CHAD'S VIEWS ON A UN BORDER FORCE: TALK WITH US

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 000176 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPKO PGOV PHUM PREL UNSC CD SUBJECT: CHAD'S VIEWS ON A UN BORDER FORCE: TALK WITH US REF: A. NDJAMENA 171 ¶B. NDJAMENA 122 ¶1. (SBU) Chad is open to discussions on a UN peacekeeping force on its border with Sudan, but believes its mandate should be focused on protecting civilian populations, Chad's Foreign Minister Allam-mi told the Ambassador February 27. Speaking on his cell phone in Paris en route to Moscow and Tehran, Allam-mi said Chad had agreed in principle to such a force on the assumption it would consist of police and gendarmes units. It did not have in mind the proposal for a more "muscular" force envisioned by the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO). Nor did it see at this stage a role for a force involving border surveillance activities. He urged the start of technical discussions to sort through the issues on staging a force for humanitarian protection in eastern Chad. ¶2. (SBU) At lunch for the visiting EU "troika" later in the day, French Ambassador Bruno Foucher described for the Ambassador his talks with Allam-mi the day before. He noted that Allam-mi had raised further questions about a force with a mandate to monitor the border. Would it take action against incursions by militias crossing the border, Allam-mi had asked. If not, would it share the intelligence about these movements with Chadian security forces, he continued. In Foucher's view, any conditioning of a force in eastern Chad on efforts to encourage an internal political dialogue with President Deby's opposition would be a non-starter. Foucher had the impression that President Deby might be ready to accept Option A in the UNDPKO's Technical Assistance Mission's report, but with a much lighter military footprint. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: President Deby has complained in the past about the United Nations or the African Union either not listening to his concerns or handing him faits accomoplis without consultation. In our view, the sooner talks can begin on the mandate and implementation of a UN border force, the better. This should certainly include sending UN experts to Chad as soon as possible. We continue to believe that a message from the Secretary to President Deby on this subject would be well received (ref A). End Comment WALL