Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ADDISABABA1581
2006-06-09 16:23:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Addis Ababa
Cable title:  

AFRICAN UNION CHAIRPERSON FORMALLY REQUESTS NATO

Tags:  KPKO MOPS NATO PREL SU AU UN 
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VZCZCXRO5278
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091623Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1017
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 001581 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/SPG, EUR/RPM, IO/PSC, D:T.SMITH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPKO MOPS NATO PREL SU AU UN
SUBJECT: AFRICAN UNION CHAIRPERSON FORMALLY REQUESTS NATO
ASSISTANCE FOR MISSION IN SUDAN


ADDIS ABAB 00001581 001.2 OF 003


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 001581

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/SPG, EUR/RPM, IO/PSC, D:T.SMITH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPKO MOPS NATO PREL SU AU UN
SUBJECT: AFRICAN UNION CHAIRPERSON FORMALLY REQUESTS NATO
ASSISTANCE FOR MISSION IN SUDAN


ADDIS ABAB 00001581 001.2 OF 003



1. (SBU) SUMMARY. AU Commission Chairperson Konare has
formally requested NATO assistance for AMIS in a June 2
letter to NATO Secretary-General Scheffer, but confines the
scope of such assistance to manning a handful of advisory
positions in AMIS's Forward Joint Mission Headquarters and
providing training in specific areas. The letter calls for
"in-depth study" of NATO's offer to provide "on-the-job"
capacity building, and invites NATO to consult with the AU on
"other areas of possible assistance." END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) In a June 7 note verbale to the Norwegian Embassy in
Addis Ababa (forwarded by Post to AF/SPG and AF/SE),
subsequently distributed by the AU to all partners (i.e.,
non-member donor states, as well as the EU and NATO),the
African Union formally transmitted a June 2 letter from AU
Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare to NATO
Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Konare's letter
requests NATO assistance to the African Union Mission in
Sudan (AMIS) in three specific areas:

-- providing personnel to man the Joint Operations Center
(JOC) of the AMIS Forward Joint Mission Headquarters, to be
established in El Fasher, Sudan;

-- training and assistance to establish standardized
assessment procedures for pre-deployment certification of
troops and individuals to be deployed to Darfur;

-- training and assistance to help the AU establish a
mechanism to compile "lessons learned" from AMIS, for future
AU peace support operations that may be conducted by the
nascent African Standby Force (ASF).


3. (U) In the letter to NATO, Konare also refers to NATO's
offer to provide "on-the-job capacity building," but observes
that "there is a need for a more in-depth study as to how
NATO, with other Partners, could provide technical assistance
at appropriate levels." Konare's letter concludes with a
recommendation that a NATO technical team visit the AU
Commission for consultations with the Commission's Darfur
Integrated Task Force (DITF) and "explore other areas of

possible assistance based on NATO's offer."

--------------
PARTNER RESPONSE TO AU REQUESTS
--------------


4. (U) JOC/FJMHQ: The AU Commission formally requested six
advisors to staff specific positions in the Joint Operations
Center of AMIS in a May 18 note verbale to partners
(forwarded by Post to AF/SPG and AF/SE) outlining the
proposed structure of a Forward Joint Mission Headquarters,
that would be headed by a newly created AMIS Deputy Head of
Mission. In its note verbale, the AU explained that the JOC,
an intelligence element, Force Generation and Campaign Plan
Unit, and Civil-Military Cooperation Unit (CIMIC),were to be
subordinate to a Joint Operations Staff and a Joint Logistics
Staff to the headed by a Joint Chief of Staff. The Joint
Chief of Staff, in turn, would report to the AMIS Deputy Head
of Mission (who has yet to be identified, but is widely
expected to be a retired African brigadier). (NOTE: Such a
joint structure is intended to harmonize military and
civilian police (CIVPOL) operations of AMIS, but has been
viewed with skepticism by the AMIS Force Commander, who would
lose much of his current authority and be subordinate to the
as yet unnamed Deputy Head of Mission. END NOTE.)


5. (U) In response to this request, Addis-based partner
representatives have agreed that the UN will provide the
requested advisor to the officer in charge of plans (J5),as
that will facilitate planning for the transition of AMIS to a
UN peacekeeping operation; the USG will provide advisors for
the officers in charge of information analysis (J2) and
civil-military cooperation (J9); and the EU (likely the UK)
will provide an advisor for the officer in charge of
operations (J3),as well as a military advisor and a police
advisor for the Joint Chief of Staff. In addition to the six
advisors requested by the AU, Canada has announced its
intention to provide an expert to work on air operations,
particularly as Canada is the chief donor for helicopter
block hours and is concerned about rationalizing the use of
helicopters for operational purposes (i.e., conducting

ADDIS ABAB 00001581 002 OF 003


patrols, vs. transporting food stocks or VIP visitors).


6. (SBU) The NATO Senior Military Liaison Officer (SMLO) in
Addis Ababa does not expect NATO to provide any advisors in
response to this request, citing a political decision of the
North Atlantic Council not to do so, due to French
opposition. Ad hoc trainers, however, are a possibility.


