P5 WITH BAN, 5/18: SUDAN, DPKO RESTRUCTURING AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000405 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2012 TAGS: PREL UNSC KUNR AORC UNGA SU SUBJECT: P5 WITH BAN, 5/18: SUDAN, DPKO RESTRUCTURING AND SECRETARIAT APPOINTMENTS SIPDIS Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Permanent Representative, 1 .5 b,d. ¶1. (C) Summary. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with P-5 Ambassadors on May 18. Ban noted that he had some way still to go to complete his high level appointments. He urged the Council to be cautious in moving forward with sanctions against Sudan lest it undermine the current "credible progress." And he asked for more flexibility from the P-5 as he sought to move forward his plan to restructure DPKO and seek more positions and resources to manage expanding peacekeeping operations. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) P-5 Permanent Representatives met with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late on Friday, May 18 in the SIPDIS SYG's conference room on the 38th floor. The meeting was requested by the P-5 to discuss high-level Secretariat appointments, the restructuring of DPKO and Sudan/Darfur. The Secretary-General was accompanied by U/SYG Pascoe, U/SYG Holmes, U/SYG Guehenno, Chief of Staff Nambiar, and Deputy Chief of Staff Kim Won-soo. Russia: Worried about the lack of Russian appointments -------------- ¶3. (C) Russian PR Churkin led off the discussion by noting that the SYG's proposed restructuring of DPKO was "on the minds" of the UN membership. "Our concern," he said, "is the steep rise in the cost of the whole thing." The Secretariat needed to ensure that any increase in the number of personnel was "kept reasonable". On the relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly (GA),Churkin said, "Russia's conscience is clear" as it is firmly against the Council infringing on the role and authority of the GA. At the same time, there should also be "respect" for the prerogatives of the Council. He noted that the SYG had spoken to the GA instead of the Security Council upon returning from his last visit to the Middle East. "We hope you are not siding with the General Assembly in the 'epic battle' between the two organs." ¶4. (C) Churkin said that he had been given a list of senior staff appointments by the SYG. Traditionally, he noted, there was an effort to ensure that the distribution of seats among the five permanent members was balanced. Now, however, one P-5 member has nine of these positions, while another has none, he claimed. Clapping a hand on the back of Ambassador Khalilzad, seated to his right, Churkin smiled broadly and jokingly said that he would not name names, but "this should be looked at closely." (The SYG quickly interjected that "given the gravity of the situation," the Russian position had been delivered in a "very nice way.") China: Sudan should "grab this opportunity" -------------- ¶5. (C) Chinese DPR Liu said that China supported the reform process. He called on the SYG to speed up some of his appointments, in particular the High Representative for Disarmament, a position that had been vacant for nearly six months. On DPKO reform, Liu noted that the discussion was now in the Fifth Committee, where there were "some EU and G-77 concerns." He called on the SYG to ensure that Secretariat officials were actively briefing on the substance SIPDIS of the proposal and explaining the intricacies of the restructuring proposal. With regard to the SYG's briefing of the GA, Liu said that China supported his efforts to brief the various organs, but his reports should have a different focus based on the mandate of each group. ¶6. (C) On Darfur, Liu said the recent briefing by SRSG Eliasson had been "very encouraging". The Council has been focusing on the peacekeeping aspect of the problem but was now seized with the political process, too. China's view is that efforts on the political process and peacekeeping should proceed in parallel. In fact, Liu offered, the political process is "more fundamental" as it is the means by which a peace will be established for the peacekeepers to support. The roadmap laid out by Eliasson is good, but he needs his own team to support him, and reach out to all the internal parties as well as the neighbors. The Council should use the forthcoming month to speed up the political process. "We need to tell the Sudanese that they need to grab this opportunity," said Liu. There is currently an opportunity for them to make the political deals necessary to improve the situation. France: Grave humanitarian situation in Sudan/Chad -------------- ¶7. (C) France's de La Sabliere told the SYG that he remained focused on the humanitarian situation in Darfur. "Bashir needs to understand," he said, "that the humanitarian situation cannot deteriorate." This included includes ensuring access to humanitarian agencies. De La Sabliere urged U/SYG Holmes to brief the Council. He emphasized the need for "timetables known to everyone" in order to advance the political process, and avoid the continued stalling and back-and-forth tactics by Khartoum. France wants an efficient and credible" hybrid force. "We will pay a heavy price," said de La Sabliere, if the force does not meet this test. At the same time, though, we need to accelerate the process of getting the hybrid into the field. He asked the SYG for details on the status of the UN-AU Agreement. "We need this agreement in order to put pressure on Sudan." On Chad, de La Sabliere said that the assessment team going to the country needed the mandate to negotiate protection for the camps inside the Chad-Sudan border. What is happening in the camps is "not acceptable". On the restructuring of DPKO, de La Sabliere emphasized that the overall effort had to ensure that the organization was strengthened through the process of reform. ¶8. (SBU) He closed by noting that climate change was "on the top" of new French President Sarkozy's agenda. The SYG should provide some further thinking on how he plans to handle the issue in connection with the GA session this fall. UK: When's the time for