UNSC REFORM: OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP DEEPLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000796 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2018 TAGS: PREL KUNR UNSC IN BR PK IT JP GM SUBJECT: UNSC REFORM: OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP DEEPLY DIVIDED BUT NEGOTIATIONS UNDERWAY ON END-OF-SESSION REPORT REF: USUN NEW YORK 768 Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) The Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Security Council reform met September 2 to discuss the draft report and decision that must be sent to the General Assembly for adoption before the end of the 62nd session (Sept. 12). The debate illustrated the continuing divide between the Group of Four (G-4) who seek an immediate launch of inter-governmental negotiations in the UNGA and the Uniting for Consensus (UFC) bloc that first seeks agreement in the OEWG on the framework, modalities, and negotiables for those negotiations. For the first time, the G-4 came out strongly against the General Assembly President's (PGA) Seven Principles since they call for negotiations based on reaching "general agreement" of the UN membership and a sequenced way forward. ¶2. (C) Ambassador Khalilzad pressed the PGA in a September 3 bilateral meeting to retain reference to the Seven Principles in the draft since they include the need for reform of the broader UN system hand-in-hand with Security Council reform. A smaller group of states (representatives of both blocs, the P-5, and African states) met September 3 with the PGA's Security Council reform Task Force to bridge the considerable differences that remain. Several more meetings will likely be held before the September 12 deadline. A few states have proposed launching inter-governmental negotiations after a time-bound discussion of framework, modalities, and negotiables in the OEWG. End Summary. Open-Ended Working Group: Clearly Divided -------------- ¶3. (SBU) President of the General Assembly (PGA) Srgjan Kerim chaired the September 2 meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on Security Council reform in which 39 states spoke on the PGA,s draft OEWG report and draft decision (e-mailed to IO/UNP on 8/26) which must be sent to the General Assembly before the end of the 62nd session. The debate illustrated the continuing divide between the two main blocs: (1) Group of Four and its supporters, mainly the small island states, who want to launch inter-governmental negotiations immediately (with a specific timeframe) in the General Assembly with any outcome requiring an affirmative �A;vote by two-thirds of the membership and (2) Uniting for Consensus and its supporters who favor further discussion in the OEWG on the framework, modalities, and negotiables before moving to start negotiations within the OEWG subject to the general agreement of the membership. G-4 Attack Seven Principles -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The debate also showed a split between the two groups on support for the PGA,s Seven Principles for approaching Security Council enlargement. The G-4 and its supporters rejected the inclusion of the Seven Principles as one of the documents (listed in (d) (3) of the draft decision and in several places in the draft report) that will form the basis for negotiations. The UFC, on the other hand, voiced full support for inclusion of the Seven Principles since they articulate their main concerns - identification of the negotiables before negotiations; consultation on the framework and modalities for the negotiations; requirement to reach general agreement on all aspects of Security Council reform. At the end of the OEWG meeting, the PGA announced that the Task Force would begin a series of smaller meetings with states to negotiate amendments to the draft decision with a view to holding the next meeting of the OEWG early the following week, to conclude the process by Friday, September ¶12. U.S. Bilat with PGA -------------- ¶5. (C) Ambassador Khalilzad met bilaterally with PGA Kerim, September 3. The PGA, while taken aback by the G-4's attacks on him during the September 2 meeting for including the Seven Principles in the draft decision, said he was pleased that the membership was now focused on actual amendments to the text. He opined that the G-4 had gone too far in its statements in the OEWG meeting, especially the German Perm Rep who said the OEWG is no longer needed. Ambassador Khalilzad emphasized that the Seven Principles remain important to the U.S. and should appear in the report/draft decision since the first principle enshrines the requirement that UN Security Council reform must go hand-in-hand with reform of the broader UN system. Ambassador Khalilzad suggested that a possible way to bridge the divide is to perhaps offer a time-bound discussion of the framework and modalities in the OEWG and then proceed with inter-governmental negotiations. ¶6. (C) The PGA responded that he had asked the Task Force to concentrate on amendments to the draft decision and the need for general agreement on a framework, modalities, and negotiables, since those are needed for the negotiation. He was not prepared to throw out the Seven Principles but was prepared to move them to a different part of the text. He said that both sides have to give -- the UFC has nothing to fear from starting inter-governmental negotiations and the G-4 and friends need to understand that negotiations must be based on modalities, framework, and negotiables. Meeting with Task Force Chairs: G-4 says "General Agreement" only applies to OEWG -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Three of the four Task Force Vice Chairpersons, the Perm Reps of Bangladesh, Chile, and Portugal, met September 4 with a PGA-selected slate of states: Germany, India, Japan, Brazil, Pakistan, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Egypt, the UK, the U.S., Russia, Guinea, South Africa, and Uganda. It was another session focused on strong statements by both blocs. G-4 members insisted that they would not accept the Seven Principles in the draft decision since that would give them legal standing. The Indian DPR in particular objected to the fifth principle since it says any agreement "must contain" general agreement. The Italian Perm Rep reiterated the historical record of negotiations based on general agreement/consensus. The Pakistani expert said the OEWG should be the forum for the discussions and later interjected that if reform is to be achieved through negotiations then general agreement should be the aim. OEWG: Germans say its no longer useful; Canadians suggest technical roll-over -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The German DPR said Germany's concern with the Seven Principles stems from their sequencing. He noted that the OEWG had been working for 15 years and "had surpassed its usefulness" and should end unless it receives a "sensible mandate" to continue. The Canadian representative suggested that, if no agreement can be reached, a technical roll-over of the OEWG should be considered, but other states said that we were not yet at that point. The Vice Chairs said another Task Force meeting would be scheduled. Possible compromise in sight? -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The Egyptian Perm Rep reiterated calls for decisions to be based on general agreement to achieve reform with the broadest support, and suggested that inter-governmental negotiations start within the OEWG and after agreement on a framework and modalities. If the negotiations do not progress, then those negotiations could move to the General Assembly, he suggested. The Japanese Perm Rep argued in favor of using the final week of the present UNGA session to discuss the negotiables, framework, and modalities for inter-governmental negotiations. He pressed for states to focus on these issues and compromise so that a draft decision can be agreed upon which includes a start date for inter-governmental negotiations. (Note: In an August 22 meeting with the PGA reported reftel, the U.K Perm Rep had proposed a discussion of parameters during the opening months of the 63rd session and then the launch of intergovernmental negotiations at the start of 2009. End note.) Next steps -------------- ¶10. (SBU) USUN will continue to attend these meetings organized by the Task Force and will draw from the following points if useful and appropriate to ensure U.S. redlines are not crossed: -- We continue to strongly support the PGA's Seven Principles, including his first principle -- that any reform of the Security Council must be undertaken hand-in-hand with the transformation of the wider United Nations system. There are UN bodies in more dire need of reform than the Security Council. A comprehensive package of reforms must therefore include reforms in other areas such as General Assembly financing and decision making We have yet to see significant movement on these issues. -- We believe that it is vital to achieve the broadest possible support for Council expansion, to ensure that no significant portion of the membership is alienated by the result and agrees that it constitutes an improvement over the status quo. For this reason, we continue to believe that the Open-Ended Working Group should be the forum to carry forward discussions on inter-governmental negotiations, including those actual negotiations. -- Several states have put forward proposals in the last few days to launch inter-governmental negotiations after a time-bound discussion of framework, modalities, and negotiables in the Open-Ended Working Group. We believe that these proposals should be seriously considered by both sides going forward and urge further discussion on such a proposal. Khalilzad