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