DARFUR: AU SAYS NEW PLEDGES ALLOW AMIS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ADDIS ABABA 002130 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/SPG AND AF/RSA LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER CJTF-HOA FOR POLAD F.COOK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MOPS KPKO EAID SU AU SUBJECT: DARFUR: AU SAYS NEW PLEDGES ALLOW AMIS ENHANCEMENT BUT NOT EXTENSION REF: A. ADDIS ABABA 1961 ¶B. STATE 123408 (NOTAL) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: At his first briefing for donors and other partners since the July 18 pledging conference for the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS),the head of the African Union's Darfur Integrated Task Force (DITF) said that the conference's main outcome was the acknowledgement that partners seek transition from an AU to a UN-led peacekeeping operation as soon as possible. He also stated that pledges received by donors are sufficient to allow AMIS to add two more battalions, although not the six requested by the Force Commander. Donors pledged nearly USD 193 million at the conference, but the total is half what the AU had requested for strengthening AMIS and extending it to the end of the year. The UK asserted that cash contributions by the UK and Netherlands might allow AMIS to continue beyond October. The head of DITF recognized the importance of improving AMIS command and control, rather than just adding troops and police forces. AU officials' observations on implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement and the current security situation in Darfur will be reported septel. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Poloffs and DAO TDYer attended a two-hour briefing on July 27 by the African Union Commission's Darfur Integrated Task Force for the AU Partners Liaison Group (chaired by the EU, and comprised of Canada, the U.S., UK, UN, and NATO). -------------- JULY 18 AMIS PLEDGING CONFERENCE -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Boubou Niang, Political Advisor to the AU Special Envoy for Darfur, said the July 18 AMIS pledging conference in Brussels had been well organized, with prior consultations on the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA): a restricted meeting on security had included "a frank exchange" on impediments to DPA implementation. Conference participants had urged that the Darfur- Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC) be organized as soon as possible, including the appointment of a preparatory committee head. The contact group on Sudan had also held a closed meeting. AU Commission Chairperson Konare and UNSYG Annan had co-chaired the conference; European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel and EU High Representative Javier Solana had also attended. ¶4. (SBU) DITF Head Ambassador Corentin Ki Doulaye said that the main outcome of the conference was that partners sought transition from AMIS to the UN as soon as possible, i.e., in October, as the contact group on Sudan had stated and as currently mandated by the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC). On the other hand, the UN had stated transition would be difficult in October; "so this is a problem we have to manage." DITF Chief of Staff Major General Henry Anyidoho noted that the UN SYG was to report to the UN Security Council by the end of the week. Ki Doulaye did not expect the PSC to meet on AMIS or Darfur until late August or early September, explaining that the PSC was waiting to see what pledges were delivered. The Force Commander wanted to reorganize AMIS forces into 3 sectors, which did not require new PSC authorization, Ki Doulaye said. ¶5. (SBU) Commodore Binega Mesfin, AU DITF Administration Control and Management Center Chief, reported on U.S. and UK views at the conference. Participants had called for an increase of no more than 2 battalions; the U.S. pledge of $116 million would be used primarily for improving current infrastructure, he said. Mesfin asserted that the U.S. had stated that bilateral assistance would be under NATO. (NOTE: NATO Senior Military Liaison Officer questioned whether this was accurate, given ADDIS ABAB 00002130 002 OF 004 recent consultations by NATO DASG Jochems that suggested the need to minimize the profile of NATO involvement. END NOTE.) The UK had noted that the next few weeks would be critical: emphasis needed to be placed on training, establishment