DARFUR PEACE AGREEMENT: AU PSC REAFFIRMS AMIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BANJUL 000411 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/SPG, AF/RSA, D:T.SMITH LONDON, PARIS, ROME: FOR AFRICA WATCHER E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2016 TAGS: PREL MOPS KPKO AU SU SO SUBJECT: DARFUR PEACE AGREEMENT: AU PSC REAFFIRMS AMIS TRANSITION TO UN PEACEKEEPING OPERATION REF: ADDIS ABABA 1738 Classified By: ERIC WONG, TDY POLITICAL OFFICER. REASON: 1.4 (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The African Union's Peace and Security Council (PSC),meeting on June 27 at the ministerial level at the AU Summit in Banjul, heard briefings on Somalia and election preparations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but issued a sole communique focusing on Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) and the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS). The PSC calls for the AU to identify persons or groups "undermining the DPA" and for "targeted measures" to be taken against them. Contrary to previous expectations, the PSC did not formally adopt the draft CONOPS for AMIS, although it did approve "additional tasks and the new mandate of AMIS" stemming from the DPA. Noting Sudan's recent public rejection of a UN operation, the PSC nevertheless reaffirmed previous PSC decisions "on the transition from AMIS to a UN peacekeeping operation" and underscored that the mandate for AMIS would end on September 30 -- even though UN planners have said a transition to a UN operation could not occur until January 2007. Convening a pledging conference for AMIS is key, as it currently has funding only through the end of July. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- AU AFFIRMS UN TRANSITION, BUT DEFERS APPROVAL OF CONOPS -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) On June 27, a ministerial-level meeting of the AU PSC, held at the AU Summit in Banjul, noted Sudan's recent public rejection of the transition of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to a UN peacekeeping operation, but nevertheless reaffirmed previous PSC decisions "on ending the mandate of AMIS by 30 September 2006 and on the transition from AMIS to a UN peacekeeping operation." Although widely expected to formally adopt the new concept of operations (CONOPS) for an enhanced AMIS, following the AMIS Force Commander's presentation of the draft revised conops to the AU PSC's Military Staff Committee on June 23, the PSC settled on a more measured approach: giving only "interim" approval of "additional tasks and the new mandate of AMIS, including the protection of civilians within existing strength and capacity" but deferring final approval of the CONOPS to "the ;appropriate time, in the light of any decision on a transition to the UN and the availability of logistical and financial support." The PSC welcomes the convening of a July 18 pledging conference on AMIS, but specifically notes that it is intended to mobilize resources needed only "from 1 April to 30 September 2006," not beyond. ¶3. (SBU) In a June 26 briefing to AU partners in Addis Ababa, AU Darfur Integrated Task Force head Ambassador Ki Doulaye Korentin noted that the revised CONOPS calls for nearly doubling the current size of AMIS: increasing AMIS troop strength to 10,500, and increasing total AMIS personnel (i.e., including civilian police and administrative staff) to 13,000. ¶4. (C) According to AU Commission Peace and Security Department Director Geofrey Mugumya, Sudanese FM Lam Akol addressed the PSC meeting and reiterated that Sudan opposed a UN operation but supported enhancing AMIS. The PSC also heard the Chadian PermRep discuss allegations of Sudanese incursions. -------------- IDENTIFY AND SANCTION THOSE WHO UNDERMINE DPA -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Like the previous May 15 PSC communique on Darfur, the June 27 communique specifically identifies DPA non-signatories ("the SLM/A of Abdulwahid El Nour and the JEM of Khalil Ibrahim"),but calls instead for "targeted measures, including travel ban and assets freeze, against all persons or groups undermining the DPA, obstructing its implementation, or violating the Comprehensive Ceasefire." (NOTE: In a discussion with poloffs, AU Director Mugumya observed that the new language, revised from DPA non-signatories to those "undermining the DPA," was broader, as it could thus refer to DPA signatories as well. END NOTE.) The PSC also requests that the AU establish "the list of all such persons or groups" and forward it to the UN BANJUL 00000411 002 OF 004 Security Council. ¶6. (U) The PSC failed to decide whether DPA non-signatories should participate in the DPA Ceasefire Commission or Joint Commission, an issue which brought the June 23 inaugural meeting of the Joint Commission to a standstill (reftel), noting only "the need to conclude, in consultation with all stakeholders, the modalities for their effective functioning." -------------- --- WELCOME PARTNER ASSISTANCE IN DPA IMPLEMENTATION -------------- --- ¶7. (U) While not explicitly mentioning either AU Chairperson Konare's recent letter to NATO SYG Scheffer (which reaffirmed the AU's request for limited NATO support to AMIS),or the USG initiative to provide a three-person implementation verification team (discussed with both AU principals and partner representatives) in Darfur, the PSC "welcomes the offers made by AU partners to assist the Commission and the parties in the implementation process of the DPA." ¶8. (U) Current members of the 15-member AU PSC include: Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo-B, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa (chair),and Uganda. ¶9. (C) COMMENT: While the AU PSC reiterates that the mandate for AMIS will end on September 30, UN officials (ranging from working level logistics planners to USYG for Peacekeeping Operations Jean Marie Guehenno) have repeatedly stressed that transition to a UN peacekeeping operation will require six months -- or January 2007 at the earliest. The uncertainty surrounding the actual timeframe for UN transition depends largely on when Sudan provides its approval, but it also raises questions about the financial