KOSOVO ICJ RESOLUTION AT UNGA: NAMIBIA UNDECIDED

C O N F I D E N T I A L WINDHOEK 000268

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2018
TAGS: PREL UNGA UNAUS KVIR WA
SUBJECT: KOSOVO ICJ RESOLUTION AT UNGA: NAMIBIA UNDECIDED
BUT INCLINED TO SUPPORT

REF: A) STATE 91908 B) WINDHOEK 200

Classified By: Ambassador Dennise Mathieu for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) DCM delivered reftel talking points on September 2
to MFA Director for Multilateral Affairs Martin Andjaba. He
underscored that UNGA's approval of the Serbian resolution
could have adverse consequences, impeding the international
community's efforts to address the pressing needs of Kosovo
and the region, at a very delicate time.


2. (C) Andjaba (Namibia's former UN permrep from 1996-2006)
agreed that this was a delicate issue. Namibia has not yet
taken a position on the proposed resolution, he said, but his
personal view was that there is little harm in asking the ICJ
for an advisory opinion. The opinion would not be binding,
he said, and UN Member States could still make their own
decisions about Kosovo's independence according to their own
national interests. He explained that Namibia has a history
with indigenous secessionist movements and is thus extremely
sensitive to unhelpful international precedents -- that is
why it had not recognized Kosovo, he pointed out.


3. (C) DCM explained why the USG did not consider Kosovo a
precedent (genocide, followed by a period of international
administration and UN-brokered final status negotiations).
He reiterated that it was impossible to predict what the ICJ
might find, and an advisory opinion could have unexpected and
profound implications for countries around the world faced
with internal independence and secessionist movements.
Andjaba acknowledged the point but said it could be helpful
to hear the ICJ's views on the legal basis for Kosovo's
independence. Asked what will happen to the Serb communities
in Kosovo, DCM noted that the Ahtisaari Plan and,
subsequently, the Kosovo constitution contained stringent
provisions for the protection of those ethnic minority
communities.


4. (C) Comment: Andjaba's personal view likely reflects the
position the GRN will take at the UNGA -- Namibian support
for the Serbian resolution. As previously reported (ref B),
the GRN does not support Kosovo's declaration of
independence. Andjaba repeated several times that an ICJ
advisory opinion would be non-binding, and he seemed to see
it primarily as a step useful to countries in deciding
whether or not to proceed with recognizing Kosovo. The only
argument that might have resonance with the GRN is the
unpredictability of an ICJ opinion and its potential
unhelpful impact on Namibia's own domestic concerns. And
that is one we will continue to press in our conversations
with other decision-makers.
MATHIEU