GULF OF GUINEA COMMISSION TO MEET AUGUST 25

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000513 SIPDIS SIPDIS KINSHASA ALSO FOR BRAZZAVILLE; YAOUNDE ALSO FOR MALABO LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2016 TAGS: PREL EWWT GB SUBJECT: GULF OF GUINEA COMMISSION TO MEET AUGUST 25 Classified By: DCM Katherine Dhanani. Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) Foreign Ministers from Gulf of Guinea Commission states met in Libreville August 3 as a first step toward head of state summit in Libreville August 25 that will establish the commission. The summit will follow expert meetings on August 22 and 23 and a further Foreign Ministers meeting on August 24. The Summit's first order of business will be to choose a location and select an executive secretary. ¶2. (C) MFA Legal Advisor Michel Biang told DCM that he believes former STP president Michel Trovoada remains the likely choice for executive secretary. The Republic of Congo has indicated it would like to name a Congolese to the postition, but Biang said the general feeling was against this, given Congo's current prominence in the AU and the UNSC. Biang also thinks the Commission will make it a high priority to establish a dispute resolution mechanism. In Biang's view, the Gabon-EG border dispute could be submitted to such a mechanism; he believes failure is in the cards for UNSG Annan's effort to successfully conclude UN mediation. ¶3. (U) The Treaty establishing the Commission enters into force 30 days after deposit of intstruments of ratification by two-thirds of the signatories. Angola has officially declared its ratification, although it has not yet deposited the instruments of ratification. Angola's ratification is the sixth among the Treaty's eight signatories, following the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria and STP. Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo have not yet acted. WALKLEY