Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KHARTOUM570
2008-04-14 07:51:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Khartoum
Cable title:  

UNAMID POLICE DEPLOYMENT

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU 
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VZCZCXRO6866
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0570 1050751
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 140751Z APR 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0550
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0155
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA
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
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