7. (SBU) While NATO is thus not responding directly to the
first request listed in Konare's letter, an Amcit NATO
officer from Joint Command-Lisbon has already arrived in
Addis Ababa to compile "lessons learned" for AMIS. AU DITF
officials originally challenged his presence at the AU
Commission, as he arrived without terms of reference, prior
to Konare's formal request. NATO SMLO explained to DITF
officials that the "lessons learned" expert from NATO had
been requested verbally by DITF Head Ambassador Ki Doulaye
Corentin in a May 17 meeting with visiting NATO Deputy
Assistant Secretary-General for Operations Maurits Jochems.


8. (SBU) COMMENT: Konare's formal request to NATO is a
welcome development, but limits the scope of NATO assistance
to specific areas. While acknowledging "other areas of
possible assistance," it does not address information or
intelligence-sharing, nor does it provide carte blanche for
the large-scale presence of NATO troops in Sudan. The UN-AU
joint technical assessment mission, led by UN
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean
Marie Guehenno and AU Peace and Security Commissioner
Ambassador Said Djinnit, which is to depart for Sudan today
for a three-week mission, is likely to identify additional
needs that partners, including NATO, may be able to fill.
END COMMENT.


9. (U) Text of Konare's request to NATO follows.

BEGIN TEXT.

BC/FK/NATO/606.06
Addis Ababa, 2 June 2006

Your Excellency,

I with to refer to our recent discussions regarding the
assistance offered by NATO to the African Union Mission in
the Sudan (AMIS) and also to the discussions between NATO
representatives and AU officials on this issue.

I wish to express to you our appreciation that had been
provided to AMIS by NATO: coordination on strategic air
transport in support of troop induction and rotation,
training of AMIS HQ and DITF staff, and support given to the
UN for the MAPEX.

I am pleased to inform you that, in view of our fruitful
cooperation, the AU is seeking further NATO assistance to
AMIS in the following areas of activity:

a) Joint Operations Centre
--------------

The organizational structure, the Terms of Reference and
resource requirements for the Forward Joint Mission
Headquarters, of which the JOC is a part, has been prepared
with the participation of AU Partners, in particular the UN
and the EU, and the establishment of the Centre has already
begun. A copy of the study has been given to NATO. The AU
has requested experts from Partners for certain positions in
the Centre in an advisory role. NATO could certainly provide
assistance within this framework.

Furthermore, the Commission is considering forwarding a
request for additional assistance from Partners to strengthen
the Forward Joint Mission Headquarters and we envisage NATO
participation in this endeavor, especially as it related to
the management and operation of the Forward Joint Mission
Headquarters.

I suggest that NATO staff discuss the modalities of
implementation with the Darfur Integrated Task Force (DITF)
and Senior AMIS staff.


ADDIS ABAB 00001581 003 OF 003


b) Unit Pre-Deployment Certification
--------------

The issue of training, whether inside the Troop Contributing
Countries (TCCs) or in-theatre, is critical to the
operational effectiveness and efficiency of the Mission. In
this respect, the AU Commission issues guidelines to TCCs to
ensure that personnel are trained to accomplish individual
and collective tasks. What remains is the task of
verification inside the TCCs, by the DITF and the Mission
Headquarters based on established criteria, to ensure that
the standards of training have been met. Furthermore,
training is a continuous process, so the pre-deployment
training has to be augmented by in-theatre training. A
training cell has been established in the Forward Joint
Mission Headquarters for the purpose of identifying the
requirements and coordinating implementation. This will,
among other things, help to standardize the training of
Mission personnel. NATO in collaboration with other Partners
can make significant contribution in this area through a
program of training the trainers both at the DITF and the
training cell of the Forward Joint Mission Headquarters,
among others. Furthermore, NATO can help to establish
standardized assessment procedures for certification of all
proposed individual personnel and troop unit contribution.

c) Lessons Learned
--------------

AMIS represents a significant achievement in the African
Union's peace support operations efforts. It is very
important to systematically review and document all areas of
activities of AMIS, which will enable the Mission to improve
its operational capacity, as well as provide valuable records
of lessons learned for future AU peace support operations,
within the context of the African Standby Force (ASF). In
this respect, therefore, we would like NATO to join the other
partners to utilize the Train-the-Trainer concept and to
assist the AU in establishing mechanisms for collecting
analyzing lessons from AMIS.

d) On-the-Job Capacity Building
--------------

With regard to the offer of On-the-Job capacity Building
Team, there is need for a more in-depth study as to how NATO,
with other Partners, could provide technical assistance at
appropriate levels.

I would like to recommend that a NATO technical team visit
the AU Commissions for discussions with the Darfur Integrated
Task Force (DITF) regarding assistance in the areas mentioned
above and explore other areas of possible assistance based on
NATO's offer.

Once again I wish to express on behalf of the African Union
appreciation and gratitude for the assistance that NATO has
provided in furtherance of the peace process in Darfur. At
this time of the transition, the continued support and
assistance of our Partners would be most appreciated.

Accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest
consideration.

(signed) Alpha Oumar Konare

END TEXT.
HUDDLESTON