ECHO TO USAID AA: SUDAN FRAGILE, GENOCIDE LABEL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000869 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID SOCI PREL ECON SUBJECT: ECHO TO USAID AA: SUDAN FRAGILE, GENOCIDE LABEL INFLAMMATORY BRUSSELS 00000869 001.2 OF 002 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. Please handle accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Acting USAID Assistant Administrator Earl Gast, transiting Brussels en route to Sudan, spent June 12 in Brussels meeting with Commission counterparts at the EC's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO),EUROPEAID and DG-DEV. Interlocutors at ECHO described a fragile situation in Sudan where security, access, and lack of accurate information are major concerns, and where the Commission is obliged to remain focused on humaniarian assistance, not development. Sudan's rfusal to sign Cotonou Agreement documents (which refer to the ICC) has put EUROPEAID's entre 300 million euro assistance package on hold. ECHO advocates avoiding using "genocide" and "famine" as inflammatory language. For DG-DEV, engagement in Sudan is important, despite the obstacles. On Somalia, the Commission is working on a major policy statement, which covers piracy and security issues, as well as development. In Madagascar, all new Commission activity is frozen. With respect to Zimbabwe, the Commission is moving cautiously. The three meetings were both welcome and useful, providing an opportunity to brief senior Commission officials on U.S. views on the region while also promoting a more consultative approach. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) Gast met first with Director of Operations at ECHO Steffen Stenberg and ECHO team leader for Sudan Sophie Vanhaeverbeke. Stenberg affirmed ECHO's strong interest in separating International Criminal Court (ICC) issues from ECHO's humanitarian relief work in Sudan. Describing Sudan as a big and complicated issue, he noted that north and south are still one country. He added that gaps caused by the expulsion of various NGOs from Sudan earlier this year are now more or less covered, though these short-term measures to some extent simply mask real fragility. He also noted that the United Nations' track-three option, which seeks to develop a long-term solution for future humanitarian work, will never come to fruition. Additionally, ECHO's Sudan team said their concerns are protection, access, and receiving accurate information. Finally, he suggested that the international aid community at this point is simply trying to re-establish what we had before, which was already quite appalling. ¶3. (SBU) At an operational level, Stenberg mentioned that ECHO had placed two full-time staff at Nyala in Darfur. He also stated that while EUROPEAID might normally assume a more active role in southern Sudan, it is ECHO that must take the lead. Indeed, EUROPEAID's entire planned 300 million Euro development assistance package, covering all Sudanese regions over the next several years, is in jeopardy because of Sudan's refusal to ratify the Cotonou Agreement, which governs EU development programs to countries in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific regions. Finally, Stenberg noted that the EC has refrained from using the word genocide to describe the situation in Darfur, stating that both famine and genocide are inflammatory words that should only be used in exceptional cases. ¶4. (SBU) A follow-on meeting with Roger Moore, DG-DEV's Director for the Horn of Africa as well as East and Southern Africa, covered similar ground. Moore noted that he agrees with those who argue that carrots do not work in Sudan, but added that sticks do not work either, underscoring the difficulties of working in the region. Despite the obstacles, Moore argued that engagement remains very important. ¶5. (SBU) Moore also noted the importance of engaging with various international actors involved in Sudan. The EU is trying to engage with China, but so far there is little discernable success. Efforts to work with the African Union on funding for training programs seem somewhat more promising, though require much effort to achieve even limited results. ¶6. (SBU) Touching briefly on other countries in the region, Moore described the African Union response in Madagascar as positive. For its part, the Commission is freezing all new activities in Madagascar in an effort to exert maximum pressure. With regard to Somalia, Moore indicated that the Commission is working on a new policy statement that should be available by the end of the month, one that will cover piracy and security issues as well as development concerns. BRUSSELS 00000869 002.2 OF 002 As for Zimbabwe, the Commission is interested in doing business with the new government or at least talking with them, and awaits proposals from the Zimbabwe side. (Note: The EU Troika subsequently re-opened an official political dialogue with Zimbabwe on June 18. End Note) In his view, the donor community is divided over whether to engage at all, making aid activity of any kind in Zimbabwe a difficult balancing act. ¶7. (SBU) Gast's final meeting of the day was with Gary Quince, the EUROPEAID counterpart responsible for all of sub-Saharan Africa. Quincy noted that prospects are problematic for launching a more robust EUROPEAID development effort in Sudan now. According to Quince, EUROPEAID's plans include a 300 million Euro, multi-year effort involving operations in both northern (roughly 54 percent of the program) and southern (roughly 46 percent of the program) Sudan. Quince confirmed Stenberg's earlier statement that EC development programming is on hold until Sudan signs the needed cooperation documents, which reference the ICC issue. While EUROPEAID had hoped to open an office in southern Sudan, for now only ECHO is able to engage on behalf of the Commission, frustrating efforts to move from an effort that is largely humanitarian in nature to one focused more on development. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: USAID, as well as USEU leadership, appreciates Gast's brief visit to Brussels en route to Sudan, providing a useful opportunity to engage with counterparts on important development concerns. Coming just prior to a series of meetings in Brussels involving representatives from State, MCC and USAID and aimed at advancing a renewed trans-Atlantic dialogue on development, Gast's visit provided European counterparts with tangible evidence of a U.S. commitment to exchange views, promote information sharing and, where possible, develop common approaches aimed at addressing common global concerns. End Comment. MURRAY .