UNAMID POLICE DEPLOYMENT

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000570 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, AF/SE WILLIAMSON DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU SUBJECT: UNAMID POLICE DEPLOYMENT ¶1. (SBU) UNAMID Acting Chief of Police Administration Ralf Gehling told poloff April 8 that the second 140-officer UNAMID Formed Police Unit (FPU),from Nepal, is poised to deploy in late April. The Nepalese FPU, the third non-African UNAMID unit after the Chinese engineers and the Bangladeshi FPU to arrive in theatre, would augment the Bangladeshi FPU presence at Nyala's teeming Kalma IDP camp. Gehling said that current transportation limitations might result in the Nepalese equipment arriving in late April, with Nepalese police arriving only when the equipment is in place. ¶2. (SBU) Gehling said that three other police units that were expected to arrive in April - an Indonesian FPU for the Zam Zam IDP camp, a Nigerian FPU for El-Geneina, and an Egyptian FPU for Graida IDP camp - will probably be delayed and will arrive no earlier than May, but warned that this also depends on the timely arrival of their equipment into El-Fasher (which experience has shown is unlikely). He added that UNAMID has adopted the policy that FPU personnel will be permitted to arrive in Darfur only when their equipment has arrived beforehand. UNAMID expects a Senegalese FPU for the Zam Zam IDP camp to arrive late May or even June, also depending on the timely arrival of its equipment. ¶3. (SBU) Gehling added that the police units, like the UNAMID military units, are affected by the lack of accommodations but continue to press ahead with planned deployments. Gehling pointed out that there were no accommodations when the Bangladeshi FPU arrived in Nyala but the Chinese engineers were able to quickly construct housing for the Bangladeshis. (NOTE: The Deputy Chief of Staff said that the quick construction of the Bangladeshi housing at Nyala was only made possible by Chinese engineers who were already on the ground. There are no engineers with equipment at the other sites. END NOTE.) ¶4. (SBU) Gehling said that individual UNAMID police numbers are also expected to increase from their current level of 1562 personnel, but that UN policy might adversely affect future recruitment. He said 29 Nepalese and 14 Gambian police officers will arrive by the end of April, and 40 additional South African officers will arrive in May. However, Gehling said that UN policy requires UNAMID to charge the police a fee of $24 per night to live in UN furnished 100-person tents. The police have complained that the sub-standard accommodations are filthy, unfit for habitation and not worth the $24. Gehling said that the police quote UN Department of Field Support Under-Secretary-General Jane Holl-Lute, who stated that personnel should not have to pay for the sub-standard accommodations. While recruitment has not suffered yet, Gehling said that he has received a number of inquiries from prospective recruits about the UN-required payment for these accommodations. ¶5. (SBU) Asked about the effectiveness of current policing programs, Gehling said that a shortage of vehicles limits police effectiveness by reducing the duration and number of UNAMID police patrols. Gehling said that overland transportation is the underlying cause for this shortage; there are 160 vehicles at the UNAMID logistics base in El-Obeid, but there are no contractors currently available to move them to El-Fasher or Nyala. As a solution, he said that he plans to task police officers to go to El-Obeid and drive the vehicles to El-Fasher and Nyala - a risky proposition given the number of recent car-jackings in Darfur. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: Additional formed police units (FPUs) arguably may provide a greater benefit to the people in Darfur than equal numbers of military troops and possibly would be easier to accommodate. UN logistics and bureaucracy once again appear to be the primary obstacles to rapid and efficient deployment. U/SYG Jane Holl-Lute's current visit to El Fasher may help address some of these daunting problems, and will be reported septel. FERNANDEZ