viability of AMIS, should AMIS need to be extended or if the pledging conference for AMIS is delayed. According to Addis Ababa-based European Commission officials, AMIS currently has funds only through the end of July. The EU is spending 28 million Euros monthly on AMIS, drawn from the EC's 250 million-Euro African Peace Facility (APF); 50 million additional Euros have been requested to cover expenses through September. EC officials note that additional funds exist in the APF but may be difficult to reprogram for AMIS: 28 million Euros in the APF are reserved for general capacity-building of the African Union; another 30 million Euros in the APF are earmarked by the EC for possible AU missions in Somalia or the Democratic Republic of Congo. END COMMENT. ¶10. (SBU) Text of June 27 AU PSC communique, as provided June 28 by AU Commission Conflict Management Director El-Ghassim Wane, follows below: BEGIN TEXT. 27 JUNE 2006 BANJUL, THE GAMBIA PSC/MIN/Comm(LVIII) COMMUNIQUE OF THE 58th MEETING OF THE PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU),at its 58th meeting, held at ministerial level, on 27 June 2006, in Banjul, The Gambia, adopted the following decision on the situation in Darfur: Council, ¶1. Takes note of the report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the situation in Darfur (PSC/MIN/2(LVIII)); ¶2. Urges the signatory parties to the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA to fully honor their commitments and to take all required measures to that effect, including refraining from attacks and violations of the comprehensive ceasefire, restraining alleged armed militia, releasing detainees and child soldiers, and initiating joint activities regarding the implementation of the DPA; ¶3. Takes note of the steps already taken by the Chairperson of the Commission towards the implementation of the DPA, BANJUL 00000411 003 OF 004 including the establishment of an implementation team within the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) and of a support team at the AU Headquarters. Council welcomes the offers made AU partners to assist the Commission and the parties in the implementation process of the DPA; ¶4. Welcomes the launching of the activities of both the restructured Ceasefire Commission, in El-Fasher, on 13 June 2006, as well as of the Joint Commission, in Addis Ababa, on 23 June 2006. Council stresses the need to conclude, in consultation with all stakeholders, the modalities for their effective functioning; ¶5. Welcomes further the signing by several political leaders, military commanders and other groups from the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) of Abdulwahid El Nour and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) of Khalil Ibrahim of a Declaration of Commitment to the DPA and their pledge to fully cooperate in the implementation of its provisions. Council recognizes them as partners in the peace process and requests the Commission, working closely with the signatory parties to the DPA, to develop practical modalities for their effective involvement; ¶6. Expresses concern at the activities spearheaded, from within Darfur and outside, by the leadership of the SLM/A of Abdulwahid El Nour and the JEM of Khalil Ibrahim and their followers to undermine the DPA: ¶7. Decides to impose targeted measures, including travel ban and assets freeze, against all persons or groups undermining the DPA, obstructing its implementation, or violating the Comprehensive Ceasefire; ¶8. Requests that the Chairperson of the Commission establishes the list of all such persons or groups, in consultation with the Joint Commission and all other stakeholders, and communicate the same to all Member States, as well as to other relevant members of the international community, including, in particular, the UN Security Council, which, in its resolution 1679 (2006) of 16 May 2006, expressed its intention to consider taking, including in response to a request by the African Union, strong and effective measures, such as a travel ban and assets freeze, against any individual or group that violates or attempts to block the implementation of the DPA; ¶9. Takes note of the outcome of the UN/AU joint technical assessment mission that visit the Sudan and Chad from 9 to 22 June 2006 and the position of the Government of Sudan rejecting the proposed transition from AMIS to a UN peacekeeping operation; ¶10. Reaffirms its decisions of 10 March and 15 May 2006 on ending the mandate of AMIS by 30 September 2006 and on the transition from AMIS to a UN peacekeeping operation. In this regard, Council expresses its readiness to review the mandate of AMIS in the event that the ongoing consultations between the Government of the Sudan and the United Nations conclude on an agreement for a transition to a UN peacekeeping operation; ¶11. Takes note of the new AMIS Concept of Operations (CONOPS) proposed by the Chairperson of the Commission and recommended by the Military Staff Committee at its meeting of 23 June 2006, and decides to consider it at the appropriate time, in the light of any decision on a transition to the UN and the availability of logistical and financial support. In the interim, Council approves the additional tasks and the new mandate of AMIS, including the protection of civilians within existing strength and capacity, as proposed on the CONOPS; ¶12. Welcomes the convening in Brussels, on 18 July 2006, of a pledging conference to mobilize the necessary financial and logistical resources for the sustenance of AMIS from 1 April to 30 September 2006. Council urges the AU partners to provide on that occasion the requisite support and further urges all Member States to attend the conference and to make their own contributions in support of AMIS, including by seconding, at their own expense, qualified personnel to the Mission; ¶13. Reiterates its strong condemnation of all human rights BANJUL 00000411 004.2 OF 004 violation in Darfur, including gender based violence; ¶14. Appeals to the Member States and the international community at large to provide increased humanitarian assistance to the affected people in Darfur and to the refugees in Chad; ¶15. Decides to remain seized of the matter. END TEXT. STAFFORD