COLOMBIA-ECUADOR DISPUTE: PREPARING FOR 3/17 OAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 025971 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2018 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV CO EC SUBJECT: COLOMBIA-ECUADOR DISPUTE: PREPARING FOR 3/17 OAS MINISTERIAL REF: STATE 25671 Classified By: WHA A/S Thomas A. Shannon; reason 1.4 (D). ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see para 5. ¶2. (C) The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved a consensus resolution on March 5 (OAS Permanent Council Resolution 930) that established an OAS Commission headed by Secretary General Insulza to visit Ecuador and Colombia to look into the March 1 incident and recommend diplomatic alternatives to resolve the crisis. (Reftel detailed readout of the March 4-5 OAS meeting). The resolution also convoked an OAS "Consultation of Ministers" (meeting of foreign ministers) for March 17 in Washington to receive the report of the SYG Insulza's Commission. The parties to the conflict appeared to step back from confrontation during the March 7 Rio Group Summit in Santo Domingo, but the OAS Commission visit to Ecuador/Colombia and the March 17 ministerial remain on the agenda. ¶3. (C) The March 5 resolution (which was negotiated directly between the Colombian and Ecuadorian delegations, with the facilitation of SYG Insulza and the Panamanian Permanent Representative),described the March 1 strike by Colombia as a violation of Ecuador's sovereignty and of "principles of international law," but, it did not condemn Colombia as Ecuador, Venezuela, and Nicaragua had sought. On a statement for the record, the USG made clear that we had not reached an independent judgment on the conclusions of the "violation" referred to, and in that connection questioned whether the OAS Permanent Council had the necessary information to make such a determination, but we did not block consensus on the resolution. Our focus now is on shaping the March 17 Consultation of Ministers to achieve the best possible outcome. ¶4. (C) The Consultation of Ministers, convoked under Articles 61, 62, and 63 of the OAS Charter is slated to take place on March 17. The two major USG objectives for this meeting are to: A) Limit the fallout from the diplomatic rift between Colombia and Ecuador and other neighbors; and, B) Shift the focus from the regional desire to punish Colombia for violating Ecuador's territorial boundary to steps the hemispheric community could take to address the underlying cause of the incident, which is the transnational threat posed by the FARC. This objective includes avoiding language that characterizes the Colombian action as a violation of principles of international law or of Ecuador's sovereignty/territorial integrity or language that selectively quotes from the OAS Charter (noting that OP1 of Resolution 930 refers to the sovereignty/territorial integrity provision of the Charter without a balancing reference to the self-defense provision). //ACTION REQUEST// ¶5. (SBU) Action addressees are asked to approach host governments at the senior MFA level or higher to present USG views on the March 17 Consultation of Ministers at the OAS, STATE 00025971 002 OF 002 drawing on the following points. Posts should not/not leave a copy of the demarche: -- The USG remains concerned by the increased regional tensions in the wake of the March 1 killing of FARC leader Raul Reyes. We enjoy excellent relations with both Ecuador and Colombia and believe it is important for the Inter American community to work together to improve confidence and cooperation between those countries. -- OAS Resolution 930 of March 5 represented an important first step in this effort. We wanted to demonstrate support for the process of reconciliation, but we did not agree with every aspect of the OAS resolution. As we consider the actions in this case, and references to the OAS Charter, we believe the broader context and the need for balance are and will remain important. -- The expressions of goodwill that emerged from the Rio Group Summit in Santo Domingo proved that the region, including Colombia and Ecuador, strongly support a diplomatic resolution of this incident. -- The visit by OAS Secretary General Insulza to Ecuador and Colombia this week and the March 17 Consultation of Ministers at the OAS in Washington are now on the agenda. -- The March 17 Consultation of Ministers should be forward-looking. Colombia's actions were addressed in the March 5 OAS resolution and at the Rio Group Summit; now we must address the transnational threats that continue to pose a significant threat to peace and stability in the region, particularly terrorists' use of third countries as safe havens. This approach is consistent with Article 2 of the OAS Charter, which states that "essential purposes" of the OAS include "prevent(ing) possible causes of difficulties" as well as ensuring the "pacific settlement of disputes that may arise among the member states." -- With this in mind, we should examine how we can use the mechanisms of the Inter American system to address the underlying security problems that led to this incident. Such mechanisms could be managed by the OAS, for example through the Committee on Hemispheric Security, through CICTE, or through the conflict resolution experts in the OAS Political Affairs Secretariat. -- In the 2003 OAS Declaration on Security, member states recognized that transnational threats posed the greatest danger to the region, a fact underscored by the March 1 incident. The USG would welcome your views on specific steps the Inter American system could take to help reduce the threat posed by the FARC and increase regional cooperation in order to prevent similar incidents in the future. -- At the March 17 meeting, foreign ministers will have an opportunity to reaffirm regional support for efforts to deal with the FARC and to preserve the security of democratic states in the Americas. We hope our delegations can work together at the OAS to craft an outcome that will reduce the FARC's ability to continue destabilizing the region. ¶6. (U) Posts can direct responses to WHA desk officers and to WHA/USOAS Political Counselor Ricardo Zuniga (202-647-6375) no later than COB March 13. The Department will forward to posts the text of USOAS statements at the March 4 and 5 OAS Permanent Council meeting on the Colombia-Ecuador dispute, as well as the final text of the OAS resolution that emerged from that meeting. RICE