UNSC CONDEMNS ERITREA, UNCERTAIN ON NEXT STEPS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000175 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS AF AND IO FOR FRONT OFFICE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNSC KPAL ET ER MOPS SUBJECT: UNSC CONDEMNS ERITREA, UNCERTAIN ON NEXT STEPS ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On February 21 A/SYG Mulet told the Security Council that UNMEE was well along in its staging of personnel near Asmara for departure and urged Council members to consider next steps for the mission. Mulet implied that restructuring would be unwarranted because UNMEE had become unable to perform its primary mission of faciliating the demarcation of the border and normalization of Ethiopia-Eritrea relations. All Council members condemned Eritrea's cutting off of UNMEE's fuel supply and general non-cooperation. A few members commiserated with Eritrea's frustration over lack of movement on demarcation even as they critcized Eritrea's tactics. The UN Secretariat is preparing a special report on options for UNMEE's future. END SUMMARY. UNMEE MOVEMENT TOWARDS ASMARA ONGOING -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Edmond Mulet updated the Council on February 21 on UNMEE movement of military and civilian personnel to the Asmara vicinity in preparation for departure through Asmara's airport. He said the Department of Peacekeeping operations (DPKO) could fly all personnel out within three weeks, but added that movement of UNMEE heavy equipment through Eritrean ports would require three months even assuming that adequate fuel were made available. ¶3. (SBU) Mulet said DPKO can arrange transport for all UNMEE personnel but, absent a physical emergency, would like to consult with the Council on next steps and will quickly prepare a report detailing relocation possibilities. He distinguished relocation from repatriation of personnel on the grounds that relocation can be ordered by DPKO or UNMEE leaders on the ground whereas repatriation would have to be based on a Council decision to terminate UNMEE. He said Ethiopia would host UNMEE temporily if convinced that doing so would not establish a new temporary security zone or otherwise compromise Ethiopia's legal position under applicable treaties. He reminded members, however, that UNMEE's mandate was to facilitate demarcation of the border and normalization of relations between the parties, clearly intimating a view that this mandate could not be carried out from Ethiopia alone. (NOTE. In a February 25 conversation with DepPolCouns, DPKO senior advisor Andrei Shkourko claified that DPKO would prefer not to temporarily relocate personnel to their home countries vice repatriation because relocation would require DPKO to continue to pay those relocated until UNMEE's mandate were up for Council reconsideration next July. He added that DPKO has begun preliminary discussions with India and Jordan, UNMEE's main troop contributors, about the possible reassignment of UNMEE personnel to other UN peacekeeping operations. END NOTE.) ¶4. (SBU) Mulet explained to Council members that UNMEE had begun relocating personnel and equipment to Asmara as "Plan B" after Eritrea refused passage to UNMEE personnel and vehicles looking to cross the border into Ethiopia. He said there were five incidents of Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) obstructions to the relocation of UNMEE personnel between February 17 - 21: the blocking of four Jordanian armored personnel carriers, the blocking of Indian military personnel on February 17, the seizing of fuel drums from UNMEE's Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC) on February 17, the blocking of Indian military personnel on February 19, and the detaining of an UNMEE convoy containing 18 mine detecting dogs and holding them without food or water. Mulet noted the number of personnel who have relocated from the TSZ to Asmara: 276 of 491 Jordanian troops, 94 of 353 Indian troops posted in Eritrea, 68 of 109 military observers, and 60 Indian engineers. All military units have been ordered to carry as much equipment as possible. UNMEE aims to complete troop movements to Asmara by February 27. He said that UNMEE would be "non-operational" while in Asmara. ASMARA ACTIONS LIMIT OPTIONS -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In response to a question from Ambassador Wolff regarding UNMEE efforts to engage the government of Eritrea on the fuel crisis, Mulet said "we did everything we could" and detailed several unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Eritrean officials from early December when fuel was first cut off through last week's trip to the region by a technical team. Members of the technical team, he said, had USUN NEW Y 00000175 002 OF 002 their visas revoked by Asmara because their itinerary took them through Addis Ababa. Mulet said UNMEE had been open to importing its own fuel or sharing supplies with UNMIS in neighboring Sudan, but Asmara declined to respond to UNMEE's overtures along these lines. ¶6. (SBU) All delegations condemned Eritrea's actions, but to varying degrees. Russian DPR Dolgov said "it is intolerable that a member state of the UN on whose territory a PKO is present not only hinders operations but also blocks departure." He said Russia would support as strong a UNSC presidential statement as possible, adding that "we should refer to 'appropriate measures' without apologizing," a clear call for sanctions language. Libyan DPR Mubarak represented the softer end of the range of Council member outrage over Eritrea's behavior, saying that "the Council should have focused on demarcation so that Asmara would not have taken these wrong decisions." Several members -- including Indonesia, South Africa, Belgium, Croatia, and Italy -- called for the underlying issues of border demarcation and normalization to be addressed. ¶7. (SBU) Delegations were divided on next steps for UNMEE. Russia and South Africa urged UNMEE to relocate temporarily and continue to monitor the situation, while other delegations -- including Belgium, Costa Rica, Burkina Faso, and Libya -- called for the Council to reconsider UNMEE's mandate. ¶8. (SBU) After the meeting, Council President and Panamanian PR Arias told the press that the Council "condemned Eritrea's systematic violations of successive Security Council resolutions." Arias said the Council supported SYG Ban's efforts to resolve in the situation and was waiting for his special report on the issue. ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: Vikram Doraiswami, political counselor at the Indian Mission to the UN, told DepPolCouns after a meeting of troop contributing countries on Feburary 22 that India felt its troops were in a hostile situation in Asmara and was looking for options for their withdrawal. We not know whether Asmara would allow UNMEE planes to take off if they were simply destined for Ethiopia as the last leg in a relocation of the mission. Upon delivery of the SYG's special report, expected mid-week, the Council will need to decide whether to attempt to salvage UNMEE or deploy a new, smaller UN presence in the area. END COMMENT. KHALILZAD