of the AMIS Joint Operations Center (JOC),improving police capability, and convening a second meeting of the DPA's Joint Commission. -------------- -- FUNDS ONLY SUFFICIENT FOR THE END OF SEPTEMBER? -------------- -- ¶6. (SBU) Niang said pledges "fell short" of the AU budget: contrary to assertions by UN SRSG Jan Pronk, funds would only allow AMIS to function through September--not the end of December. The AU would therefore need to look at other means of financing, were it to extend to the end of December as requested by the UN. Apart from a 50 million CFA pledge from Congo, AU members themselves had not pledged significant amounts, he said. ¶7. (SBU) According to Amb. Ki Doulaye, USD 80-85 million were needed just to continue AMIS (at its current strength) to the end of September. A USD 170 million budget for transition had been sent to partners; of which the AU had received pledges for only half, including pledges for in-kind assistance rather than cash. He explained that while a total of USD 181 million had been pledged at Brussels, only a portion of that was cash. ¶8. (SBU) Commodore Mesfin attempted to clarify that in addition to a shortfall of USD 76 million needed to continue operations to the end of September, another USD 270 million was needed for September to December. Thus, a total of USD 346 million was needed, but the AU had only received USD 170 million. The USD 116 million in in-kind assistance from the United States would be used for upgrading capacity, not for transport; little funding would be available for operational expenses, Mesfin said. Partners noted the need for a written summary of pledges to avoid confusion. -------------- -------------- AMIS ENHANCEMENT, BUT ONLY BY TWO MORE BATTALIONS -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Asked whether AMIS would maintain its current strength or reinforce, Amb. Ki Doulaye affirmed that, as A/S Frazer had stated at the pledging conference, AMIS would be enhanced, but by no more than two additional battalions. He noted that on May 15, the AU Peace and Security Council had authorized AMIS to be reinforced. "We are able to do it," he said, asserting that the U.S. pledge should cover accommodations and other necessary expenses. DITF Military Component chief Colonel Mayell Mbaye noted two additional battalions, rather than the six more originally sought, totaled only 1,000 troops. ¶10. (SBU) Mesfin, AU DITF's chief logistician, said the AU needed to present viable options to the PSC. He expressed concern that PAE required 42 days to mobilize to construct new camps. Moreover, he said, USD 9.1 million were required to construct 35-36 additional police posts (requiring 3 months lead time). UK poloff noted that unearmarked pledges that were restricted to non-military purposes might be used for police posts. -------------- -------------- U.S. CONTRIBUTES NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF NEW PLEDGES -------------- -------------- ¶11. (U) AU Finance Officer Biscut Tessema said total contributions of USD 312 million (in cash and in kind) had been made recently, approximately half of which had been pledged at the July 18 conference. She said ADDIS ABAB 00002130 003 OF 004 that USD 181 million in new partner pledges (of which approximately USD 78 million are cash contributions) had been made July 18: U.S.USD 116 million(in-kind) d) EUUSD 39 million(30 mn from APF) NetherlandsUSD 26 million(may be in-kind) QatarUSD 6.7 million(non-earmarked) IrelandUSD 1.9 million(non-earmarked) BelgiumUSD 1.3 million(non-earmarked) SwedenUSD 1.3 million(non-earmarked) ChinaUSD 1 million (non-earmarked) CongoUSD 98,000(non-earmarked) (NOTE: The sum of these pledges is actually USD 193 million. END NOTE.) ¶12. (U) According to Biscut, an additional USD 131 million had been pledged prior to the July 18 conference: EUUSD 60.2 million -- personnel costs up to July 2006 UKUSD 36 million -- 6 million for ground fuel; remainder for airlift of Rwandans and other purposes Netherlands20 million Euros -- aircraft lease and communications equipment CanadaUSD 18 million -- aircraft, aviation fuel, DPA implementation JapanUSD 8.6 million -- public information, humanitarian assistance, DITF FranceUSD 2.6 million(non-earmarked) USUSD 1 million -- Abuja peace talks (April 2006) ItalyUSD 320,500 talks (April 2006) ItalyQQUSD 320,500 -- Darfur-Darfur Dialogue Germanystrategic airlift; 2 CIVPOL; cash TBD (NOTE: