Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08USUNNEWYORK957
2008-10-20 23:30:00
CONFIDENTIAL
USUN New York
Cable title:
SYG BAN ON DRC, BURMA, SUDAN, SOMALIA, FINANCIAL
how-toVZCZCXRO9987 PP RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHROV RUEHTRO DE RUCNDT #0957/01 2942330 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 202330Z OCT 08 FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5143 INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000957
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2018
TAGS: PREL EFIN KPKO SU SO BM
SUBJECT: SYG BAN ON DRC, BURMA, SUDAN, SOMALIA, FINANCIAL
CRISIS
REF: A. USUN 936
B. USUN 910
Classified By: Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad, for reasons 1.4 b/d.
1 (SBU) SUMMARY: Secretary-General Ban briefed Security
Council PermReps on October 20 on his upcoming trip to Asia
as well as developments in Sudan, Somalia, and the DRC. Ban
also discussed UN views on a summit to address the global
financial crisis. End Summary.
Asia trip, plans for Burma visit
--------------
2. (C) During his monthly lunch with Security Council
PermReps on October 20, SYG Ban told the Council that he was
planning a trip to the Philippines, India, Nepal and
Bangladesh during the week of October 27. Ban's chief of
staff, Vijay Nambiar, also confided to Amb. Khalilzad that
the SYG had decided to send Nambiar to Burma in order to lay
the groundwork for a Ban visit, but that the dates were not
yet certain. Ban is following through on the proposal
mentioned in Ref A (NOTAL).
DRC
---
3. (SBU) Ban briefed PermReps on tensions between the DRC and
Rwanda, which he feared could escalate into a broader
conflict in eastern Congo and potentially overwhelm MONUC.
In an attempt to defuse tensions, Ban invited DRC President
Kabila and Rwandan President Kagame to a meeting on the
margins of the Francophonie summit in Quebec. To Ban's
disappointment, Kabila did not show, while Kagame sent his
prime minister. Ban told the Council that in his view,
higher-level engagement is necessary to facilitate dialogue
between Kabila and Kagame, implying that SRSG Doss might not
be sufficiently senior to effectively mediate between the two
heads of state. Ban believes that there are two options:
either he would need to get involved personally in the talks
or else send someone of "great stature." Separately, Council
PermReps reiterated their support for SRSG Doss's
disengagement plan (Ref B). Members also supported Doss's
proposal for strengthened MONUC capabilities, while stressing
the need for a full DPKO assessment of the proposal.
Sudan
--------------
4. (SBU) The SYG told Council members that
Undersecretaries-General LeRoy and Malcorra both returned
optimistic from their recent visits to Khartoum, reporting
that the Sudanese government appears eager to cooperate and
that many obstacles to deployment (e.g. visas) had already
been resolved. According to Ban, UNAMID is on track for 65%
deployment by the end of the year (approximately 15,600
troops). While there appeared to be substantial progress on
deployment of additional troops to Darfur, U/SYG LeRoy has
voiced concerns that not enough attention is focused on
upgrading the capabilities of AMIS legacy troops.
5. (SBU) Ban reported optimism on the political front as
well. Darfur Chief Mediator Bassole is back in Khartoum and
reports that major players, including JEM, Abdulwahid and the
Sudanese government are engaging him and feel a sense of
urgency to establish a political process in Darfur.
Somalia
--------------
6. (SBU) Ban reported no breakthrough in his outreach to
potential troop contributing countries for a multinational
force (MNF) or peacekeeping operation (PKO) in Somalia,
though talks are ongoing. Council members noted that
approval of either a MNF or PKO would have significant fiscal
implications and some questioned if the global financial
crisis would affect the Council's willingness to approve and
fund a significant new peacekeeping operation.
Financial crisis
--------------
7. (C) Addressing the financial crisis directly, Ban told the
Council that during the Francophonie summit in Canada, French
President Sarkozy had raised the idea of holding a G8 summit
to address the crisis. The SYG had suggested the UN as a
possible venue. He noted the UN's demonstrated ability to
host large conferences and said he believed that hosting such
an event at the UN would send a positive signal given the
UN's role as a center for multilateral problem-solving. Ban
USUN NEW Y 00000957 002 OF 002
said that President Bush had offered to host the meeting
after discussing the issue with Sarkozy and European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, but that the SYG
still felt that the UN should be involved. The UN would have
a particularly important role if the meeting resulted in
proposed changes to Bretton Woods institutions, Ban said,
adding that the UN also would have an important role as a
voice for developing countries at such a gathering. The
Chinese PermRep, who later privately admitted that he was
speaking on instructions, said that China supported the
proposed meeting but that China preferred it be held in a new
format rather than "G8 plus others."
