UGANDA: RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON UNSC RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING

UNCLAS KAMPALA 001660 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO/PSC TANAZ KHAMBATTA, AF/E NOLE GAREY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNSC KPKO SO ET UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON UNSC RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING UNMISOM Ref: SECSTATE 134229 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Post communicated points in reftel to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Uganda on December 24 and followed up on December 29. Though Kampala was not an action addressee, Post delivered the points because Uganda will assume its seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC) on January 1, 2009. The Government of Uganda (GOU) will likely raise these points in the UNSC if the debate on the resolution continues in the New Year. The GOU welcomes the U.S. resolution, and strongly opposes the UK version, which does not call for a UN Mission in Somalia (UNMISOM). Furthermore, the GOU urges those drafting the resolution to broaden the mandate of the UNMISOM mission, adopting language to give forces a larger geographic area in which to operate, to establish and train national security institutions, and to canton forces associated with the Djibouti Peace Agreement (DPA). The GOU also believes the resolution should call for capacity building of Somali judicial and administrative officials and describe the DPA as the "principal element" of the search for peace in Somalia. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Emboff met with Isaac Sebulime, head of the Department of Multilateral Treaties and Organizations at the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 24, following up with a phone call on December 29 to discuss the competing UK version of the resolution, which does not authorize an UNMISOM. Sebulime said Uganda welcomed the U.S. version of the draft, and strongly opposed the UK version of the same. "There is no way [the UK proposal] can fly with us here," he said. "It is not even a fraction of what we want." ¶3. (SBU) Uganda had five specific recommendations to make in regard to the U.S. draft: a) The geographic mandate of the UNMISOM mission should be broadened. The United States should consider language in the resolution that more specifically allows UNMISOM to address the sources of insecurity outside of Mogadishu and "at least in the hinterland around Mogadishu" where the sources of insecurity were based, Sebulime said. Otherwise, the UNMISOM personnel, locked in the city, would be "sitting ducks." b) The force should have a mandate to play a role in security sector reform, specifically creating and training a Somali National Army. This role is critical in addressing the causes of insecurity in Somalia, which include the breakdown of security institutions, he said. In addition, the international community should be able to raise funds for the paying of soldier salaries. c) The GOU recommends including language in paragraph 14 describing the DPA as "the principal element" in the search for peace. This is necessary to send a clear signal to the President of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and to others in the region, including the Government of Eritrea, to ensure their support of the agreement does not wane, Sebulime said. d) The resolution should call for the cantonment of forces associated with the DPA in and around Mogadishu to encourage responsibility and accountability. This will also facilitate their possible integration into national institutions later. e) Hand-in-hand with the peacekeeping mission, there should be government institution capacity building, particularly of administrative and judicial officials. "We are focusing too much on security sector reform," he said. "We should concentrate at least at some level on the capacity of those responsible for running the systems of government," he said. BROWNING