UNSC MISSION TO AFRICA WILL INCLUDE SUDAN

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000391 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ET PGOV PREL SU UNSC SUBJECT: UNSC MISSION TO AFRICA WILL INCLUDE SUDAN ¶1. (SBU) The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met on May 16 and 17 to discuss the draft itinerary and terms of reference (TOR) for its Mission to Africa in June. In the May 16 discussion Members agreed in principle that the UK and South Africa would co-chair the visits to Addis Ababa and Accra and Congo would lead a follow-on visit to Abidjan and France to Kinshasa. Members agreed that the mission's first visit would be in Addis Ababa on June 16 for consultations with the African Union (AU) and its Peace and Security Council (PSC) on improving AU cooperation with the UN and the UNSC by developing mechanisms for closer ties in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, and post-conflict peacebuilding. The mission would spend June 18 in Accra to meet with current AU Chairman, President Kufuor, and his Foreign Minister, former Ghanaian Permanent Representative (PR) Effah-Apentang. The mission would then proceed to Cote D'Ivoire under Congolese leadership, spending part of June 19 there before flying the same day to Kinshasa for a meeting with DRC President Kabila on the morning of June 20. Although the UNSC originally envisioned sending smaller missions to Abidjan and the DRC, Members eventually agreed that the full Council should visit all stops. ¶2. (SBU) On May 16 South African PR Kumalo reported on his delegation's consultations with the Sudanese Mission in New York over a possible stop in Khartoum June 17 to meet President Bashir and senior officials about the crisis in Darfur while the Council is en route to Accra from Addis Ababa. Kumalo painted a picture of a reluctantly hospitable Government of National Unity (GNU),although asserting that Khartoum would welcome such a visit to continue its dialogue with the Council on Darfur. Council opinion about the stopover was divided, but a majority of Members (including the five Permanent Members and European delegations) favored such a stop, noting that the deployment of a peacekeeping mission was only one dimension, albeit an important one, in Council dealings with Sudan. Others argued that there should be a more concrete reason to stop in Khartoum and insisted that the GNU formally invite the Council. The UK reported that its PR Jones Parry and South African PR Kumalo would meet that afternoon with Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Under-Secretary-General Guehenno to discuss DPKO support for and preparation of the Council's meetings in Addis Ababa. ¶3. (SBU) At a USUN-chaired a meeting of Council coordinators May 17 on the UNSC mission, PolMinCouns outlined the basic timeline for the mission as follows: depart New York June 14 to arrive in Addis Ababa in the evening of June 15; spend all day June 16 at the AU PSC; depart for Khartoum on the morning of June 17 and leave for Accra the same day; spend the day on June 18 in Accra before departing that evening for Abidjan; spend part of the day on June 19 in Abidjan before flying to Kinshasa and spending the night there; and leave for Europe on June 20 to arrive back in New York on June 21. PolMinCouns requested the UN Secretariat to begin its planning for the mission based on this timeline. The Secretariat rep asked that delegations revert as soon as SIPDIS possible with the name and passport information of the members who would travel for each UNSC delegation. ¶4. (SBU) The UK delegate reported that the UNSC would meet the AU PSC on June 16 in a plenary session to discuss cross-cutting issues between the AU and the UN, with a focus on managing peacekeeping missions, as well as on Somalia and Sudan. The UK rep then suggested that the plenary session be followed by "break-out" sessions to discuss other African issues, proposing Ethiopia/Eritrea among others. The Ghanaian rep warned Members against creating an exhaustive list of topics to be discussed at the AU PSC, recommending that Members stay flexible on this agenda. The South African Counselor urged Members to "show goodwill" toward the GNU during the June 17 stop in Khartoum. In response to a suggestion by the Belgian delegate that a Council stop in Juba could be helpful, the UK rep offered inviting GNU First Vice-President and Government of Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir to Khartoum on that day. The South African delegate advocated a "wait-and-see" approach before finalizing such an itinerary in Sudan. ¶5. (SBU) On TOR for the mission, there was much discussion about drafting separate TORs for each leg of the mission. The South African rep suggested that the TOR for the Khartoum leg be incorporated into the Addis Ababa portion. The Secretariat staff specified that there would be one letter SIPDIS from the UNSC to the Secretary-General on the mission, to which each set of TOR would be annexed so that the document could be presented to the UN Comptroller as one package. Members agreed to delete from the draft TOR use of the phrase "prospects for" when describing political transition in Cote d'Ivoire and implementation of border decisions in Ethiopia/Eritrea. The U.S. and French delegations advocated deletion of the mention of "financial and other support for regional organizations" in the opening paragraph about exploring the UN-AU relationship. ¶6. (SBU) The UN Secretariat will circulate during the week of May 21 an updated itinerary and TOR for the mission. KHALILZAD