NEW UNAMI SRSG OUTLINES STRATEGY FOR MANDATE,

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 003858

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL FR EU UN IZ
SUBJECT: NEW UNAMI SRSG OUTLINES STRATEGY FOR MANDATE,
STAFFING, COMPOUND, AND AIR MOBILITY


Classified By: Pol Counselor Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)

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Priorities
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1. (C) United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)
Special Representative to the Secretary General (SRSG)
Staffan De Mistura stated in a November 25 meeting with S/I
Satterfield and PolCouns that his top two priorities will be
to resolve Article 140 and assist internally displaced
persons (IDPs) and refugees. De Mistura explained that he
wants to raise the profile of UNAMI and seize the initiative
on high profile issues. "I want to be opportunistic and
achieve meaningful results in six months," he said. The
other initiatives such as elections and constitutional review
are too slow moving to make significant progress in six
months, he felt. De Mistura informed us he would leave
November 26 to discuss former Deputy SRSG Schulenburg's
Article 140 proposals with the Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) leadership. "I will meet with the whole leadership
except Massoud Barzani, who is out of the country," he said.
S/I emphasized that the USG "will support you as vigorously
as we can on both policy and resources."

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Staffing
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2. (C) De Mistura announced that he had secured UNHCR's
agreement to grow their professional staff resident in
Baghdad from one to five, and that two of the additional
staff had arrived on that day's November 25 MilAir flight
from Amman. Currently, UNAMI has 83 professional staff
resident in Baghdad and a total of 363, when you include
support and security staff. De Mistura plans a rapid
increase of 100 additional professional staff by end of 2Q08.
"I want to focus on the quality, not mere quantity, of the
people," he said.

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Permanent Compound
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3. (C) UNAMI does not need a big, expensive compound that
"won't be finished until we have all retired." De Mistura
feels it is embarrassing to spend $200 million on a compound,
when the money could be better spent on such things as
cholera prevention and humanitarian relief. In De Mistura's
view, we should wait for the $190 million proposal for a new
compound to flounder in the UN's fifth committee and then
replace it with a more modest $40 million long-term project
on the site of the old U.S. embassy. In the meantime, he
will expand the existing UNAMI office and residential sites
to accommodate the 100 additional professional staff.
Responding to De Mistura's inquiry about timing of changes to
the size of the International Zone (IZ),S/I said we do not
expect any changes in the IZ at least through 2009.

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The EU and French Can Pay for Air Mobility
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4. (C) De Mistura asserted that a critical requirement for
UNAMI is to get their own air mobility in Iraq. They do not
want or need a big C-130, like the Danes previously provided.
Instead, he said he only needs seven seats and that one of
our C-12s would be perfect. De Mistura said that the EU and
France had both offered full funding to pay for air mobility
and he would like to enter into a reimbursable charter
arrangement with MNF-I, for either a dedicated aircraft or as
a client with some priority for air mobility requests.

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Comment
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5. (C) De Mistura is bringing welcome fresh energy and focus
to the UNAMI mission. Poloffs have noticed that his desire
to achieve meaningful results in six months have increased
UNAMI staff excitement and sense of purpose. He is a
structured thinker who carefully identified his two priority
projects.


6. S/I did not have an opportunity to clear this cable.
CROCKER