SUDAN: ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS OVER LACK OF PROGRESS

UNCLAS PRETORIA 002041 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD PREL AU UN SC SF SUBJECT: SUDAN: ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS OVER LACK OF PROGRESS REF: STATE 73696 ¶1. (SBU) PolCouns delivered reftel demarche to SAG DFA Chief Director, Africa Multilateral, Rubushe on 05 June, emphasizing USG commitment to the UN/AU effort to achieve stability and deployment of the Hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur with a robust Charter VII mandate. In response to Rubushe's question regarding the nature of additional USG sanctions, PolCouns, aware of the SAG's view of the limited utility of broad-gauged sanctions, noted that U.S. targeted sanctions focused exclusively on three individuals and 31 GOS-owned or controlled enterprises and did not negatively affect the civilian population of Darfur or the Sudan as a whole. Rubushe raised the lack of progress on the timing of deployment of the UN/AU Hybrid force, and expressed exasperation at the tactics of the GOS and President al-Bashir, saying: "He seems to agree, gains concession after concession, and when you see that nothing much is happening, he engages in negotiations again and demands new concessions," while the goals sought remain unfulfilled. PolCouns reminded Rubushe that this is a long-standing tactic of the Khartoum Government which was displayed throughout their tenure since 1989 in relation to the North-South civil war, and remains a tactic and major concern in the context of Darfur. ¶2. (SBU) Rubushe mentioned that the SAG is deeply commited to the earliest possible deployment of the Hybrid Force in Darfur, noting that President Mbeki clearly made this point to President al-Bashir during his visit to Khartoum in March and this commitment was reinforced by ForMin Dlamini Zuma last week in her budget address to the Parliament in Cape Town. Rubushe did not specifically indicate that the SAG would support the additional USG targeted Sudanese sanctions within UNSC deliberations, but did say that the SAG shared similar goals of the USG regarding Darfur and would continue to press for the UN/AU Hybrid mission. He said the SAG was most concerned, however, about the lack of progress in both the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Darfur Peace Agreement in which the African continent had placed so much hope for a different, more democratic future for the Sudanese people. BOST