UNSC LUNCH WITH SYG BAN: LEBANON, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000392 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2012 TAGS: PREL UNSC IQ LE AF SY SUBJECT: UNSC LUNCH WITH SYG BAN: LEBANON, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Permanent Representative, f or reasons 1.4 b,d. ¶1. (C) Summary. Ambassador Khalilzad hosted the monthly lunch for Security Council Perm Reps with the Secretary-General. In addition to updating the Council on SIPDIS his discussions on Iraq and Afghanistan, SYG Ban used the opportunity to follow-up on Lebanese PM Siniora's letter requesting Council action to establish the Hariri Tribunal. Ban said that he had come to believe that the Tribunal needed to be established in order to ensure political assassins have "no impunity". Following the meeting, Ban repeated the same theme to the press. While Russian PR Churkin responded to Ban's comments only by noting that the Lebanese issue would be discussed later, South Africa, Indonesia, Qatar and Panama expressed reservations about the establishment of a tribunal without the consent of the Lebanese. (In addition, Peru privately expressed concerns afterwards.) End Summary. ¶2. (U) Ambassador Khalilzad hosted the Secretary-General (SYG),senior members of the Secretariat and the Security Council Permanent Representatives for lunch on May 15 as part of the U.S. Presidency of the Council for the month of May. In introducing the SYG, the Ambassador asked for his views on next steps on Lebanon, following receipt of Siniora's letter on establishment of a tribunal, on Afghanistan and on Iraq, in particular the effort to "close the chapter" on UNMOVIC. Prior to the SYG's comments, Russian PR Churkin asked Ban to address specifically the issue of the terms of reference for the assessment team expected to go to the Lebanese border. Lebanon ¶3. (C) SYG Ban said that on his visit to Damascus he had focused on three issues: establishment of the Special Tribunal in Lebanon, cutting off illegal arms flows into Lebanon across the Syrian border, and encouraging the normalization of relations, including the demarcation of the border, between the two countries. Responding to Churkin's question, Ban said that the terms of reference for the border assessment team would be finalized soon and sent to the Council. Ban had told Syria to accept the visit of the technical assessment team, but "they were very much opposed." The Syrians were, he said, also opposed to the dispatch of the team to the Lebanese side of the border but "now accept 
it as a fact of life." Ban encouraged Assad to reactive the border committee "at a senior level," to which he agreed. Ban noted that Syria asked him for technical assistance related to the border, in particular for German assistance with night vision equipment. Ban said that he had raised the issue with the German FM, who was in no position to discuss the issue. Ban said he emphasized to the Syrians that in order to enable technical assistance they would need to demarcate the border. Assad had, in his conversation with Ban last week, confirmed his readiness to reconvene the border committee. ¶4. (C) Ban said that he had been engaged in wide ranging consultations to facilitate the early establishment of the tribunal in Lebanon. He said that it was now clear that there is "no prospect of a political process in Lebanon to allow the Parliament to ratify the Tribunal agreement in the near future." Ban said that he had spoken to Lebanese PM Siniora on May 13, and that Siniora had said there was "practically zero chance" of the tribunal being ratified. Ban noted that he had circulated to all Council members the letter from Siniora that called the domestic political route "dead" and asked for a binding decision from the Security Council. At this point, Ban noted that when had raised the Tribunal with Syria's Assad, he had asked Assad to "use his influence" in Lebanon to establish a Tribunal. Assad replied, said Ban, that any action by the Security Council to establish the court would "provoke a civil war" in Lebanon. ¶5. (C) Ban then told Security Council members, based on his consultations, "As Secretary-General, I am of the conviction there should be no doubt that the Tribunal will eventually be established." Ban said that he believed the establishment of the Tribunal was critical to insure that there was "no impunity for political assassination." At the same time, the lack of certainty about the establishment of the Tribunal was, in itself, adding to the political uncertainty in Lebanon. Ban said that he would make the same statement of his views to the press following the lunch. (Note: To the press, Ban said: "I think it is necessary for the Security Council to take necessary action. I hope the Security Council members will debate on this matter and take necessary action." When asked what form this action should take, Ban replied, "It is up to the members of the Security Council on what provisions of the Charter they will invoke to establish a special tribunal.") Afghanistan ¶6. (C) Ban told Council members that the UN was concerned about the security situation throughout Afghanistan and the need for President Karzai to continue to extend his authority. He said that Afghanistan needed a "productive dialogue" with Pakistan, and called the recent joint statement "encouraging." At the same time, troop contributing countries in Afghanistan need to adopt "culturally sensitive tactics." ¶7. (SBU) The UN was trying to increase its presence on the ground in Afghanistan. There were now fourteen UNAMA offices nation-wide. Ban said that sustainable peace would require more than military engagement. He planned to attend a conference in Rome this July on the rule of law in Afghanistan. Iraq ¶8. (SBU) The SYG gave Council members a brief readout of his participation in the Sharm el Sheik meetings on Iraq. He said that he was "very much heartened" by the response of the international community and the strong show of support for Iraq. The UN was in the midst of an ongoing effort