CHAD-SUDAN AGREEMENT: BORDER CONTROL OPERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000575

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C (BETHEA)
KINSHASA FOR BRAZZAVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV CF CT CD SY SG FR
SUBJECT: CHAD-SUDAN AGREEMENT: BORDER CONTROL OPERATION
NECESSARY

REF: STATE 31387

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, 1.4 (b/d
).


1. (C) In response to reftel, MFA AF DAS-equivalent
Christine Fages (responsible for Chad) said on March 27 that
the most important step in ensuring the effectiveness of the
Dakar Chad-Sudan Peace Agreement would be the formation and
deployment of a border monitoring operation. She said that
such an operation was mentioned in earlier peace agreements
that were incorporated by reference into the Dakar Agreement.
It was up to Contact Group members such as Senegal, who were
charged with this task, to organize such a mechanism. With
regret, Fages expressed doubt that this border monitoring
function would be put into place quickly, if ever. "It's
just too daunting for them; look at all the trouble we had
setting up EUFOR." She nonetheless said that France would
encourage all parties to the Chad-Sudan peace process to
implement those portions of the Dakar Agreement for which
they bore responsibility.


2. (C) Fages added that the continued deployment of EUFOR,
MINURCAT, and UNAMID would, indirectly, contribute to
improved border controls, but she noted that controlling the
borders was not the primary mission of those entities and
that a border control mechanism derived from the various
Chad-Sudan agreements would still be necessary.


3. (C) Speaking more generally, Fages said that, while the
Dakar Agreement was welcome and should be supported, it was
at least the seventh such peace agreement between Chad and
Sudan, which itself was a commentary on the effectiveness of
the preceding six, on the commitment (or lack thereof) of
Chad and Sudan to make peace, and on the prospect for success
of the latest agreement. She noted that the two sides had
already started sniping about alleged violations of the Dakar
Agreement. "We would like this to succeed, and will
encourage its success, but, realistically, we cannot, and
should not, pin our hopes on this latest paper."


4. (C) At a social event on March 14, shortly after the
Dakar Agreement was concluded, MFA AF DAS-equivalent Helene
Le Gal (responsible for Sudan) said that it was good that
Chad and Sudan had signed an accord, but she said "there's
nothing about this agreement that makes me think it will
succeed when the other six haven't. I would be pleasantly
surprised if it did, but let's not get our hopes up too high."


5. MINIMIZED CONSIDERED

Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm


PEKALA