Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09LONDON2743
2009-12-09 16:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy London
Cable title:  

MONUC/RWANDA: UK HOLDING TO SIX-MONTH RENEWAL, THOUGHTS ON RWANDA IN THE COMMONWEALTH

Tags:  PREL UNSC KPKO PINR RW CG ZF FR UK 
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VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLO #2743/01 3431621
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 091621Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4212
INFO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 3542
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA IMMEDIATE 0123
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI IMMEDIATE 0088
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 1522
C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 002743 

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C, IO/PSC (HEATHER VON BEHREN)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2019
TAGS: PREL, UNSC, KPKO, PINR, RW, CG, ZF, FR, UK
SUBJECT: MONUC/RWANDA: UK HOLDING TO SIX-MONTH RENEWAL,
THOUGHTS ON RWANDA IN THE COMMONWEALTH

REF: A. STATE 125749
B. LONDON 2716
C. LONDON 266

Classified By: Political Counselor Robin Quinville, reasons 1.4 (b/d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 002743

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C, IO/PSC (HEATHER VON BEHREN)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2019
TAGS: PREL, UNSC, KPKO, PINR, RW, CG, ZF, FR, UK
SUBJECT: MONUC/RWANDA: UK HOLDING TO SIX-MONTH RENEWAL,
THOUGHTS ON RWANDA IN THE COMMONWEALTH

REF: A. STATE 125749
B. LONDON 2716
C. LONDON 266

Classified By: Political Counselor Robin Quinville, reasons 1.4 (b/d).

1. (C/NF) Summary. The UK is holding firm to a six-month
mandate renewal for MONUC, with Foreign Office officials
saying (a) conditionalities in the mandate would prevent any
potential political bump for DRC President Kabila during the
June 2010 independence celebrations, (b) that the
international community has encouraged the UN to take
ownership of MONUC which it is doing with the SRSG and DPKO
proposals of a six-month mandate, and (c) that MONUC should
not be a "stick with which to beat the DRC government." They
have also suggested the U.S. and UK have a joint dialogue
with the Government of Rwanda about the way operations
against the FDLR will change in the future. They assess
Rwanda's recent Commonwealth membership will give the UK an
additional venue to press the Government of Rwanda on
governance and human rights issues, such as media freedom,
and may have contributed to Rwanda's decision to mend fences
with the French. End summary.

MONUC: The Tide Is For Six-Months
--------------

2. (C/NF) Both Foreign Office East and Central Africa Deputy
Head Graham Zebedee and Peacekeeping Team MONUC Desk Officer
Robin Budd argued strongly in separate December 9 discussions
with Poloff that the USG's concerns about a six-month MONUC
mandate renewal playing into DRC President Kabila's hands
during the June 2010 independence celebrations were unfounded
and were not in step with the UN and rest of the
international community's thinking on the issue. Explaining
the UK's position (which appears to have become more firm
since reftel B),Zebedee and Budd argued:

- The six-month mandate is stronger because it will keep
pressure on Kabila to maintain progress, particularly on SSR.
Conditionalities and other language in the mandate will
clearly indicate when and how MONUC will drawdown,
independent of whatever Kabila decides to do during the
independence celebrations.

- The international community has been enc
ouraging the UN to
take greater ownership of MONUC. The UN Secretary General
and DPKO demonstrated leadership in advocating for a
six-month mandate and in the Secretary General's report,
which "offers a clear narrative on how it will use the next
six-months."

- In considering the DRC government's relationship with
MONUC, it is important to create a context where the DRC and
MONUC can work together. Using MONUC's size and duration as
a "stick with which to beat the DRC government" does not
provide that context.

3. (C/NF) On the counter-proposal of a possible four-month
extension, about which they had already heard ruminations
from their colleagues in New York, Budd and Zebedee simply
state that it would not give the UN or the DRC government
enough time to accomplish what it needs to. Budd also noted
that the UK had been surprised how strongly the French had
argued in favor of the six-month mandate in New York
discussions, as he had heard in Paris that the French would
not be vocal on the issue. He understands the Russians also
support a six-month mandate.

Rwanda: The Future of Operations Against the FDLR
-------------- --------------

4. (C) Zebedee said the UK would like to propose to the USG
having a joint U.S.-UK discussion with the Rwandan government
about the way forward for operations against the FDLR as the
model moves from Kimia II to more focused operations. He
said he will be in touch with more specifics, but wanted to
offer a heads up. Poloff will follow-up with Zebedee and
report septel.

Rwanda: The Commonwealth's New Member
--------------

5. (C/NF) Zebedee said that with immediate effect Rwanda has
become a member of the Commonwealth, following the November
29 decision at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting,

and the UK's Embassy in Kigali has become a High Commission.
Zebedee said it will not have a major impact on UK-Rwanda
relations but it does give the UK another venue in which to
have discussions with the Rwandan government about governance
and human rights issues, particularly freedom of the press.
He said Rwanda will also be able to access Commonwealth
programs, including media training projects and parliamentary
exchanges. He also assessed that Rwanda's Commonwealth
membership may have also pushed the Rwandans to mend fences
with the French, as an appeal to Rwanda's francophone elite
to indicate that the country was not aligning itself entirely
with the anglophone world.

Comment
--------------

6. (C/NF) The UK's position on the length of the MONUC
mandate renewal may, at least in part, be based on the
Foreign Office's Peacekeeping Team's "evidence-based
approach" to peacekeeping operation mandates, as outlined in
reftel C.


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