DARFUR CONFERENCE REQUIRES COORDINATED

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002276 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT ALSO FOR AF A/S FRAZER AND AF/SPG NSC FOR COURVILLE AND SHORTLEY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SU SUBJECT: DARFUR CONFERENCE REQUIRES COORDINATED INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT REF: A. STATE 140816 ¶B. KHARTOUM 02010 ¶C. KHARTOUM 02020 ¶D. KHARTOUM 02045 ¶E. KHARTOUM 02104 ¶F. KHARTOUM 02264 ¶1. (SBU) At a working-level meeting of the Darfur Partners Group on September 17, representatives of the USG, UK, Netherlands, Canada, France, Norway, Italy, and EU agreed that significant preparatory work with the non-signatories of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) is needed at the local level prior to a leadership conference. Given the recent splintering of the non-signatory commanders and political leadership, such international engagement must be coordinated. ¶2. (SBU) The Embassy's Senior Security Advisor and his UK colleagues began the meeting with a summary of their recent exploratory trip to Darfur. They reported that SLM/Abdul Wahid appeared to have splintered into four groups and said they had heard from one SLM/Abdul Wahid commander that the forces of Ahmed Abdul Shafi were "worse than the janjaweed." Despite this, local commanders and leaders remain willing to participate in a conference in Jebel Marra. The EU representative informed the group that one Abdul Wahid commander had later called to apologize for the hard-line approach taken in meetings with the USG and UK representatives. He had explained that several Abdul Wahid relatives had been present, which had prevented free discussion. ¶3. (SBU) The Darfur partners proposed the following five-prong approach to lay the groundwork for a leadership conference. -- Creation of a small group of Western diplomats to reach out to non-signatories, both in Darfur and through the non-signatories' representatives in Khartoum, on behalf of the international community. The group would engage with local leaders to promote constructive political cooperation in preparation for a leadership conference. The emphasis would be on developing approaches to achieve peace and to support the DPA. -- Development of a contact list of non-signatories agreed to by the Darfur Partners Group. -- Development of talking points agreed to by the Darfur Partners Group for use in outreach to the non-signatory commanders and political leaders. -- Development of a draft protocol or annex to the DPA to address the concerns of the non-signatories and encourage their accession to the agreement. This protocol could be used during local outreach efforts. -- Development of a list of essential requirements to support and strengthen Minni Minawi and a recommended timeline for implementation. ¶4. (SBU) The group recommended that the five-prong approach be adopted at the Chief of Mission-level during the Darfur Partners Group meeting on September 20. HUME