UN/SUDAN SANCTIONS: SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001191 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2017 TAGS: PREL UNSC ETTC SU PGOV SUBJECT: UN/SUDAN SANCTIONS: SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS COMMENT ON PANEL,S RECOMMENDATIONS ON SANCTIONS Classified By: AMBASSADOR JACKIE WOLCOTT, FOR REASONS: 1.4(B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) On December 7 Italian PermRep and Chairman of the Sudan Sanctions Committee Marcello Spatafora reported to the Security Council on the Committee's discussion of the Sudan Panel of Experts, October report, which examined the implementation of the sanctions regime over the past year. The Chairman's statement made clear the depth of the Committee's paralysis, laying out not only the inability of the Committee to agree on the Panel's substantive recommendations, but its failure to agree to a basic press release in advance of the Sirte talks stating that the Committee was continuing its work in support of the peace process. ¶2. (C) USUN Ambassador Jackie Wolcott expressed serious concern about the arms embargo and human rights violations by the parties to the conflict in Darfur, and stated that the United States remained open to supporting further sanctions if doing so would advance the peace process. UK Perm Rep John Sawers recalled the impediments to humanitarian access and the deployment of UNAMID, the failure of the GOS to cooperate with the ICC, and the persistent violations of the arms embargo. Sawers argued that it would not be credible for the Council to be indefinitely patient on the question of sanctions. French PermRep Jean-Maurice Ripert echoed UK comments and added that the Council should consider responding "at the right time" to all parties that violate Council resolutions, which Belgian PermRep Johan Verbeke supported. Slovak PermRep Peter Burian recalled UN Special Envoy Jan Eliasson's November 26 remarks that it had at times been useful to have the Council beating the drum of sanctions in the background as Eliasson worked to bring the parties to the negotiating table. Ghanaian PermRep Leslie Christian expressed regret that the Committee could not find consensus on any of the key recommendations, as full implementation of resolution 1591 would result in an improvement in the situation on the ground. ¶3. (C) Indonesia also expressed concern that the sanctions were neither respected nor fully implemented, but underlined the importance of the peace process as a way forward, and suggested that the Council look at the role of "external partners" when considering violations of the arms embargo. Russia stressed that the Committee must consider the situation in a comprehensive way and conduct its work in close cooperation with the GOS, adding that sanctions were only one instrument of many to achieve the goal of a stable political settlement to the crisis in Darfur. Khalilzad