AUSTRIA TO ATTEND FORCE GENERATION MEETING IN NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 002318

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR IO AND FOR EUR/AGS (SAINT-ANDRE)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2016
TAGS: PREL KPKO LE AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIA TO ATTEND FORCE GENERATION MEETING IN NEW
YORK

REF: (A) STATE 124162 (B) VIENNA 2313

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Scott Kilner for reasons 1.4 (b) and d
.


1. (C) Summary. Acting Economic-Political Counselor
discussed reftel demarche on August 1 with Austrian Foreign
Ministry officials Thomas Hajnoczi, Director for Security
Policy and GASP issues, and Peter Huber from the
International Organizations desk. The Austrian Permanent
Mission to the UN in New York plans to send a representative
to the Thursday Force Generation Meeting. Austria currently
has six UNTSO/UNIFIL observers in the region and
approximately 370 to 380 UNDOF peacekeepers in the Golan
Heights. The GOA has no plans to remove these troops and is
taking a wait-and-see approach regarding contributing
additional peacekeepers to Lebanon. End Summary.

Location of Austrian UNTSO and UNDOF Peacekeepers
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Before turning to the issue of force generation,
Emboff clarified the location of Austrian UN peacekeepers in
the region. According to Hajnoczi and Huber, there are
currently six Austrian UNTSO peacekeepers in Lebanon. Two of
these are assigned to UNIFIL. Following the July 26 death of
a third Austrian UNTSO/UNIFIL observer in Lebanon (Ref B),
the UN recalled these two Austrian UNTSO/UNIFIL observers to
UNIFIL headquarters in the Lebanese city of Naqoura. Two
more Austrian UNTSO officers are attached to UNDOF.
According to Huber, these two UNTSO/UNDOF officers travel
frequently and he did not know their current location.
Finally, one Austrian UNTSO officer is located in Damascus
and another is in Jerusalem.


3. (C) Austria has an additional 370 to 380 UNDOF
peacekeepers in the Golan Heights. Hajnoczi and Huber said
that the mandate for this mission could allow this figure to
go up to 420 troops. The Austrian UNDOF mission has been
active in the Golan region for over thirty years, and
Hajnoczi and Huber said that because of their expertise in
the area, Austrian troops form the backbone of this UNDOF
mission and have been accepted and encouraged to remain in
the region by both Syria and Lebanon. The UN also wants
these Austrian troops to stay in the Golan Heights.

No Plans to Withdraw its Peacekeepers
--------------


4. (C) Hajnoczi and Huber discussed the variety of recent
calls from the public and from Austrian politicians for
Austria to pull its peacekeeping troops out of the region
(Ref B),following the death of the Austrian UN observer and
civilian casualities in Qana. They clarified the GOA,s
position, stressing that the GOA has no plans to remove its
peacekeepers from the region at this time. In their view,
the upcoming Austrian general election (October 1) was a
motivating factor behind many of the political calls for
Austria to remove these peacekeepers. In reality, Hajnoczi
stated that removing its troops would be an &instrument of
last resort8 for the GOA. According to Huber, the UN had
recently confirmed to the GOA that the remaining Austrian
UNTSO observers wanted to stay in the region.

Austria Noncommittal on Contributing Forces
--------------


5. (C) Austria plans to attend the Force Generation Meeting
on Thursday in New York. For the moment, however, the GOA
remains noncommittal on contributing addition troops for
peacekeeping. Hajnoczi said he doesn,t expect that the
participants will be asked on Thursday to contribute
peacekeepers, because there are still too many unanswered
questions. None of the participants at the meeting, in his
view, are likely to offer contributions until there is a
ceasefire and a political agreement in place between Israel
and Lebanon and a clear mandate for the peacekeeping mission.
Huber said the GOA is interested in the DPKO,s views on
whether the UNIFIL mission should be enlarged or if the UN
should create a new peacekeeping mission. Hajnoczi explained
that there is also a national decision process in place for
deploying forces, meaning that sending additional Austrian
troops would require Parliamentary approval.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) Austria has slightly over 1,200 peacekeeping troops
deployed worldwide, with the majority serving in the Balkans.
Conceivably, the GOA could contribute an additional small
contingent of troops to Lebanon. However, Austria's looming
national election will cause the government to be even more
cautious than usual in considering such a step.
Kilner