AU DITF obviously has not taken into account previous U.S. in-kind contributions related to camp construction and strategic airlift, etc. END NOTE.) -------------- - UK: CASH WILL LET AMIS CONTINUE BEYOND OCTOBER -------------- - ¶13. (SBU) UK poloff declared the UK's intent that the majority of both its 20 million pound pledge and of a pledge from the Netherlands would be given as cash, to sustain AMIS beyond October. EU POLAD noted that 30 million Euros newly pledged by the EU for AMIS would be taken from the African Peace Facility (APF) from funds previously earmarked for potential AU operations in the DRC or Somalia. -------------- 400-500 AWAIT BACK PAY DESPITE END OF TOUR -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Biscut said the new pledges allowed AMIS to be sustained through September. If pledges from the e Netherlands and the UK were made in cash, AMIS could be sustained to October, she added. She said that funds from the EU had not been received on time; the first tranche had only been transferred the previous week. Major General Anyidoho observed that June allowances had not yet been paid to AMIS peacekeepers. ADDIS ABAB 00002130 004 OF 004 Col. Mbaye reported that 400-500 peacekeepers awaiting back pay had not yet rotated out of Darfur, even though their tours of duty had ended. -------------- - ROTATION STILL NEEDED REGARDLESS OF TRANSITION -------------- - ¶15. (SBU) Asked whether AMIS would proceed with contingency plans to continue to the end of December 2006, Ki Doulaye said that, on the one hand, the PSC would ask if resources were sufficient; if lacking, the PSC would say "let the UN come." On the other hand, the UN stated transition could not occur until January, and the Government of Sudan had still not approved transition. Ki Doulaye tasked Mbaye with preparing contingency plans for: -- reinforcing AMIS by two additional battalions; -- re-hatting forces already on the ground; and -- the possible withdrawal of AMIS. ¶16. (SBU) Ki Doulaye observed that whether a transition occurred or not, the protection force would still rotate in the fall. Asked whether the U.S. offer to provide strategic airlift for two Rwandan battalions referred to additional battalions, Ki Doulaye responded that the offer was for routine rotation. Troop contributing countries (TCCs) needed a training program to ensure that troops rotating in met UN standards, he added. He noted that the United States had stated that the UN could start with those personnel already on the ground in Darfur; force generation would not be needed. Col. Mbaye said the AU had distributed guidelines to TCCs; some had agreed to conduct pre-deployment training. Mbaye noted that UN U/SYG Guehenno had said there was no way to transition before January. -------------- --- ENHANCING COMMAND AND CONTROL, NOT JUST STRENGTH -------------- --- ¶17. (SBU) Karl Mario Nobin, DITF Head of Police, observed that the number of civilian police (CIVPOL) in AMIS remained at 1,425 rather than the 1,560 authorized, and far below the 2,200 called for by the new concept of operations (CONOPS) for AMIS. In response, Ki Doulaye underscored that the CONOPS had not been approved; furthermore, the organization and structure of AMIS was important, not just a focus on numbers, he said. Ki Doulaye said that AU leadership had not been keen on solely increasing AMIS force strength by a multiple of two or three: AMIS would experience the same problems with 15,000 troops as it currently did with 7,000 troops. While adding two battalions was acceptable, the AU was "not in the mood" for adding six battalions; partners had also emphasized the need to "organize better," he said. ¶18. (SBU) COMMENT: Amb. Ki Doulaye's references to U.S. statements at the AMIS pledging conference, his acknowledgement that modest enhancement (by two battalions, not six) of AMIS can be achieved with the resources pledged, and his recognition that partners seek transition in October, underscore that active engagement with AU officials has succeeded in conveying USG policy priorities. In the absence of any PSC meeting on Darfur planned in the near future, the AU's official position continues to be that the mandate of AMIS expires at the end of September. On the other hand, the UK's assertion that its cash contribution is intended to allow AMIS to continue beyond October, shows that even our closest partners may think otherwise. END COMMENT. HUDDLESTON