DELIVERY OF RESPONSE TO ARAB LEAGUE "SOLUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 001833 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/SPG E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL SU AL EUN SUBJECT: DELIVERY OF RESPONSE TO ARAB LEAGUE "SOLUTION PACKAGE" FOR SUDAN REF: A. STATE 84386 ¶B. CAIRO 1603 Classified By: Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart for reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) We conveyed the U.S. position on the Arab League's solution package to Samir Hosni, Director of the Arab League's African Affairs Office on August 7 (ref A). We also encouraged the Arab League to press the Government of Sudan to take positive, concrete steps to improve the situation in Darfur. Hosni opined that the Arab League (AL) solution package had already resulted in concrete steps by the Sudanese Government to name a new prosecutor to investigate crimes in Darfur as a step toward achieving justice, and an agreement to restore Sudan-Chad relations. Hosni declared that the Sudanese Government was ready to enter into negotiations with the rebels without any pre-conditions and that the Arab League, United Nations and African Union would continue to play a role in Sudan. ¶2. (C) However on August 18, Arab press covering the visit to Cairo of Mustafa Othman Ismail, the political advisor to the Sudanese president, quoted Ismail as saying that Sudan still had some reservations on the Arab initiative to resolve the crisis with the ICC. On August 18, we queried Mohammad el-Rashed Sid Ahmed, political counselor at the Embassy of Sudan in Cairo, on this topic. Ahmed told us that the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Arab League have been in constant contact to find a political solution to the ICC crisis. He stated that the GOS was in complete agreement with the AL political plan, but there were still some details to be worked out on the legal solution to the ICC indictment. He said that the position of the GOS was that there was no need for an international court because the Sudanese judiciary was capable of dealing with the crimes committed in Darfur. He highlighted Sudan's creation of an internal criminal court and praised the work of the newly-appointed special Darfur prosecutor, stating that he had already made progress on investigating crimes in Darfur. ¶3. (C) Comment: Although not specifically stated by Ahmed, the sticking point between the Arab League and the Sudanese Government is likely over the role of the Arab League, African Union (AU) and United Nations in the judicial process. The AL "solution package" called on Sudan to allow a panel of legal experts from the AL, AU, and UN access to the legal process to ensure the consistency and comprehensiveness of the Sudanese laws, and the diligence of the litigation process. Although the GOS wants widespread participation in the political process, Ahmed was skittish about any type of "interference" in the judicial process, which he viewed as a serious threat to regime stability. SCOBEY