Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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08USUNNEWYORK794 | 2008-09-03 21:32:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | USUN New York |
1. (U) This is an action request, see paragraph 14. 2. (C) SUMMARY: Recent meetings of the &Friends of UNAMID8 (FoU), co-chaired by the United States and Canada have focused on: 1) following up on UN Under Secretary General (U/SYG) Susanna Malcorra's July 2 list of requests, especially for air lift support to alleviate the backlog of equipment moving into Darfur; 2) coordinating political messages, including for high level officials during the UN General Assembly; and 3) formulating new solutions to address the problems the Friends have encountered in trying to speed UNAMID's deployment. END SUMMARY 3. (C) In a series of meetings with the FoU led by co-chairs Canada and the U.S., some countries expressed an interest in responding to Under Secretary General (U/SYG) Susana Malcorra's list of requests (reftel), in particular her solicitation of airlift for Troop Contributing Countries, and most shared the co-chairs' frustrations regarding the bureaucratic hurdles to deployment. 4. (C) Australian advisors Justine Saunders, Andrew Rose, and Rob Manton assured the Friends co-chairs that their government - the Prime Minister, in particular - is actively looking for ways to be more involved, including in airlift support. Their questions concerning the Malcorra list - about long-term planning and the expenditure of the assessed budget -- echoed those previously expressed in meetings by the U.S., U.K. and Canada. The Australians suggested that an additional U.S. contribution might spur their capital to contribute. 5. (C) Germany has attempted to provide airlift and personnel to UNAMID, and expressed frustration with hurdles presented by the Government of Sudan and the Secretariat. Colonel Ralph Scholz explained that the UN "has a clear understanding of the problems but not the solutions, that its bureaucracy kills them and responds to the FoU with inflexibility that is staggering", and that UNAMID suffers from "lack of expertise". Germany offered 50 military advisors to UNAMID, and the UN accepted only 10. These officers, along with field experts and engineers, are now facing problems with visas that have obstructed their deployment. In the last six months, only one has been deployed. 6. (C) Italy has also offered an airlift option. The UN had initially refused Italy's airlift earlier this year, but revisited it months later, leaving the Italians to question the change of heart and comment, "the UN is not working at its best in this situation." General Giuliano Ferrari added that UNAMID is "the worst deployment plan in military history". Nonetheless, Italian advisors emphasized "we are a Friend of UNAMID, so we try to help". 7. (C) Denmark has also been frustrated by the UN's refusal of their offer last year for a Hercules/C-130 and other logistical elements. However, Danish advisor Rene Dinesen reaffirmed that the Danish mission is looking to reenergize his capital. Of their offer last year, he said, "these proposals were met with confusion, and then we never heard anything." After the co-chairs discussed issues with TCC movements into Darfur, Dinesen said he would request that Copenhagen consider an airlift contribution to help with the backlog with 80 Armed Personnel Carriers (APCs) in Nigeria, currently planned to be moved by sea. 8. (C) Norway is looking for opportunities to contribute, but Oslo has limitations, due to government restrictions on foreign expenditures; however, police training and container handling are very possible. Norwegian advisor Oynvind Dammen said that persuading their Special Representative for Sudan to support a contribution might leverage the government to contribute. In addition, Bartjan Wegter, the Dutch advisor, said that he would go back to his capital for any support in airlifts. 9. (C) Captain Patrick Martin of the French mission, was initially not enthusiastic about the possibility of providing airlift. However, after the co-chairs highlighted the need for 32 APCs to be transported from Senegal, Martin said Paris would explore this possibility further. Martin also said that a few months ago, a European contracting company proposed creating a supply line from Libya to Darfur to UN. Martin said the initial recce was already complete. France promised to look further into the feasibility of the Libyan route. 10. (C) Sweden's feedback on Malcorra's requests has been vague. Staffan Olesen, Sweden's military advisor will send a formal request to Stockholm for specific guidance. 11. (C) In a meeting with Hiroshi Kitagawa of Japan, we received tepid response to consideration of financial support for UNAMID, partly because of national limitations on their ability to provide support to Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs). Kitagawa also did not warm to the idea of increased political engagement. After we raised the role that Japan could play, especially in light of their large contribution to the peacekeeping budget, Kitagawa questioned why the UN was "slow to use the assessed funds" but still maintained that actors like China have more influence to speed UNAMID's deployment. 12. (C) The United Kingdom military advisor had an even more pessimistic perspective. Lt. Colonel Nicholas Slinger expressed frustration with the Secretariat and the bureaucratic impasse they have experienced. He informed us that there was no fresh money from the U.K. on the table, but suggested the Friends focus on supporting TCC's directly and avoid UN channels to get things accomplished. 13. (C) The African Union has also shown a serious interest in helping. The new Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ramtane Lamamra is in weekly contact with U/SYG Malcorra, and the AU mission will urge him to take up the issue of visas with the Government of Sudan, which has been a problem many countries are encountering. 14. (C) ACTION: USUN suggests the Department consider conducting demarches in capitals of the Friends of UNAMID as quickly as possible to encourage those countries to provide the support requested by U/SYG Malcorra, especially to those who already seem inclined to help: Australia, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and France. Khalilzad |