DJIBOUTI ASKS UNSC TO GIVE ERITREA AN ULTIMATUM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000972 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2018 TAGS: PREL MOPS ER DJ SO SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI ASKS UNSC TO GIVE ERITREA AN ULTIMATUM Classified By: Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad, for reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh told the Security Council on October 23 that continued inaction by the international community in the face of Eritrea's occupation of Djiboutian territory would leave his country with no option but to use force to protect its "natural integrity." Council members called for the parties to accept UN and regional mediation efforts. The U.S. and many others went further to single out Eritrea for its defiance of all efforts at mediation by the UN and the international community. France said that it would begin discussions next week on a draft text, but remained vague on the format (presidential statement vs. resolution) and timeline for action. The Djiboutians would prefer a resolution but may have to settle for a strong PRST that lays the groundwork for future Council action if Eritrea continues to refuse to engage. End Summary. Djibouti -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In an open Security Council meeting on October 23, Djiboutian President Guelleh condemned Eritrea's "sudden, inexplicable" invasion of Djiboutian territory and lamented the fact that all of Djibouti's efforts at peaceful resolution - including appeals to the UN, AU, Arab League and OIC - had been in vain. Guelleh said that Eritrea "at this moment illegally occupies (the peninsula of) Doumeira and the islands of Doumeira" despite Djibouti's withdrawal of its armed forces, as requested in the Security Council's Presidential Statement (PRST) of 12 June. ¶3. (SBU) Guelleh warned that conflating the Djibouti-Eritrea border conflict would only encourage Eritrea to provoke other conflicts in the region. He outlined a three stage approach to resolving the crisis: - Eritrea should accept the SYG's offer of his good offices - Both sides should demobilize their forces and return to previous positions - The two sides should build trust and submit to a legal process to determine and demarcate the disputed border. Guelleh asked the Security Council to give the parties a limited amount of time (he suggested three weeks) to commit themselves to resolving the problem or face sanctions. Eritrea -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Eritrean PermRep Araya Desta spoke immediately after Guelleh, who left the Council chamber immediately after finishing his intervention and did not return. Desta referred to a "series of hostile campaigns against Eritrea." After proclaiming that he would not "dwell on the genesis of a manufactured crisis," he went on to attribute the June hostilities between Djibouti and Eritrea to an unprovoked attack by Djibouti against Eritrean troops on Eritrean territory. However, he continued, the "crisis is not of Djibouti's making but created by others." Desta alleged that Ethiopia occupies land awarded to Eritrea by the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC) and Ethiopia had deployed "offensive weaponry" on Mount Musa-Ali, supplied by roads built on Djiboutian territory, though Desta said that the latter was "not related to the issue at hand." He said Eritrean President Isaias and President Guelleh had discussed matters in keeping with the "sisterly ties" between the two countries and the leaders' mutual concern for regional stability. He insisted that Eritrea "will not allow itself to be dragged into...a diversionary and fabricated conflict." Council reaction -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Council members uniformly called on parties to refrain from violence, comply with previous Council requests and accept the SYG's offer to use his good offices to help resolve the crisis. Burkina Faso praised Djibouti for its restraint and said that the fact that its president and prime minister had both briefed the Council on the situation showed Djibouti's commitment to resolving the crisis peacefully and through UN channels. Burkina Faso said that the Security Council had a responsibility to "reaffirm" its involvement and suggested that an arbitrated solution could be found for the border if the two sides could not resolve their differences bilaterally. Belgium urged Djibouti to persevere in its pursuit of peace and said that Eritrea had chosen for itself the path of isolation. Belgium continued that the Eritrea-Djibouti conflict cannot be linked to the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict, but said that Eritrea's rights vis-a-vis Ethiopia are the flip side of its obligations USUN NEW Y 00000972 002 OF 002 vis-a-vis Djibouti. ¶6. (SBU) Italy said it appreciated Djibouti's restraint and responsible behavior and regretted Eritrea's failure to engage with the international community, withdraw its forces as requested by the Council or cooperate with the UN's Fact-Finding Mission into the Djibouti-Eritrea conflict. Italy suggested that the EEBC or the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border dispute might serve as a model for an arbitrated solution in this case. Indonesia and South Africa regretted that the UN Fact-Finding Mission "was unable to visit" Asmara without assigning blame to Eritrea. Indonesia said that while it did not want to blur the Djibouti-Eritrea conflict with that between Eritrea and Ethiopia, it was important to see that the two are "geographically linked." South Africa said it hoped that the recent visit of AU Chairperson Jean Ping to Asmara would create a new channel for dialogue and said it would be "regrettable" if the SC were forced to take action on this matter. Vietnam hoped for a resolution consistent with the UN charter while Libya hoped that the parties would make use of legal instruments to resolve the border issue. ¶7. (SBU) France confirmed that it intended to honor its commitments to Djibouti and said that it would begin consultations on a draft text in the coming week. The UK praised Djibouti and said it looked to Eritrea to take an equally constructive role. While welcoming Ping's visit to Asmara, UK PermRep John Sawers said that if Eritrea continued to block dialogue, the Security Council would need to consider what action to take. Russia said that Eritrea should immediately withdraw and it expected an immediate good offices mission to be sent to the region in order to engage in high-level mediation. Croatia hoped that both sides would accept the offer of a good offices mission and regretted Eritrea's failure to withdraw. Costa Rica said that Eritrea's actions showed "serious inattention to its obligations and international law" and emphasized that compliance with SC decisions is not meant to be voluntary. Panama said that if Eritrea did not engage, the UN "would have no other choice than to defend Djibouti's territorial integrity." ¶8. (SBU) The U.S. statement was the most forward-leaning. Amb. Khalilzad said that the United States took seriously President Guelleh's message and hoped that other members would as well. The ambassador contrasted Djibouti's constraint and cooperation with the international community against Eritrea's record of provocation and obstruction. He echoed President Guelleh in calling for Eritrea to be given a clear timeframe to accept international mediation or face appropriate Council action. China, as president of the Council, spoke last, delivering a very mild statement calling on the parties to return to dialogue. Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) The French tell us that the lack of detail surrounding their draft is due to the Djiboutians, who have insisted to the French that a second PRST is not acceptable and that they would prefer not to have any Council product if they cannot get a resolution. While we do not sense Council support for an immediate move towards a resolution, we will continue to press for a strong PRST which will hold Eritrea accountable and lay the groundwork for future Council action if Eritrea's defiance of the international community continues. End Comment. Khalilzad