GODJ IMPATIENT FOR UNSCR ON BORDER DISPUTE WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 001003

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2018
TAGS: DJ ER PBTS PREL SF
SUBJECT: GODJ IMPATIENT FOR UNSCR ON BORDER DISPUTE WITH
ERITREA

Classified By: Amb. J. Swan for reason 1.4 (b)(d)


1. (C) Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Youssouf appealed
to the Ambassador Dec. 14 for the USG to support rapid
consideration and adoption of a French-drafted UN Security
Council Resolution (UNSCR) on the Djibouti-Eritrea border
dispute. The draft UNSCR would establish a deadline for
Eritrea to withdraw forces from the border area and cooperate
on international diplomatic efforts to resolve the matter.
With the upcoming holidays and new year, Youssouf said he
feared the draft UNSCR could face significant further delay
if it is not considered immediately.


2. (C) Separately, French Ambassador Dominique Descherf told
us that Paris had instructed its mission in New York to
circulate the draft to the full 15 Council Members last
Friday, and to seek an experts meeting later this week.
Descherf said the French had held off on circulating the
draft in part because of negative signals from the South
African delegation, which he said favors another Presidential
Statement rather than a UNSCR that could lead eventually to
sanctions against Eritrea. The French have demarched the SAG
to seek support for the draft resolution, but Descherf did
not have a read-out of the South African response. If the
SAG remains opposed to a UNSCR on this issue, the French
believe the best course of action may be to delay action
until the new year, when Uganda replaces South Africa on the
Council.


3. (C) Comment: The GODJ places great importance on
obtaining a favorable UNSCR on the border situation.
President Ismail Omar Guelleh personally addressed the
council on October 23, and the Djiboutians are impatient for
follow-up.
SWAN