UN: UNAMID WILL BE AMIS IN BLUE BERETS IN FIRST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001176 SIPDIS SIPDIS IO, AF AND NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; PLEASE PASS TO SE NATSIOS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SU MOPS SUBJECT: UN: UNAMID WILL BE AMIS IN BLUE BERETS IN FIRST STAGES REF: USUN 1152 Classified By: Minister-Counselor Jeff DeLaurentis for Reasons 1.4 B/D. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: UN A/SYG Edmond Mulet told the Security Council on December 13 that UN-GOS meetings in Lisbon and Khartoum had resulted in the release of UNAMID communications equipment impounded at al-Fasher airport, an agreement from the GOS to accept helicopters from any country approved by the UN and the AU, and a commitment from the GOS to facilitate land for bases in al-Geneina and Zalingei. The GOS has not, however, provided an official response to the UN-AU TCC list. Privately, DPKO officials tell us that the Sudanese Permanent Mission has unofficially reiterated that the GOS will not accept the Nordic unit and that all available African units must be deployed before Nepal and Thailand can deploy. Discussions of the UNAMID status of forces agreement began December 11 in Khartoum on the basis of the UN-AU draft. END SUMMARY. -------------- Mulet: UNAMID will Be "Rehatted AMIS" In First Months -------------- ¶2. (SBU) UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations Assistant Secretary-General Edmond Mulet briefed the Security Council SIPDIS December 13 on reported progress in resolving outstanding UNAMID deployment issues with the Government of the Sudan (GOS). Mulet reported that, although the UN had made limited progress in resolving some of the technical issues with UNAMID deployment, UNAMID in its early stages would be essentially a "rehatted AMIS." ¶3. (SBU) Mulet said that the GOS had committed to resolving all the remaining issues with UNAMID deployment at a December 8 UN-GOS meeting on the margins of the EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon (reftel). The following week, UN-GOS met in Khartoum to follow up on the Lisbon agreement. These discussions resulted in the release of UNAMID communications equipment from al-Fasher airport on December 12. The GOS also agreed to accept helicopters from any country willing to provide them that the UN-AU accept. In regard to night flights, the GOS agreed to allow night flights for medical evacuations, but not all UNAMID operations. ¶4. (SBU) Mulet reported that discussions of the UNAMID status of forces agreement began December 11 in Khartoum on the basis of the UN-AU draft. The GOS also promised to resolve the land issues in al-Geniena and Zalingei. Lastly, the GOS promised to allow UNAMID to use the UNMIS al-Obeid logistics base and park six helicopters at Nyala airport. Mulet said that GOS had not officially accepted blue berets for UNAMID, but that the peacekeepers would continue deploying with UN insignia and reiterated that use of the blue barets was non-negotiable. -------------- No Official Response to UN-AU TCC list -------------- ¶5. (C) Mulet said the GOS had promised during a December 8 meeting in Lisbon to provide an official response to the UN-AU TCC list, but so far had failed to provide one. (NOTE: UN contacts told USUN that the Sudanese Permanent Mission informed DPKO unofficially December 13 that the GOS will not accept the Nordic unit and that African units must be "exhausted" before Nepal and Thailand can deploy. DPKO described this situation as the "worst case" scenario since Sudan's allies can continue claiming that the issue is being resolved, but non-African TCCs still lack the political clarity that they need to deploy. END NOTE.) -------------- UNSC Discussion is Darfur as Usual -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Security Council discussion following the briefing tracked with the existing divisions on the Darfur issue. China, Qatar and Indonesia expressed optimism that progress was being made on the basis of political engagement with the (GOS) and said that the Tripartite Commission (UN, AU, GOS) was the appropriate venue to resolve the remaining issues. AMB Khalilzad said it was a positive sign that some progress had been made on details that had been obstructing UNAMID USUN NEW Y 00001176 002 OF 002 deployment, but that the GOS needed to follow through on its commitments to provide an official response to the UN-AU TCC list. AMB Khalilzad appealed to China and Sudan's other friends on the Security Council to intervene with Khartoum to achieve greater cooperation. Lastly, he condemned the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) threat to Chinese peacekeepers and nationals in the Sudan. Chinese PermRep Wang Guangya thanked the U.S. for highlighting the unacceptability of the JEM threat. Khalilzad