UNSC/DARFUR: STILL NO HYBRID CLARITY AFTER AU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 USUN NEW YORK 000318 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SU UNSC KPKO SUBJECT: UNSC/DARFUR: STILL NO HYBRID CLARITY AFTER AU BRIEFING REF: A. USUN NEW YORK 00272 ¶B. SECSTATE 50365 USUN NEW Y 00000318 001.2 OF 004 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. High-level United Nations (UN),African Union (AU) and Member State officials participated in an April 16 informal meeting on Darfur intended to allow an exchange of views on next steps on the political, peacekeeping and humanitarian tracks. UN and AU leadership concurred that a consolidated position among non-signatories to the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) is needed to set the stage for negotiations with the Sudanese Government of National Unity (GNU),and that aspects of the DPA might have to be re-visited along the way. Participants agreed that the measure of GNU commitment to the second stage of the current Darfur peacekeeping plan - the Heavy Support Package (HSP) - would be in the HSP's implementation, not expected before the fall, and in the GNU's acceptance of modalities of the third stage, the hybrid operation. No substantive progress was made between the AU and the UN on hybrid details, including its leadership, but the UN Security Council (UNSC) Presidency issued a Press Statement at the conclusion of the meeting to urge such progress, text in Paragraph 12. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) In attendance at an April 16 informal meeting, billed as an "interactive discussion" and chaired by UK Foreign Secretary (FS) Beckett, were Secretary-General (SYG) Ban SIPDIS Ki-moon, UN Special Envoy Eliasson, AU Commission Chairperson Konare, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Djinnit, AU Special Envoy Salim, Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Under-SYG Guehenno, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) U/SYG Holmes and Department of Political Affairs (DPA) U/SYG Pascoe. Mission representatives included Slovakian Foreign Minister (FM) Kubis, French Minister of Cooperation, Development and Francophonie Girardin, and Italian Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Craxi. The USG was represented by Ambassador Wolff, A/S Silverberg and Ambassador Sanders. NEED HOLISTIC APPROACH ON DARFUR -------------- ¶3. (SBU) SYG Ban commented on what he saw as a need for a "holistic approach" toward Darfur, incorporating political, peacekeeping and humanitarian tracks. Citing UN and AU Envoys' assessments that the opportunity for political progress existed, Ban urged respect for diplomatic space to get all parties back to the negotiating table and advised the audience to be prepared for amendments to the power-sharing, wealth-sharing and security arrangements contained in the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) as this new negotiation process unfolds. Consistent with previous statements (ref A),he also urged the audience not to do anything to jeopardize this process. He insisted the hybrid operation could deploy only when the political environment permitted (i.e., when GNU consent was forthcoming). He welcomed the GNU's acceptance of the HSP but said only sincere follow-up would demonstrate GNU good will. ¶4. (SBU) Eliasson supported the SYG's appeal for a holistic approach and focused on its political aspect, urging that all initiatives on Darfur mediation be combined under a UN-AU umbrella. He welcomed the April 28 Tripoli meeting. He urged examination of root causes of the crisis and consideration of the inter-tribal dimension, which was now killing more civilians than were battles between DPA signatories and non-signatories. Eliasson said rebel groups should coordinate their positions to prepare for negotiations with the GNU in such a way that the DPA would neither be re-negotiated nor regarded on a "take or leave" basis. Salim cautioned that not all non-signatories would commit to negotiations. In addition to examining "unsatisfactory" DPA elements, the negotiations should explore ways of providing peace dividends, according to Salim. ¶5. (SBU) Konare advocated "vigilance" in monitoring implementation of political agreements, advising that the international community exert the same amount of pressure on USUN NEW Y 00000318 002.2 OF 004 rebel groups as it does on the GNU to uphold outstanding commitments. He echoed earlier statements from Eliasson that civil society not be excluded from eventual negotiations, given the fragmentation of the political movements. Konare urged close cooperation with the Arab League in the wake of the Riyadh Summit and maintainance of a "spirit of dialogue" with President Bashir. FUNDING NEEDED ASAP -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Ban declared that "only a multidimensional peacekeeping operation with predictable funding" could bring peace to Darfur. Konare was emphatic that the AU Mission in the Sudan (AMIS),which was "doing its best," owed its existence and activity to the UN and partners and was in desperate need of "sustainable financing" through the UN for the whole AU role in the Darfur peacekeeping operation. "If the AU fails," he warned, "the UN fails and no other action will be possible on the ground in Darfur." Konare said that two donor conferences had failed to produce adequate resources for AMIS and that those resources were dedicated had been exhausted at the end of March with no indication of additional funding on the horizon. DPKO U/SYG Guehenno urged donors to support AMIS once its mandate expires June 30, since UN assessed funding would not take effect until the hybrid operation deploys (NOTE: According to Guehenno, the hybrid would not begin deploying until winter 2007 at the earliest. END NOTE). HSP IS HYBRID PRECURSOR -------------- ¶7. (SBU) SYG Ban welcomed the GNU's acceptance of the HSP as a "positive step" but said only "sincere follow-up" would prove Khartoum's good will. Konare said the military