SE NATSIOS MEETING WITH UN, AU, TROIKA PLUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 000390 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER AND AF/SPG NSC FOR PITTMAN AND SHORTLEY ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2012 TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO AU UN SU CD LB ER US SUBJECT: SE NATSIOS MEETING WITH UN, AU, TROIKA PLUS Classified By: P/E Chief T. Monroe, Reason: Sections 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Representatives from the UN, African Union (AU),UK, Norway, the Netherlands, the European Commission, and Germany (on behalf of the EU Presidency) met with SE Natsios on March 7 to discuss international coordination for the Darfur political process. AU head of Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) implementation Sam Ibok decried the proliferation of international initiatives to engage the DPA non-signatories and outlined three tenets of the political process: 1) Targeted threats against the "most problematic actors" to pressure Sudan, other regional governments, and non-signatory leaders to join a constructive political process, 2) Moving forward with a peace process and not allowing it to be "held hostage by actors that think they have a lot of time," and 3) Engagement with regional governments to coordinate their positions with the UN/AU-led political process so that all efforts are "mutually re-inforcing." Ibok also highlighted the necessity of a mechanism to address Chad-Sudan bilateral tensions. ¶2. (C) UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, Taye Brooke-Zerihoun, echoed Ibok's comments and urged the international community to harmonize its efforts and prevent "forum shopping" by the non-signatory movements, who had splintered because of "other power relations," not because of objections to the DPA. Taye said that the UN and AU were working to develop a strategy for a "division of labor" within the international community on the political process and that a meeting of the various special envoys for Sudan was under consideration. Both these actions were designed to prevent the international community from dividing its efforts and sending the "wrong message," as he claimed had happened at the recent summit in Tripoli. He underscored UN Envoy Jan Eliasson's position that the focus of the political process should be a reduction in violence and said that a more effective Cease-fire Commission (CFC) that decreased the violence would facilitate peace negotiations. The acting head of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS),Monique Mukaruliza, said that the international community needed to create an environment conducive to the political process by pushing for a re-structuring of the CFC Second Chamber and ensuring the efficient operation of the Joint Commission. ¶3. (C) SE Natsios noted that the USG was encouraging the renewed interest by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to engage with the non-signatories. He also explained that isolating the less constructive elements of the rebel groups, such as the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), would not be detrimental to the peace process. SE Natsios said that he had raised the issue of Chadian support for the rebel movements during his meetings in Ndjamena in January, which Chad had denied. SE Natsios asserted, however, that President Deby's regime had grown stronger in the last six months and was therefore more open to negotiation and to reining in the rebel movements. He suggested that the international envoys for Sudan consider issuing a joint statement of their views on the political process, which Ibok endorsed. ¶4. (C) The European representatives voiced their support for a coordinated international effort led by the UN and AU. The European Commission head of delegation cautioned that a balance must be struck between pressuring the rebels and giving them an opportunity to unify and join negotiations. The representative for the EU Special Envoy for Darfur, Pekka Haavisto, stated that it was important to engage with JEM, Eritrea, and others to limit the damage they could inflict on the political process. The Norwegian Ambassador suggested that a "stock taking" meeting be called for high-level international representatives to endorse a framework for moving the process forward. ¶5. (U) SE Natsios cleared this message. ¶6. (U) Tripoli minimize considered. HUME