8. (C) In a subsequent one-on-one conversation with
Ambassador Khalilzad, SYG Ban said that he would ultimately
support whatever decision the U.S. made on a financial
summit, whether at the UN or in Washington, but stressed
again his strong feeling that the UN should be involved.
Khalilzad
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2018
TAGS: PREL EFIN KPKO SU SO BM
SUBJECT: SYG BAN ON DRC, BURMA, SUDAN, SOMALIA, FINANCIAL
CRISIS
REF: A. USUN 936
B. USUN 910
Classified By: Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad, for reasons 1.4 b/d.
1 (SBU) SUMMARY: Secretary-General Ban briefed Security
Council PermReps on October 20 on his upcoming trip to Asia
as well as developments in Sudan, Somalia, and the DRC. Ban
also discussed UN views on a summit to address the global
financial crisis. End Summary.
Asia trip, plans for Burma visit
--------------
2. (C) During his monthly lunch with Security Council
PermReps on October 20, SYG Ban told the Council that he was
planning a trip to the Philippines, India, Nepal and
Bangladesh during the week of October 27. Ban's chief of
staff, Vijay Nambiar, also confided to Amb. Khalilzad that
the SYG had decided to send Nambiar to Burma in order to lay
the groundwork for a Ban visit, but that the dates were not
yet certain. Ban is following through on the proposal
mentioned in Ref A (NOTAL).
DRC
---
3. (SBU) Ban briefed PermReps on tensions between the DRC and
Rwanda, which he feared could escalate into a broader
conflict in eastern Congo and potentially overwhelm MONUC.
In an attempt to defuse tensions, Ban invited DRC President
Kabila and Rwandan President Kagame to a meeting on the
margins of the Francophonie summit in Quebec. To Ban's
disappointment, Kabila did not show, while Kagame sent his
prime minister. Ban told the Council that in his view,
higher-level engagement is necessary to facilitate dialogue
between Kabila and Kagame, implying that SRSG Doss might not
be sufficiently senior to effectively mediate between the two
heads of state. Ban believes that there are two options:
either he would need to get involved personally in the talks
or else send someone of "great stature." Separately, Council
PermReps reiterated their support for SRSG Doss's
disengagement plan (Ref B). Members also supported Doss's
proposal for strengthened MONUC capabilities, while stressing
the need for a full DPKO assessment of the proposal.
Sudan
--------------
4. (SBU) The SYG told Council members that
Undersecretaries-General LeRoy and Malcorra both returned
optimistic from their recent visits to Khartoum, reporting
that the Sudanese government appears eager to cooperate and
that many obstacles to deployment (e.g. visas) had already
been resolved. According to Ban, UNAMID is on track for 65%
deployment by the end of the year (approximately 15,600
troops). While there appeared to be substantial progress on
deployment of additional troops to Darfur, U/SYG LeRoy has
voiced concerns that not enough attention is focused on
upgrading the capabilities of AMIS legacy troops.
5. (SBU) Ban reported optimism on the political front as
well. Darfur Chief Mediator Bassole is back in Khartoum and
reports that major players, including JEM, Abdulwahid and the
Sudanese government are engaging him and feel a sense of
urgency to establish a political process in Darfur.
Somalia
--------------
6. (SBU) Ban reported no breakthrough in his outreach to
potential troop contributing countries for a multinational
force (MNF) or peacekeeping operation (PKO) in Somalia,
though talks are ongoing. Council members noted that
approval of either a MNF or PKO would have significant fiscal
implications and some questioned if the global financial
crisis would affect the Council's willingness to approve and
fund a significant new peacekeeping operation.
Financial crisis
--------------
7. (C) Addressing the financial crisis directly, Ban told the
Council that during the Francophonie summit in Canada, French
President Sarkozy had raised the idea of holding a G8 summit
to address the crisis. The SYG had suggested the UN as a
possible venue. He noted the UN's demonstrated ability to
host large conferences and said he believed that hosting such
an event at the UN would send a positive signal given the
UN's role as a center for multilateral problem-solving. Ban
USUN NEW Y 00000957 002 OF 002
said that President Bush had offered to host the meeting
after discussing the issue with Sarkozy and European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, but that the SYG
still felt that the UN should be involved. The UN would have
a particularly important role if the meeting resulted in
proposed changes to Bretton Woods institutions, Ban said,
adding that the UN also would have an important role as a
voice for developing countries at such a gathering. The
Chinese PermRep, who later privately admitted that he was
speaking on instructions, said that China supported the
proposed meeting but that China preferred it be held in a new
format rather than "G8 plus others."
8. (C) In a subsequent one-on-one conversation with
Ambassador Khalilzad, SYG Ban said that he would ultimately
support whatever decision the U.S. made on a financial
summit, whether at the UN or in Washington, but stressed
again his strong feeling that the UN should be involved.
Khalilzad