VIETNAM WANTS DARFUR PKO EXTENDED BUT SUPPORTS REFERENCE TO

UNCLAS HANOI 000702 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR IO/UNP (FITZGERALD),EAP/MLS (BLACKSHAW) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNSC PHUM KPKO SU VM SUBJECT: VIETNAM WANTS DARFUR PKO EXTENDED BUT SUPPORTS REFERENCE TO ICC; HOPES FOR COMPROMISE REF: STATE 77701 ¶1. (SBU) On July 28, Acting PolCouns met with the MFA International Organizations Division's lead official for UN Security Council affairs, To Anh Tuan, to urge Vietnam not to support Libya's efforts to complicate a resolution extending the mandate of the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) by including extraneous language concerning the International Criminal Court's indictment of Sudan President Omar al-Bashir. Per reftel, APolCouns emphasized that the purpose of the resolution should be to strengthen UNAMID by providing it with the mandate, troops, and equipment it needs. The United States understood that Vietnam remained strongly opposed to the ICC indictment, a position we did not share; nevertheless, whatever our differences, the current resolution was not an appropriate vehicle to discuss the ICC indictment. On such an important issue, it was important for the Security Council to speak with one voice, he said. ¶2. (SBU) Tuan, in response, sought to assure the United States that Vietnam fully supported extending UNAMID's mandate. Vietnam also shared a desire for consensus and hoped "acceptable compromise language" could be found. At the same time, as a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and as a reflection of its own position, Vietnam felt bound to support some mention of the AU's concerns about the Bashir indictment. Tuan took note of our argument that this particular resolution was not the proper place for such discussions, but said that "some countries" were frustrated because other avenues for debate had been cut off. MICHALAK