination of 80 percent of the UN's
peacekeeping troops, including the two largest PKOs in the
world (DRC and Liberia),Africa presents a special challenge
to PKOs, according to Nandini. The question is how to
support efforts to find "African solutions to African
problems," be it through the African Union (AU) or regional
configurations like ECOWAS. Prakash questioned the AU's
capacity to respond effectively to current peacekeeping
demands on the continent, adding that India would watch
closely how the G8 responds to these needs. "Will the UN
always be the first call and the last hope for Africa?" he
asked.

Indo-US Cooperation in Peacekeeping
--------------

18. (C) Col Rajput presented an overview of the United
Services Institutions' Center for UN Peacekeeping
(USI/CUNPK). CUNPK offers training capsules for junior and
senior officers, military observers and logistics officers,
and conducts an outdoor military/CIVPOL field exercise that
the UN has taken as a model for PK training. Indo-US
cooperation has included a command post exercise, a lessons
learned seminar with USPACOM, and $800,000 in EIPC funds used
to enhance capabilities of the Center.


19. (C) Concluding, Moran presented an overview of the new
Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI),the successor of
EIPC. The five-year, $660 million program, with immediate
focus on capacity building in Africa, would provide training
and equipment for 75,000 peacekeeping personnel as well as
deployment support and enhancement of gendarme-like
capabilities. Moran stated that the US had found past
cooperation with India under the EIPC program very fruitful,
that the US had taken note of India's expertise in
gendarme-like training in particular, and that the US
welcomes India's interest in continued cooperation with the
US in the peacekeeping training field.

Participants
--------------


20. (U) USG Participants:

Jim Swigert, PDAS, State/IO
Roger Moran, Dpty Dir, State/IO/Peacekeeping
LtCol James Thomas, Military Advisor, State/IO
Col (ret) Dallas Brown, Director of Peacekeeping, DOD/OSD
Maj Greg Winston, ODC, Embassy New Delhi
Stacy Gilbert, Pol-MilOff, Embassy New Delhi (notetaker)
MAJ Richard Bairett, PolOff, Embassy New Delhi (notetaker)

GOI Participants:

B.S. Prakash, MEA Joint Secretary, UN Political (UNP)
Bimal Julka, MOD Joint Secretary, Ground & Air
Hamid Ali Rao, MEA Joint Secretary, UN Economic & Social
Brig B.V. Nair, Army Deputy DG, Staff Duties Directorate
Saleem Ali, Inspector General (HQ),Indo-Tibetan Border
Police
Col Cyrus A. Pithawala, Director, SD 3 UN Cell, Army HQ
Col R.K. Rajput, Secretary, Centre for UN Peacekeeping
Gp. Capt K.S. Gill, Senior Air Staff Officer, Advance HQ

K. Nandini, MEA Under Secretary, UNP
Raj Srivastava, MEA Under Secretary, W. Asia & North Africa
Siddhartha Nath, MEA Attache, UNP


21. (U) IO PDAS Swigert cleared this cable.
MULFORD