COORDINATION WITH THE EU AND UK ON KENYA

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001346 SIPDIS SENSITIVE EMBASSY TRIPOLI ERIN CEDERLIND PASS TO AF A/S CARSON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KE SUBJECT: COORDINATION WITH THE EU AND UK ON KENYA REF: A. NAIROBI 1293 ¶B. NAIROBI 1267 ¶1. (SBU) I met with the UK Ambassador, the Canadian Ambassador, and representatives of key EU member states to promote our coordination to push the reform agenda. The meeting was part of periodic ongoing coordination efforts. Coordination also occurs through the Donor Consulative Group, which remains very active and which has a number of sub-groups on issues like governance and elections, and through the like-minded LIMID-P meetings on policy issues. ¶2. (SBU) We discussed our respective approaches to push for implementation of the reform agenda. There was general agreement on the need to press the government to bring about results, and there were no major disagreements on substance (see reftel reform agenda update cable). We discussed the need to acknowledge progress on the reform agenda- if there are meaningful results- while maintaining pressures across the board. A number of participants believe that more specific pressure may be needed, including potentially by threatening or imposing visa bans. That said, the EU participants said it would be near impossible to develop an EU-wide ban. ¶3. (SBU) I noted that A/S Carson would be returning to Kenya soon to continue pressing on reforms. The UK Ambassador said that Foreign Seretary Miliband will visit Kenya in mid-July for the same purpose. I also discussed the upcoming AGOA Forum, and how we are attempting to use it to urge action on the reform agenda. Everyone agreed on the need to encourage Kofi Annan to remain closely involved. ¶4. (SBU) We discussed the need to make the Donor Consultative Group a more effective mechanism to push on the reform agenda. Sub-groups of the DCG meet regularly with government interlocutors, and the full DCG meets less frequently with the Prime Minister. We agreed that such meetings should be better prepared well in advance to push for movement on specific reforms. ¶5. (SBU) The EU representatives said they will soon have a meeting with President Kibaki, at which they intend to press on rform. (The EU Ambassadors have been seeking this meeting for almost a year, and it should not be expected to yield much.) I urged the EU representatives to be more active in pushing the coalition government to carry out reforms, and in encouraging civil society, the private sector, religious groups, and the media to exert peaceful pressure. Although they readily agreed on the need to do so, the EU representatives generally lack either the disposition or the will to do so. They remain relatively quiet publicly, and with only limited access privately to influence key players. The Dutch, UK, and some others are doing useful work with civil society, and we coordinate on these eforts. The one exception has been the German Ambassador, who played an important role to help bring about a political solution to the crisis last year, and has been outspoken on the need for full implementation of the reform agenda, but he is leaving soon. We will continue to remain in close touch with the UK, EU representatives, and others who share our interest in moving forward the reform agenda. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. RANNEBERGER