sanctions? -------------- ¶9. (SBU) UK DPR Pearce asked the SYG a series of questions, including how the P-5 might help advance the reform process and ensure that all "goes smoothly." She asked the SYG whether the Council, on its Mission to Sudan this summer, should go to Khartoum if they were not also allowed to visit Darfur. As a general matter, what could the P-5 do to increase the pressure on Bashir? Suggesting that sanctions and support for the Sudanese political process are not mutually exclusive, Pearce asked the SYG, "When should the Council start talking about sanctions?" U.S.: Need for comprehensive progress in Sudan -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Ambassador Khalilzad said that there needed to be progress on all three tracks simultaneously in Sudan - to address the humanitarian situation, deploy a robust hybrid force, and advance the political process. There needs to be a clear set of timelines to help the Council and the Secretariat manage the situation. The threat of sanctions, SIPDIS he noted, can support the overall effort to achieve our political goals. SYG: Appointments are "complex"; will keep moving on climate change -------------- ¶11. (C) The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to meet with the P-5. He noted that he came to New York intending to make quick appointments at the beginning of his term, but "found it so complex." Every single appointment, he said, was linked to the GA, the Security Council or "outside communities." At the same time, every incumbent had a different contractual basis, and they were often funded from different pots of money. "It has been slow, and it might take more time," Ban said. Responding to Churkin's comments about the lack of Russian nationals in senior positions, Ban said that he understood the concern and "would keep this in mind." He then noted that his appointments were based first on qualifications; second on ensuring a reasonable gender balance; and third on maintaining a reasonable geographic balance. ¶12. (C) On the relationship between the Council, GA and the Secretariat, Ban noted that his report to the GA following SIPDIS his recent trip was not intended to "disrespect" the Council. He noted that he supported the Council's discussion of climate change in April, when some delegations urged him to stay away to avoid encouraging the Council's "encroachment". He would continue his efforts on climate change, including during the upcoming G-8 Summit in Germany. He said that the UN would be expected to lead on the issue of climate change, and therefore he would attempt to galvanize political will through a high-level, interactive event on September 24 on the margins of the General Debate. The goal was to leverage this single-day discussion through existing groupings, including the GA. Ban noted that he was coordinating closely with the incoming President of the GA, who plans to focus on the issue throughout his tenure. Ban hoped that the September 24 meeting (and a possible small-group dinner on the same day) would give "good guidance" to the Bali UNFCCC meeting later in the year. SYG on Darfur: "Credible Progress" -------------- ¶13. (C) On Darfur, the SYG said that Special Envoy Eliasson had noted that "credible progress" was being made on the political process and preparations for a hybrid force. He said that he planned to send a message to Sudanese President Bashir on humanitarian issues, calling for Sudan to disarm the janjaweed; establish a ceasefire and bring an end to the gunship attacks and aerial bombardment; facilitate progress on peacekeeping efforts; and keep momentum towards the deployment of the hybrid force. He said that the Security Council's visit to Khartoum in June would be a good opportunity and that he would encourage the Council to visit Darfur, but understood that it would be difficult. At the same time, he asked the Council not to neglect the north/south relationship. ¶14. (C) Saying that he "did not want to defend" the Sudanese regime, Ban noted that there had been credible progress on both the peacekeeping and political tracks in recent months, since he began his intensive consultations in February. While there should be a "balanced mix" between negotiations and pressure, he said, "I am quite concerned that the use of sanctions at this time might lead to the Sudanese government to balk at all of our efforts, and lead them to take a hard-line response." Noting that he had discussed the issue with Secretary Rice and others, Ban called on the Council to consider the "consequences on the entire process" of a move to sanctions. In response, France's de La Sabliere said to Ban that he would soon face a "critical moment" with Bashir where the SYG will need to have the full support of the Arab community and the threat of sanctions in order to get Bashir to do the right thing. SYG and Guehenno: Resources required -------------- ¶15. (C) On DPKO restructuring, Ban asked the P-5 to "be more flexible" to allow the Secretariat to "ramp up" in response to the surge of peacekeeping activity. U/SYG Guehenno told the P-5 that the restructuring itself was basically cost-neutral. The bulk of the request for new positions reflected both an ongoing effort to strengthen the capacity of DPKO and the demands of the peacekeeping surge "which is happening not tomorrow, but today," he said. Guehenno said that when the UN sought capable contributions to the strengthened UNIFIL following the July 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, European capitals said that the idea of running 100,000 people in the field with only 700 officials at headquarters created a significant "operational risk". He said that it was inconsistent that countries were pushing to establish a force in Darfur that would cost upwards of one billion dollars, but objected to sixty-five million dollars to strengthen UN capacity. ¶16. (C) In closing, Ambassador Khalilzad noted the importance of continuous support for UNMIS and asked the SYG about the appointment of a new SRSG for the mission. Ban said that he had two people "short-listed" for the job, and now wanted to interview them both. "It will be soon." KHALILZAD