UN ENVOY ELIASSON BRIEFING ON AU/UN ROADMAP

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001066

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL AU SU UN
SUBJECT: UN ENVOY ELIASSON BRIEFING ON AU/UN ROADMAP



1. (SBU) In a July 6 briefing for chiefs of mission in advance of
the upcoming Tripoli meetings (July 15-16),UN Secretary -General
Special Envoy for Darfur Mr. Jan Eliasson discussed recent efforts
made in support of the three-phased AU/UN roadmap. He described the
"convergence" phase of the roadmap as coming to an end, and hoped
that by the end of the Tripoli meetings, the "pre-negotiations"
stage would begin.


2. (SBU) Eliasson said that the UN and AU had cast their nets wide
during consultations over the previous months, meeting with civil
society members, Sudanese government officials and non-signatories.
(Note: AU Special Envoy Dr. Salim Salim was not present at the
briefing. End note.) He described the consultations as "high
quality," with the goal of building broad support for the political
process. At the end of the "pre-negotiations" stage, he said, UNSYG
Ban ki-Moon and AU Chairman Alpha Konare would formally invite
selected participants to joint the third phase of "negotiations."
Eliasson did not give a detailed timeline for this, saying only that
he hoped the third phase would take place during late summer.


3. (SBU) Eliasson also briefed on his recent trip to West Darfur.
IDP camps were becoming increasingly politicized, he said, and camp
representatives' main concerns centered on security and
compensation, with much less concern around the role of
non-signatories or power-sharing. Eliasson was worried that without
a political settlement by the end of this year, the "new realities"
on the ground would effectively block any peace negotiations. (Note:
see reftels for Khartoum reporting on the same subjects).


4. (SBU) Eliasson said that the AU and UN were keeping close tabs on
regional initiatives (Chad, Libya, and Eritrea) and also indicated
that there might be a need for another Tripoli-like meeting in early
August. He suggested that this meeting could take place outside of
Libya, in another regional capital. (Note: PolOff understood this to
mean Asmara. End note.) When asked about an update on the Center for
Humanitarian Dialogue's proposed conference, Eliasson only noted
that while all efforts contributing to the "convergence" phase of
the Roadmap were welcome, they should all be coordinated with the AU
and UN.


5. (SBU) The Eygptian Ambassador pressed Eliasson about whether he
and Dr. Salim were being firm enough with non-signatories who
continued to resist efforts to bring them to the negotiating table,
contrasting the soft treatment of such individuals with the "very
tough" message being sent to the Government of Sudan through tools
such as sanctions. Eliasson agreed that the international community
needed to tell non-signatories that now is the time for
negotiations. UN senior advisor Pekka Haavisto, also present at the
meeting, said that the recent alliance between SLM/A's Abdulshafi
and Sudan Democratic Federal Alliance's Ahmed Direij was very
positive, he said. Haavisto contrasted the two commanders with Abdul
Wahid, who he said wasn't answering his phone or returning e-mails.


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