UN SECURITY CHIEF DISCUSSES SECURITY FOR IOM, UNAMI

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000526 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PREF UNSC IZ SUBJECT: UN SECURITY CHIEF DISCUSSES SECURITY FOR IOM, UNAMI REF: A. STATE 57100 B. STATE 60813 ¶1. (SBU) Per ref A demarche, D/Political Counselor met with Under Secretary-General for Safety and Security David Veness June 11 to request UN approval of a plan to provide IOM caseworkers with housing, office space and security coverage by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Veness said he had only received the plan the day before but based on his initial review he had concluded that he needed additional information from IOM. Specifically, he expressed concern that the plan divides security responsibility for the IOM caseworkers between the RSO office at the U.S. Embassy and UN unit for safety and security at the UNAMI compound. In principle, explained Veness, he opposed "split security plans" because they cause confusion regarding responsibilities and information flow. He said he would be consulting with IOM in the coming days about revising the current proposal. He said he would prefer that the United States assume full security responsibility for the IOM caseworkers. D/Political Counselor underscored U.S. support for the presence of the IOM caseworkers, and urged Veness to contact USUN with any follow-on concerns so the two sides could reach a satisfactory conclusion. She observed that there could be resource implications for a complete U.S. assumption of security responsibilities. ¶2. (SBU) Turning to the subject of the upcoming U.S.-UN high-level dialogue on Iraq, currently scheduled for July 11, Veness noted that he would lead the security portion of the discussion. He confirmed that the UN is looking closely at the security arrangements for UNAMI following the end of MNF-I's mandate and will expect to discuss this matter during the July meeting. He relayed informally the UN's assessment that the Iraqi Security Forces will not be in a position to provide adequate security for UNAMI by the end of the year and said the UN would prefer continuation of the current security arrangements. He said he raised this topic with General Petraeus and DCM Butenis when last visiting Baghdad in February. Khalilzad