CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: UPDATE ON UN SUPPORT FOR AMIS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000158 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/SPG AND AF/RSA SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV MOPS PREL AU SU UN SUBJECT: CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: UPDATE ON UN SUPPORT FOR AMIS ¶1. (SBU) Summary: 37 out of 105 military staff, 29 out of 33 civilian police, and four out of 48 civilian staff have deployed to El Fasher and Khartoum as part of the UN light assistance package to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). UN officers hope to have the entire contingent in place by the end of February, but point to challenges in civilian recruitment and a shortage in commitments from troop contributing countries. The construction of facilities for the light package has been uneven, though this has not impeded the inflow of personnel. Major hurdles in implementing the light package and laying the groundwork for implementation of the heavy support package include recruitment, land acquisition, facility construction, and staff integration -- all in the midst of a dicey security situation. The senior UN officer charged with light package implementation has instructed his staff to work as "termites" to supplant the dysfunctional AMIS structure with something more effective. He estimates this process will take 6 - 12 months, but is contingent on the UN mission being internationalized and not merely being an African force in blue berets. End summary. -------------- PERSONNEL STATUS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Poloffs met January 30-31 with UN and AMIS officials responsible for light package integration, Pacific Architects & Engineers (PAE) managers, incoming UN civilian police, and light package military officers who have arrived in recent weeks. As of January 30, 37 military officers (out of 105),25 civilian police (out of 33),and four civilian staff (out of 48) have arrived as part of the UN light support package, according to Miguel Martin, chief of the coordination cell for the mission support division of the UN. An additional 12 military and four civilian police are awaiting deployment from Khartoum. Martin hopes the remainder of the personnel will be in place by the end of February. He noted, however, that civilian recruitment is lagging due to security concerns, living conditions, and new UN personnel rules. Martin added that the lack of clarity on the joint administrative structure of the UN and AMIS has deterred some applicants. He also said that countries have been slow in fulfilling their commitments on the military side. -------------- EQUIPMENT STATUS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) According to Brig. Gen. John Musonda, chief of the Joint Forward Headquarters, much of the light package equipment has been turned over, including all the generators, half the night vision goggles, and the equipment for the rapid reaction company. Some items, such as the audio-visual equipment, are slated to arrive when there are personnel on the ground to help use it. Martin said that UN is pushing for training for the incoming equipment to ensure accountability and proper use and maintenance. AMIS has so far been receptive to these requests. -------------- FACILITY STATUS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Although camp construction for the light package has been uneven, physical space issues have not impeded the inflow of personnel. PAE is preparing three sites adjacent to the AMIS camp for office space for light package personnel. According to Martin, the sites will be finished within a month. ¶5. (SBU) As the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) declared another PAE-built site for incoming staff unusable for security reasons, personnel are living in rented guesthouses around the AMIS camp or UN guest houses downtown. Living quarters to accommodate 110 personnel are planned, but North Darfur Wali Yousef Kibbir rejected the proposed location, adjacent to the PAE headquarters, and offered four less desirable sites. UNMIS also plans new construction in each of the three other areas - Nyala, El Geneina, and Zalingei - where some personnel are scheduled to be deployed by the end of February, but logistical discussions are ongoing. -------------- PREP FOR HEAVY PACKAGE -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Despite the fact that the budget for the heavy support package has not been approved by UN headquarters in New York, Martin said that there is some planning in process for heavy support implementation. Construction for the heavy support package could begin in one to two months - with the initial priority on supporting engineering units - but key elements of the package will not arrive for at least three to four months. KHARTOUM 00000158 002 OF 002 -------------- INTEGRATION OF PERSONNEL -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The question of how light support personnel are integrated into the AMIS operation will prove more complicated than the construction of facilities and the deployment of personnel and equipment. UN Military Staff Chief Thinus Van Staden, the senior light support officer overseeing the integration into AMIS, said that the current staffing document calls for UN staff to be spread throughout AMIS headquarters to enhance professionalism and bring more skilled officers into the command structure. However, many UN officers have been placed in positions below their grade or where they are under-utilized. One European officer said a group of Nigerian officers in AMIS feel threatened by the UN and so have worked to keep them out of the core operational functions. Others officers have said they feel redundant. According to a Canadian officer, for example, "six people are doing the work of two" in the air operations center. ¶8. (SBU) Van Staden suggested, however, that each officer is having a different experience. "Some are being used 100 percent, some 50 percent, and some 5 percent," he said. His thinking on his own position has evolved from a preference to serve as chief of staff to remaining an advisor outside the formal staff structure, which will better allow him and his successor to monitor and respond to how UN personnel are begin used. Van Staden has told his officers to be patient with the situation and to "subvert the system." He has urged them to enhance efficiency by instituting proven managerial mechanisms, such as standard operating procedures, in a non-threatening way, "like termites," so the dysfunctional structure will crumble and something better will emerge. He concedes, however, that this is a long-term process, requiring between 6 -12 months, and that some departments will not be reformed until the current AMIS section heads are transferred. ¶9. (SBU) Comment: A number of UN officers were assigned to the Joint Operations Center (JOC),but in addition to good officers, the JOC needs to be integrated into the AMIS force structure so that information is collected and processed. One Norwegian Captain in the JOC said he is a "virtual officer, in a virtual Joint Operations Center." End comment. -------------- Pitfalls in Implementation -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Van Staden outlined three pitfalls in implementing the light and heavy support packages. First, the lack of European and North American officers hinders effective operations. Van Staden believes that if the mission continues to recruit heavily from Africa, the incoming officers will flow into the current structure without making substantive changes. Second, the structural divide between the AMIS deputy head of mission and the force commander in El Fasher is crippling operations, as the acting head of mission is in Khartoum. Van Staden recommended an integrated political-military chain of command. Absent this, some of the new UN officers will only reinforce a stagnating operation. Third, the two-tiered pay structure of AMIS and the UN will damage morale. AMIS officers and soldiers receive a stipend of 90 dollars per day regardless of where they are living. Though payment of this stipend is often delayed, the UN only provides a stipend when the officers are living outside of UN-operated facilities, normally for the first few weeks or months of their tour. POWERS