ZIMBABWE AT THE UN: FRANCE SUPPORTIVE BUT NOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000819 SIPDIS SIPDIS ADDIS ABABA PLEASE PASS USAU DEPARTMENT FOR IO/UNP-GOLDENBURG, IO/RHS-OSTERMEIER, AF/S-HILL E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2018 TAGS: PREL UNSC XA AU ZI FR SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE AT THE UN: FRANCE SUPPORTIVE BUT NOT SURE FORMAL SESSION POSSIBLE REF: STATE 44297 Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, 1.4 (b/d ). ¶1. (C) French MFA IO and AF desk officers (Franck Paris, Isabelle de Boisgelin) said on April 28, in response to reftel demarche, that France very much supported the idea of a formal UNSC session on Zimbabwe but said they were not sure that there would be Council agreement to hold one or that it could take place soon. They cited continuing support among Africans, particularly South Africa as current Council president, for Mugabe as one of the fathers of African independence and a reluctance on the part of Africans to agree to a formal Council session, which could only be viewed as a strong form of pressure against him. Boisgelin said that ANC President Zuma, during his April 25 visit to Paris, indicated his personal reluctance to go after Mugabe even at this stage, in view of all that he had done for Africans during their colonial struggles. ¶2. (C) Paris (IO Bureau) said that the impetus for holding a formal session immediately after the April 29 informal session seemed to emanate from the UK, which very much wanted the formal session to take place during South Africa's presidency and not during the upcoming UK presidency. The UK wanted to avoid starting off its presidency with an act that could be viewed as hostile to Zimbabwe, with which the UK already had enough problems. Paris said that France would support its UK ally in trying to formalize a session in the few days remaining of the South African presidency, but he repeated that such was not likely. He indicated the MFA would instruct the French UN delegation to take a firm stance at the April 29 informal session, exploit any possibility that the Council could support a rapid formal follow-on session, but not push aggressively for one if it were clear that broader Council support was lacking. ¶3. (C) On the substance of the USG's points in reftel, Paris said that the GOF was in complete agreement on the need to raise Zimbabwe more actively at the UN. However, he reiterated that circumstances were such that doing so by trying to organize a formal session quickly might not work given the apparent sentiments of the Council, particularly those of its African members. Boisgelin (AF Bureau) agreed on the need to raise the ante in the UN against Mugabe, but shared the IO (Paris) concern about the difficulty of gaining Council support for a formal session. She said that among regional countries, all seemed reluctant to pressure Mugabe, save perhaps Zambia and Botswana. Boisgelin lauded AF A/S Frazer's recent statements on the Zimbabwan elections, noting that the things A/S Frazer said needed to be said and that the U.S., viewed generally as an honest broker in Africa, showed very appropriate and necessary leadership in this instance. ¶4. (C) Both Paris and Boisgelin said they would keep us informed depending on the outcome of the April 29 informal session and any indications that it might provide on how best to proceed. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm STAPLETON