UN REPORTS PROGRESS WITH GOS ON UNAMID DEPLOYMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001154 SIPDIS SIPDIS IO, AF AND NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; PLEASE PASS TO SE NATSIOS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SU MOPS SUBJECT: UN REPORTS PROGRESS WITH GOS ON UNAMID DEPLOYMENT Classified By: Ambassador Jackie Wolcott for Reasons 1.4 B/D. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: SYG Deputy Chief of Staff Kim Won Soo and DPKO Darfur Planning Director Mike Gaoutte told AMB Wolcott on December 10 that the UN and the Government of the Sudan (GOS) made progress on resolving outstanding UNAMID deployment issues during a December 8 meeting in Lisbon. According to the UN, the GOS agreed to provide a response to the troop contributing countries (TCC) list and finalize agreement on deployment by December 12. Kim said SYG Ban's efforts to attain helicopters for UNAMID had failed to produce any additional contributions and asked the U.S. to approach TCCs again. Alternatively, Kim offered the idea of accepting the Jordanian offer of pilots and equipping them with appropriate aviation assets from a third country. AMB Wolcott pressed the UN to make sure the UN has Operations and Maintenance (O&M) measures for UNAMID camps in place by the December 31 Transfer of Authority (TOA). END SUMMARY. -------------- UN: Progress Made in Lisbon on UNAMID -------------- ¶2. (C) SYG Deputy Chief of Staff Kim Won Soo told AMB Wolcott December 10 that a UN-Government of Sudan (GOS) meeting on the margins of the EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon had been "very positive." Kim said that FM Lam Akol and D/FM Ali Ahmed Karti led the Sudanese delegation, but that Karti was "clearly in charge" during the discussions. According to Kim, the GOS agreed to resolve all outstanding issues with UNAMID deployment by December 12, including the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA),land for bases, night flights, equipment seizures, visas, etc. The Sudanese also agreed to provide a response to the UN-AU TCC list. Kim predicted that the GOS would accept the Thai and Nepalese units, but would reject the Nordic unit. A UNAMID-GOS meeting will take place December 11 in Khartoum to finalize agreement on the remaining deployment issues. -------------- SYG Initiative Failed to Attain Helicopters -------------- ¶3. (C) Kim Won Soo reported that the SYG Ban received negative replies on his round of calls to Spain, South Korea, Brazil, Ukraine, and South Africa requesting helicopters. He asked the U.S. to make another round of calls to the same countries. AMB Wolcott responded that the U.S. had also approached these countries, but had so far been unable to gain additional commitments either. (NOTE: In a subsequent conversation, Kim asked AMB Wolcott to add the following countries to the U.S. call list: Turkey, Romania, Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. DPKO reports that these countries have the right military assets, although they have not been approached yet by the UN. END NOTE.) ¶4. (C) As a solution, Kim offered the idea of accepting the Jordanian offer of pilots and equipping them with appropriate aviation assets from a third country. Kim noted that DPKO had rejected the Jordanian offer of aviation assets only because the Jordanian helicopters do not have the right capabilities. Jordan, however, does have pilots trained to fly U.S. helicopters. (COMMENT: Based on information from DPKO, USUN MSC believes that the Jordanian pilots would require night flight training. END COMMENT.) Kim asked if the U.S. could provide appropriate aviation assets or if U.S.-model helicopters could be rented for UNAMID from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia or elsewhere. ¶5. (C) AMB Wolcott responded that it was highly unlikely that the U.S. would provide helicopters, but would forward the proposal to Washington along with the suggestion regarding the possibility of third countries providing the aviation assets to Jordanian pilots. -------------- UN: O&M Will Be in Place By TOA -------------- ¶6. (C) AMB Wolcott pressed Kim and Gaoutte to make sure the UN has O&M measures in place by the Transfer of Authority on December 31, noting that the African Union Permanent Observer USUN NEW Y 00001154 002 OF 002 Mission had expressed concern to USUN officers that the UN has not put adequate measures in place (AU concerns reported septel). Mike Gaoutte responded that the UN has a plan and will be ready to assume full responsibility by the TOA. Khalilzad