dimension of the Darfur situation was linked to the political process and hoped the HSP could be quickly deployed. Responding to appeals by Konare and Djinnit for the provision of two additional battalions to ensure AMIS protection, Guehenno stressed that the HSP was a transition measure, not a stand-alone force, and he called on the UNSC to facilitate the deployment of the battalions so that the HSP could get on the ground. Guehenno particularly pushed for 36 Egypt-pledged APCs to be deployed, as they were necessary for the two battalions and for further HSP deployment. On timelines for HSP deployment, Guehenno said the rainy season and lack of troop and police commitments would delay any serious deployment until the fall (NOTE: the UN will convene a meeting of troop and police contributing countries for the HSP on April 19. END NOTE). ¶8. (SBU) On the hybrid, Guehenno said a firm GNU response on the candidate for Joint Special Representative (JSR) was still outstanding. He made a point of adding that the Tripartite Mechanism created in the November 16 Addis Ababa Agreements was never intended to be a vetting tool for the GNU. Konare spoke to the need to name a JSR, set up hybrid command structures and ensure a viable ceasefire, but according to DPKO in a private conversation with USUN, Konare has been advising against the announcement of the JSR without GNU concurrence for fear that to do so would prevent the JSR from going to Darfur to begin his work. Djinnit told Ambassador Wolff privately that in order to bring Konare and the GNU along on this score, we should sacrifice "appearance" for "practicality" on UN command and control by incorporating into an eventual hybrid resolution language deferential to the AU. On force composition, Djinnit acknowledged non-African troops could be considered once African offers were exhausted. CHAD-SUDAN DIMENSION CANNOT BE OVERLOOKED -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Konare and Eliasson stressed the "critical" Chad dimension of the Darfur crisis. Konare reported that the AU had appealed to both the GNU and the GOC to cease cross-border incursions. Konare likened the regional dimensions of an unchecked Darfur crisis to the potential USUN NEW Y 00000318 003.2 OF 004 evolution of Somalia's instability into clashes along the lines of those in the Middle East. French Minister Girardin, Congolese PR Ikouebe and Qatari PR al-Nasser also highlighted the need to deal with Chad and trans-border attacks. PREDICTABLE RESPONSES FROM MEMBERS -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Drawing from ref B points, Ambassador Wolff argued a framework and a timetable to convene DPA non-signatories and to begin HSP deployment. He said the international community should be cautious in taking GNU acceptance of the HSP at face value and highlighted the GNU's still pending acceptance of the hybrid, with only just over two months remaining until the expiration of AMIS' mandate. He appealed for UN-AU announcement of hybrid leadership. Finally, he raised the reality for the UNSC to consider using all tools at its disposal in dealing with Sudan (also stated by the Slovakian FM) and recommended that the latest Panel of Experts report to the Sudan Sanctions Committee be circulated as a UNSC document. FS Beckett supported this call for tougher measures, recommending a twin-track approach of incentives and pressure on all Darfur players as necessary. She warned "there would be a cost to those seeking to obstruct progress and negotiation." ¶11. (SBU) French Minister Girardin warned the UNSC against taking measures that had no "political impact," stating that only dialogue with the GNU could make Addis Ababa Agreements implementation possible. Chinese Deputy PR Liu reiterated Beijing's stance that sanctions should not be suggested lightly, as they have the potential to "create new confrontations and complications" in Darfur. He urged treating the GNU as a partner in negotiations and suggested the UN meet it halfway in addressing its concerns on implementing the Addis Agreements. The South African delegate spoke against adoption of "complicating measures" that might narrow political space. PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED -------------- ¶12. (U) The UK circulated a draft Press Statement at the end of the session; begin Press Statement text: The members of the Security Council welcome the decision by the Government of National Unity to accept in full the United Nations Heavy Support Package to the African Union Mission in Sudan as outlined in the Secretary General's report of 23 February 2007. They call on the Government of National Unity to now facilitate the immediate deployment of the Package. The President of the Council is writing to the Secretary General to enable him to request funding for the Package from the General Assembly. The members of the Council recall the Presidential Statement of 19 December 2006 calling for all parties to facilitate, per the Addis Ababa and Abuja Agreements, the immediate deployment of a hybrid operation in Darfur, for which back-stopping and command and control structures will be provided by the United Nations. They welcome the efforts of the United Nations and the African Union, in consultation with the Government of National Unity, to reach agreement on the Hybrid, and call on all parties to facilitate its deployment, as agreed by the African Union and the United Nations, without delay. The members of the Council stress there can be no military solution to the crisis in Darfur. They call for an immediate ceasefire, a reinvigorated political process, an improvement in the humanitarian situation and the deployment of an effective African Union/United Nations Hybrid operation. They express their full support for the efforts of the United Nations and African Union Special Envoys for Darfur and call for their work to advance with all possible speed and with the cooperation of all relevant parties. ¶13. (U) End Press Statement text. USUN NEW Y 00000318 004.2 OF 004 KHALILZAD