LAKHDAR BRAHIMI BRIEFS AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD ON THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000535

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2013
TAGS: AORC KUNR PREL UNGA
SUBJECT: LAKHDAR BRAHIMI BRIEFS AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD ON THE
REPORT BY THE INDEPENDENT PANEL ON SAFETY AND SECURITY OF
UNITED NATIONS PERSONNEL AND PREMISES.

REF: USUN New York 255

Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad; Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Lakhdar Brahimi, Chairman of the Independent
Panel on Safety and Security of United Nations Personnel and
Premises, briefed Ambassador Khalilzad June 9 on the major
findings of the Panel's just-completed report that was
prepared in the aftermath of the December 2007 bombing of a
UN facility in Algiers, Algeria in which 17 UN staff were
killed. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon established the Panel
to review increasing risks to the safety and security of UN
personnel, to assess specifically what happened in Algiers,
and to determine whether the Algiers bombing could have been
prevented. Brahimi reported the existence of serious
management issues in the Department of Safety and Security
(DSS) under the leadership of David Vaness and noted that a
follow-up audit of DSS may be necessary. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The Independent Panel on Safety and Security of UN
Personnel and Premises has completed its report on the
security of UN premises in the wake of the December 2007
bombing of the UN facility in Algiers, Algeria. The 80-page
confidential report was presented to Secretary-General Ban
Ki-Moon on June 9 for his review. The Panel, established by
the SYG to review security arrangements around the world,
began its work on March 1. In addition to Brahimi, the Panel
members included Elsayed Ibrahime Elsayid Mohamed Elhabbal
(Egypt); Anil Kumar Gupta (India); Unit Pamir (Turkey);
Thomas Boy Sinabde (South Africa); and Margareta Wahlstrom
(Sweden).



3. (C) Brahimi told Ambassador Khalilzad that at least three
individual UN officers submitted reports concerning the security
situation in Algiers prior to the bombing and that those reports
went unheeded. In addition to the well-known reports from Babacar
Ndiiaye, the DSS security officer in Algiers, who warned of a
possible terrorist attack, at least two other UN officials
conveyed their concerns to UN Headquarters. The other reports
came from a desk officer who covered West Africa and the
Secretary General's Special Representative for the Western
Sahara, who reportedly said that "Algiers was an accident
waiting to happen." The lack of any discernible action by
DSS constitutes "a failure of leadership," according to
Brahimi.


4. (C) The Algiers bombing was the most deadly attack against
a UN facility since the establishment of DSS. Brahimi told
Ambassador Khalilzad that significant management problems
existed within DSS. David Vaness, the Under Secretary-General
for Safety and Security, is said to be at odds with his
deputy, Diana Russler. Vaness' heavy travel schedule, which
takes him away from the office some three weeks of every
month, has contributed to a lack of oversight. In his
absence, little is accomplished, in part because of the
friction between Vaness and Russler.


5. (C) The terms of reference for the Brahimi report did not
include a mandate to establish accountability for possible
security failures relating to the bombing. The UN Staff Union
has expressed concerns about possible security failures in
its February 22, 2008 letter (reftel ). Brahimi told
Khalilzad that the UN is now seen as a target, rather than an
independent and impartial organization.


6. (C) The Brahimi report is with SYG Ban for his review. The
Secretary-General has indicated to Brahimi that he would like
the report to be made public, but others may wish to keep it
confidential. Brahimi told Khalilzad that a subsequent audit
will be needed if there is to be any true inquiry into the
Algiers bombing.

Khalilzad