USAU: AFRICAN UNION CONTEMPLATING SUMMIT OF ALL

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 002944 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/RSA, IO/UNP, AND S-USSE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV SU AU SUBJECT: USAU: AFRICAN UNION CONTEMPLATING SUMMIT OF ALL SUDANESE PARTIES THIS MESSAGE IS FROM USAU AMBASSADOR MICHAEL BATTLE. ¶1. The African Union is contemplating a summit in early 2010 that would assemble all of Sudan's political leadership ahead of the 2010 elections. AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtane Lamamra raised this possibility during a meeting of the African Union Partners Group on Peace and Security issues on December 15. The summit would be intended to encourage all Sudanese to participate in the general election, Lamamra said. ¶2. Lamamra also updated the Ambassadors on the progress of the Thabo Mbeki-led panel tasked with implementing the findings and recommendations of the report produced earlier this fall by the High-Level Panel on Darfur, which Mbeki also chaired. The report offers a "golden opportunity" for the Sudanese and the international community to "get their act together" to develop a single agenda that addresses their mutual interests, namely the peaceful transformation of Sudan, a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Darfur, and the successful implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. ¶3. Lamamra also stated that the Mbeki panel is now collaborating with the African Union to implement the findings and recommendations of the report. In addition, he envisions a new AU/UN reference group for Sudan that would include the Mbeki panel. He will propose this idea when he, African Union Commission Chairperson Jean Ping, and Mbeki travel to New York to meet with UN officials December 21. Former Nigerian President Abubaker and former Burundian President Buyoya are also expected to travel to New York as part of that delegation. MUSHINGI