EGYPT EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION WITH THE UN'S 1267

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 001176 SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/CT FOR DAILEY TREASURY FOR O'BRIEN, GLASER, GRANT E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2018 TAGS: ECON EG ETRD IR PGOV SUBJECT: EGYPT EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION WITH THE UN'S 1267 COMMITTEE Classified By: Counselor Catherine Hill-Herndon for reason 1.4(b). ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See paragraph 6. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: Egypt is one of several countries which has submitted names to the U.N. Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 regarding Al Qaida and Taliban associated entities. Egypt has had 13 names pending with the Committee since 2005. The U.S. and U.K. have holds on all 13 names, given the inadequate evidence and supporting information for the names. However, in response to the Committee's repeated requests, on May 6, 2008, the GOE submitted more detailed information on the 13 names. Recently, Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Counterterrorism, Ashraf Mohsen, repeated frustrations he has with the Committee, its Monitoring Team (MT) and with the way the U.S. treats other countries' submissions. End summary. ¶3. (C) Mohsen began by noting that Egypt no longer trusts the Committee or the MT to competently carry out its mandate. He argued that the Committee has lost credibility by frequently straying from its mandate. In particular, he noted that the Committee and the MT had infuriated some within the Egyptian government by requesting to see certain prisoners held in Egyptian prisons, something Mohsen argued was far outside their terms of reference. Rather than implementing the sanctions regime, he complained that the Committee was busying itself with studies on radicalization and the use of the internet for terrorism. He noted that these deviations from the mandate have undermined the credibility of the sanctions process, and has eroded the GOE's commitment towards the Committee. He urged the U.S. to "reign in" the Committee in order to restore its credibility and improve the effectiveness of the sanctions regime. ¶4. (C) Careful to first state Egypt's close alliance with the U.S. on all issues related to fighting terrorism and improving regional security, he then urged the U.S. to release its holds on the Egyptian names. He acknowledged that the U.S. has very high evidentiary standards, but also noted that frustration with the United States' holds on names runs wide in the region, contributing to the Committee's diminished international support. (Note: He made no reference to the additional information the GOE supplied on May 6.) ¶5. (C) In the course of exploring with Mohsen how to rectify this situation, we mentioned the possibility of considering a workshop to help countries in the region develop designation cases which are compelling and thorough. Mohsen argued that such an approach would be counterproductive unless the U.S. could be prepared to release some of its holds on Egyptian and other regional countries' submissions. He further noted that the Saudis and Yemenis would need to be included in such a discussion, as they have requested certain key individuals to be delisted and are frustrated with the U.S. unwillingness to support such delistings. He argued that Egypt and others in the region are less in need of "technical assistance", but rather the Committee and the MT are in need of reform and the U.S. and U.K. need to be more practical and constructive as they evaluate other countries' submissions. (Note: Libya, which is on the Security Council and has placed holds on U.S. submissions in retaliation for U.S. holds, has expressed support for technical assistance on implementing targeted sanctions. Treasury Regional Attache in Cairo plans to join a Treasury delegation to Tripoli to discuss this issue.) ¶6. (C) Action request: We understand Washington agencies are considering the recent additional information submitted by the GOE on May 6. If the information submitted is still deemed inadequate, we would urge formal consultation to find a new way forward. Also, GOE reservations not withstanding, a workshop would show responsiveness to countries' concerns and complaints. SCOBEY