GEORGIA, KOSOVO: UN P3 PERMREPS CONSIDER NEXT STEPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000821 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2018 TAGS: PREL UNSC UNGA GG RS SR KV SUBJECT: GEORGIA, KOSOVO: UN P3 PERMREPS CONSIDER NEXT STEPS REF: USUN 810 Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 1.(C) Summary. The PermReps of the U.S., U.K., and France (P-3) decided to jointly press the Secretary General to quickly send a comprehensive humanitarian and human rights fact-finding mission to Georgia, including South Ossetia and Abkhazia, to assess needs and look into allegations of human rights abuses. The Ambassadors agreed that a 2-3 month technical rollover of the UNOMIG mission would be important way to keep an international foothold in Abkhazia, but that any Russian attempt to add language to a resolution that crosses P-3 redlines on territorial integrity might cause us to rethink our support for a rollover. The Ambassadors agreed to reach out to Council Members to solidify resistance to the participation of the defacto South Ossetia and Abkhazia governments in Council sessions, offering an Arria-style meeting as a compromise. On Kosovo, the UK PermRep said London is reconsidering its earlier position of joining EU consensus to abstain on Serbia's request to the General Assembly seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on Kosovo's declaration of independence. The UK proposed a Quint Political Directors and Legal Advisors meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA to consider next steps, which could include trying to adjust the language of the draft resolution. End Summary. Georgia -------------- 2.(C) Ambassador Khalilzad hosted a meeting of PermReps and Deputy PermReps from the U.K. and France on September 11 to consider next steps in New York on Georgia and Kosovo. Ambassador Khalilzad noted that Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had assured him several days earlier that he would send a comprehensive assessment mission to Georgia to include a fact-finding element for charges of human rights violations and ethnic cleansing. Ban had publicly mentioned his intention to send a UN assessment mission, but had not yet announced a date. The PermReps agreed they would jointly approach the Secretary General with an urgent plea to get the UN fact-finding mission on the ground quickly, and to press him on including an appropriate human rights component. They would ask the Secretary General to report back to the Council on the results of the fact-finding mission. 3.(C) The P-3 also agreed to shore-up support for blocking the participation of representatives of the separatist governments of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Security Council meetings. They assessed that a compromise such as a U.S. offer on visas for an Arria-style meeting (i.e., an informal meeting arranged by a Council Member outside Council chambers, to which all other Council Members are invited to attend) could ward off continued calls by Council Members to find an appropriate venue for the representatives to be heard in the Council. Ambassador Khalilzad emphasized that an Arria-style meeting should include the views of ethnic-Georgian IDPs who had been forced to leave their homes in Abkhazia and S.Ossetia. The U.K.PermRep suggested hosting an alternate Arria-style meeting as a follow on to Russia's Arria-style meeting on October 7, in order to invite representatives from humanitarian NGOs and Georgian internally displaced persons (IDPs). 4.(C) When the UNOMIG mandate ends on October 15, the Ambassadors believed Russia would make it difficult for the Security Council to agree on a temporary extension. Russia would seek to add language to a resolution that would cross P-3 redlines on the territorial integrity of Georgia or that would grant implicit recognition to Abkhazia's independence. Nonetheless, the Ambassadors believed a temporary continuation of the mission should be pursued, as it provides a foothold for the international community within Abkhazia. Kosovo/ICJ -------------- 5.(C) The French PermRep said France had adopted a national position to abstain on Serbia's draft resolution activating a General Assembly request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. The French were also trying to reach an EU consensus position on abstention. The U.K. Deputy PermRep reported that London is reconsidering its position on a common EU position after the September 4 Quint meeting in New York (Reftel). The U.K. is now leaning toward voting "no" on the draft resolution, rather than join the consensus. The U.K. believed that a consensus abstention position would take the pressure off of Serbia in its negotiations with the EU. The U.K. suggested that Quint political directors and legal advisors meet on the sidelines of the UNGA consider what might be done. The U.K. also was considering amending USUN NEW Y 00000821 002 OF 002 the language of the resolution to include language to frame the issue for the Court, such as language on the Rambouillet accords. Further, the proposed consideration of sending the agenda item to the 6th Committee in order to delay consideration while the Quint generates the "no" votes and abstentions necessary to defeat the resolution. Khalilzad