EGELAND TELLS UNSC NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001066 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MOPS PGOV PREF PREL SU UNSC KPKO SUBJECT: EGELAND TELLS UNSC NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE PREVENTIVE MEASURES IN DARFUR REF: 05/19/2006 BRUNO-DEPARTMENT E-MAIL USUN NEW Y 00001066 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Under-Secretary-General (U/SYG) Jan Egeland told the UN Security Council (UNSC) on May 19 that while 2005 was a 'lost' year in terms of peace and reconciliation in the Darfur crisis, 2006 was looking up, with promises from the Government of National Unity (GNU) to lift restrictions on humanitarian access and with increased funding from new donors to offset the $389 million shortfall. Egeland acknowledged the substantial USG contributions in this regard but warned that dependency on only a handful of donors was unsustainable, calling upon Arab, Asian and European countries to contribute. Egeland noted that UNSC 'gains' on transition of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to a UN operation had been 'remarkably positive,' and he reported his own attempts to counter GNU's continued resistance to an eventual UN Darfur force by spreading the message that its composition would be 'predictably resourced.' In response to questions from Ambassador Sanders on the situation in Eastern Sudan, Egeland remarked that lack of UN humanitarian access there was 'a bad sign.' END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) OCHA U/SYG Egeland reported to the UNSC on May 19 on his May 6-11 visit to Sudan and Chad, noting that while 2005 was a 'lost' year in terms of peace and reconciliation in the Darfur crisis, 2006 was looking up, with 'real hope' in the wake of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). Full text of Egeland's remarks contained refmail. Egeland saw as positive the stated intention of the GNU to lift restrictions imposed on the NGO and humanitarian communities in Sudan, in particular the reinstatement of the Norwegian Refugee Council in the Kalma camp (NOTE. Sudan Mission Poloff told USUN Poloff after the meeting that Khartoum had not officially confirmed this. END NOTE). Egeland noted that lifting restrictions on the humanitarian community's freedom of movement was especially critical in Eastern Sudan, and he urged the Council to review this issue with the GNU on its June visit to the region. Egeland also hailed as positive the number of new contributions received, which reduced the budget shortfall to 40 percent, and the additional food pledges received, including a promise of 20,000 metric tons from the GNU in its first such pledge since the beginning of the Darfur crisis. ¶3. (SBU) In spite of these relatively positive developments, Egeland continued, much needed to be done: additional funds were needed immediately to offset the $389 million shortfall in Darfur and the $179 million shortfall in eastern Chad. Egeland commended the U.S. contributions, which he noted accounted for more than 50 percent of the total assistance to Darfur and 80 percent Sudan-wide, but warned that dependency on only a handful of donors was unsustainable. He appealed to Gulf/Arab countries as well as Asian and non-contributing European nations for donations. Egeland decried the premeditated attacks by 'ethnic militias' against unarmed AMIS personnel in and around Darfur IDP camps that required better security arrangements, including a strengthening of AMIS' mandate. He also noted that child recruitment in Chadian IDP camps was contributing to the climate of 'total impunity' reigning there. Despite acknowledging Chadian President Deby's inability to protect civilians in eastern Chad, Egeland made no mention of the possibility of extending AMIS to that region or of establishing a separate peacekeeping force there. ¶4. (SBU) On the eventual UN Darfur operation, Egeland told Members in private consultations that UNSC 'gains' on transition of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to a UN operation had been 'remarkably positive,' and he reported USUN NEW Y 00001066 002.2 OF 002 he was trying to counter GNU's continued resistance to an eventual UN Darfur force by spreading the message that its composition would be 'predictably resourced.' Egeland recommended that given the controversy in Sudan surrounding the force, the less Western countries spoke about the eventual operation, the better, quoting crowds in Nyala who had greeted him with shouts of, 'No to a UN force! No to a U.S. force!' Egeland urged the Council to focus on the near-term, which necessitated strengthening support to AMIS in terms of helicopters, logistics and morale, since many people were turning against this force for what they saw as its role in maintaining the status quo. In response to questions from Ambassador Sanders on the situation in Eastern Sudan, Egeland remarked that lack of UN humanitarian access there was 'a bad sign' for one of the most vast and the poorest regions of Sudan. ¶5. (SBU) Members echoed Egeland's call to strengthen AMIS but with the added provision, per the May 15 African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council communique and UNSCR 1679 (2006), that concrete steps toward AMIS transition be concurrently taken, particularly the dispatch of the joint AU-UN assessment mission to Darfur. Several delegations spoke to the need to convene a pledging conference, and the Chinese rep identified the shortfall in humanitarian aid as 'the most pressing concern' for Sudan (NOTE. China was not listed as a donor on Egeland's May 4 Funding for the Work Plan for Sudan. END NOTE). Child recruitment was raised by the Danish, UK, Slovakian and Tanzanian reps, with the Tanzanian delegate citing the GNU's responsibility to protect its population and with the French and Argentine reps declaring that the future UN Darfur force must have an adequate mandate for protection of civilians. ¶6. (SBU) Russian Deputy Permanent Representative Dolgov blamed the ongoing humanitarian crisis on the lack of a sustainable political settlement, and expressed his delegation's commitment to work toward such a settlement, citing the upcoming UNSC mission as a good opportunity to further this goal. Slovakian PR Burian advised use of targeted sanctions to ensure DPA implementation, but the Qatari representative attributed the GNU's inability to exercise its 'sovereign' control over the situation in Darfur to the existence of the arms embargo. The Qatari rep went on to say that the GNU deserved the Council's credit for its efforts to improve the humanitarian situation. BOLTON