MONUC AT UN: WE ONLY HAVE PLEDGES FOR HALF

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001185

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO UNSC XA BY CG
SUBJECT: MONUC AT UN: WE ONLY HAVE PLEDGES FOR HALF
REQUESTED TROOPS


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: UN Under Secretary-General Le Roy on
December 15 told the Security Council that diplomatic efforts
are thawing the relationship between the DRC and Rwanda. He
said direct talks between the DRC and Nkunda's CNDP stalled,
but were set to resume December 17. Le Roy said he had
received commitments to meet only half of total number of
newly authorized troops for MONUC. The U.S. said
implementation of existing agreements is the key to a lasting
peace. Council members agreed that protecting civilians was
MONUC's first priority. France said the EU is still
discussing the possibility of sending troops. MONUC's new
mandate is scheduled to be adopted December 22. END SUMMARY.

DRC/RWANDA RELATIONS IMPROVING


2. (SBU) UN Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
Operations Alain Le Roy said diplomatic efforts between the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda are
improving their bilateral relationship. The foreign
ministers had recently met three times, and each country
planned on reopening its embassy by April 2009.

CNDP/DRC NEGOTIATIONS STALLED


3. (SBU) Le Roy reported Special Envoy for the Great Lakes
Obasanjo said there were three problems with the ongoing
talks in Nairobi between the DRC and General Nkunda's CNDP
rebel group. First, the CNDP delegation had no authority to
make binding commitments. Second, the CNDP was raising
national issues, such as mining contracts, that the
facilitators did not believe they were mandated to address.
Third, there was no agreement on incorporating these talks
into the Goma/Nairobi framework or on whether non-CNDP armed
groups should participate. Le Roy said the talks were set to
resume December 17.

PLEDGES SLOW IN COMING FOR NEW TROOPS


4. (SBU) Le Roy briefed the Council on the status of
identifying the roughly 3,000 additional troops for MONUC
authorized in Security Council Resolution 1843. He said
Bangladesh offered one formed police unit and possibly one
battalion of infantry, Guatemala proposed sending one Special
Forces company, Jordan indicated a desire to send an
unspecified number troops, and Belgium pledged a C-130 plane
and intelligence assistance. Le Roy said MONUC lacked,
assuming specific pledges materialized, one battalion of
infantry, one Special Forces company, one formed police unit,
one engineering unit, and one C-130. Overall he said 92
percent of MONUC's existing forces were deployed in eastern
DRC.

MANDATE LANGUAGE-STRAIGHT FROM DPKO


5. (SBU) Le Roy asked for as much clarity as possible in the
new MONUC resolution. He even introduced language MONUC
wanted included in the resolution in order to clarify MONUC's
role in cooperating with the DRC army (FARDC),to wit: "to
allow MONUC to operate with FARDC only if FARDC had
sufficient command and control and operational capacity."
(COMMENT: This was an unconventional step for DPKO to take-as
normally DPKO works bilaterally to introduce text into a
resolution. END COMMENT).

U.S. SAYS USE EXISTING AGREEMENTS


6. (SBU) DepPolCouns said the Nairobi Communique, the Goma
Accords, and the September 2008 MONUC disengagement plan
provide the framework for re-establishing security and
protecting civilians. He also stressed the importance of
making sure MONUC's tasks were clearly prioritized in the new
mandate.

ALL MEMBERS SUPPORT PROTECTING CIVILIANS; EU STILL DISCUSSING
TROOPS


7. (SBU) All Council members said protection of civilians
needed to be MONUC's first priority. French PermRep Ripert
said the European Union was still discussing the possibility
of sending an interim "bridging" force to the DRC, to assist
MONUC until the new UN troops arrive. Several delegations
praised France's draft MONUC renewal resolution, scheduled
for a December 22 adoption.
Khalilzad