to increase its role in Iraq and planned to "rebuild our headquarters" in Baghdad to provide a safer and more comfortable working environment for UN staff. ¶9. (C) Ban emphasized that the Iraqis now "need to do their own homework" and engage in a political dialogue to support the military and economic assistance being provided by the international community. "I emphasized the importance of political dialogue to Prime Minister Maliki," said Ban, "and all countries stressed this." Ban said that "everyone appreciated" the meeting between Secretary Rice and Syrian FM Moallem. And while the ministerial bilateral between the U.S. and Iran was not realized, the "lower level meeting" between the two countries was also "very much appreciated." ¶10. (SBU) On UNMOVIC, Ban noted that the Iraqi Government had called for the termination of the mandate and return of funds. "I support the Council's consideration of the termination of UNMOVIC," Ban said. However, the knowledge gained by UNMOVIC, particularly in the fields of biological weapons and means of delivery "should be retained and used for future purposes." ¶11. (U) Ambassador Khalilzad congratulated SYG Ban and the Secretariat for their efforts in support of the International SIPDIS Compact for Iraq and their role in developing a "contract with benchmarks" between the international community and the Iraqi Government. Now we would all need to pay attention to implementation, which would require a continuous effort by the UN and others. Russia: Slowly, Slowly ¶12. (C) Russian PR Churkin responded to Ban's presentation by noting that "Lebanon will be something for the Council to discuss over the coming days." On UNMOVIC, while understanding that the time had come to draw it to a close, he expressed two concerns. First, it needed to be done "properly" and in conformity with the legal role of the Council. Second, there is also an expectation on the Government of Iraq to pass legislation declaring itself free of weapons of mass destruction. Churkin said that this was "more than a technicality, and not just about money." Given the Parliamentary rules in Iraq, he suggested, it may be a while before Iraq met this requirement. Responding to this point, Ambassador Khalilzad noted that the Iraqi Constitution includes provisions that declare Iraq to be free of WMD. "The commitment of the country is already there," he said. UK: Expand UNAMI mandate? ¶13. (C) UK PR Jones Parry noted his appreciation for the UN's efforts in Iraq and noted that both the international community and the Iraqi Government now needed to fulfill their role. The UN, Jones Parry said, is "vital" and the UK would support any effort to expand its activities in Iraq, "including by expanding UNAMI's mandate." He too agreed that the time had come to end UNMOVIC's mandate. China: Afghanistan and Iraq ¶14. (C) Chinese DPR Liu commented that he saw Afghanistan and Iraq as being in a similar situation. The main problem, he said, in each country is the need for "national reconciliation between sectoral groups." Where Iraq survives on oil wealth, the Afghan people are living off the drug trade, which is becoming a serious problem. He asked Ban what the UN could do to facilitate political reconciliation in these two countries, and whether he would launch personal mediation efforts using the SYG's good offices mandate. In closing, Liu also said it was time to wind up UNMOVIC. Panama: Concern about the Tribunal ¶15. (C) Panama's Arias noted his concern about "the legal situation and legal framework" related to the Council's consideration of the Tribunal. Noting that the Council's actions to date had been premised on the idea of an agreement between the UN and Lebanon, which the SYG now thought "was no longer possible", Arias asked if the SYG had thought through the details of a different legal framework to establish the Tribunal. (Though Peru's Voto-Bernales did not speak at the lunch, he approached Ambassador Sanders afterwards to note his agreement with Arias' skepticism about the legal approach. "I did not speak because I did not want to put you in a difficult position," he said.) Belgium: We need the Tribunal ¶16. (C) Belgium's Verbeke took the opposite position, noting that too much time had passed since the assassination of former PM Hariri. We need the Tribunal now, he said, in order to provide the link to the investigation. On Iraq, Verbeke too stressed the importance of political reconciliation, and asked Ban if there was any UN effort to help the Iraqi government establish internal power sharing arrangements. Indonesia, Qatar and South Africa: Tribunal Worries ¶17. (C) Indonesian DPR Kleib recalled Assad's comments related to the establishment of the Tribunal. "Assad reminded us of the negative impact of imposing the tribunal from outside without agreement among the Lebanese actors. Are we going to support national unity, or do harm to it?" On Iraq, he noted that it was time for the UN to strengthen its role. He proposed enlarging the size of UNAMI and creating an institutional unit within the UN Secretariat that is solely focused on Iraq. ¶18. (C) South Africa's Kumalo said that it was important for the SYG to ensure the Council that if it "overrides the sovereign decision" of a country that it is not "opening up a can of worms." Kumalo said that he was uncomfortable with the Security Council being asked to interfere in the local politics of the country. "They say the majority of Lebanese want the Tribunal, but will it be acceptable to the rest of the country?" ¶19. (C) Qatari PR Nasser noted that it now "seems like the Council is ready to take action on the Tribunal" though there was no agreement among the Lebanese. France: "No other option" ¶19. (C) French PR de La Sabliere said that he had been hoping that the Lebanese to find a solution that would allow for the establishment of the Tribunal. The Siniora letter is important, he said, and there is now "no other option" but for the Security Council to take action on this. "We have to live up to our responsibilities." KHALILZAD