GOE REQUEST FOR DEMINING ASSISTANCE PRESENTS UNIQUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 001035

SIPDIS
STATE PLEASE PASS TO PM/WRA (ED TRIMAKAS)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/12/15
TAGS: PREL MASS PGOV MCAP KHDP EC PE
SUBJECT: GOE REQUEST FOR DEMINING ASSISTANCE PRESENTS UNIQUE
OPPORTUNITY

REF: STATE 122324; QUITO 997; QUITO 708

CLASSIFIED BY: Heather M. Hodges, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(A),(B),
(D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Ecuadorian government seeks USG assistance in
its humanitarian demining program. After years of inconclusive
discussion with the GOE, the MFA's recent requests for USG
assistance, combined with extension of the GOE's commitment to the
Ottawa Convention, increasingly close political ties with Peru, and
unique role of the USG as guarantor of the Peace Accord between
Ecuador and Peru present an opportunity to advance a beneficial
program with the GOE. Cooperation and work with Ecuador in
demining is already paying dividends in access to destruction of
MANPADS and other munitions. Embassy Quito invites the Office of
Weapons Removal and Abatement (WRA) to visit Ecuador to assess
Ecuador's humanitarian demining needs and opportunities for
potential assistance and cooperation. END SUMMARY



REQUESTS FOR USG ASSISTANCE




2. (SBU) In a diplomatic note dated September 10, and a detailed
e-mail response to Embassy questions received on December 3, the
MFA has asked that the USG renew its financial assistance to
Ecuador's humanitarian demining program. The GOE's request for USG
assistance is to help cover the operating costs for its 2010
humanitarian demining program, $500,000 of which is dependent upon
international donors




3. (C) The Department of State provided $1,623,985 to the
Organization of American States' Office of Humanitarian Mine Action
for Ecuador from 2001 to 2005, with almost $264,000 in 2005. Since
then, the USG provided a Tempest machine which was on loan for more
than two years from the Humanitarian Demining Research and
Development Program at Fort Belvoir. In addition, the U.S.
Southern Command's Humanitarian Mine Action program via the
Embassy' Military Group has committed $100,000 in infrastructure
and $70,000 in equipment upgrades to the GOE's demining school, and
annually provides demining training to the GOE's military. Former
Director General of Sovereignty Affairs and Director of Ecuador's
Demining Center (CENDESMI) Bolivar Torres publicly expressed
gratitude on repeated occasions for this recent assistance.



GOE BUDGET




4. (SBU) The September 10 diplomatic note states that the GOE's
annuQcost to continue its humanitarian demining program is
approximately $1.5 million, at least through 2012. Beginning in
2009, approximately $1 million has been funded annually by the GOE,
leaving an additional $500,000 required from international donors.
For its 2010 humanitarian program operations, the GOE has received
only slightly more than $116,000 from Belgium, leaving $384,000 of
assistance needed to complete the GOE's operating budget. In the
five prior years, the GOE received considerably more in annual
international contributions, ranging from $201,000 to $882,000.




5. (C) In addition to the above, the GOE has received pledges for
the provision of equipment and materials from Japan at a value of
approximately $500,000, an excavator from Germany worth
approximately $137,000, and the USG has informally agreed to lend
sifting equipment (cernidor) that would complement the excavator
for the Rio Chira demining effort in Zapotillo, Ecuador. (Note:
These other contributions will help improve the efficiency of
Ecuador's demining operations but do not actually reduce the GOE's
operating costs. End Note.)



6. (C) During a presidential summit in Piura, Peru, on October 22,
2009, Ecuador President Rafael Correa and Peru President Alan
Garcia reiterated a commitment to create a seed fund, with a
pledged contribution from each country of $2 million. This seed
fund would be deposited eventually into an escrow account with the
Andean Growth Corporation, and will serve as a basis for promoting
additional international support for the demining programs of both
countries. (Note: The commitment to this seed fund was originally
signed by the two presidents on October 25, 2008, during a summit
in Machala, Ecuador, marking the ten-year anniversary of the 1998
peace agreement. It is unclear when and if this seed fund will
actually be implemented. End Note.)



GOE DEMINING GOALS




7. (SBU) The diplomatic note clarifies that full funding of the
GOE's demining program would allow the GOE to complete the
following activities in 2010: the clearing of ten mined zones;
removal and destruction of 848 antipersonnel mines; sweeping of
27,890 square meters (m2) in Tiwintza Canton, 10,000 m2 in
Zapotillo Canton, and 12,500 m2 in the Zapotillo and Chira river
sector; implementation of educational programs regarding the danger
of antipersonnel mines in 31 border communities in the El Oro and
Loja provinces; and the completion of impact studies in the
Morona-Santiago and Zamora-Chinchipe provinces.




8. (SBU) Longer term, the GOE's goals are to clear all remaining
mined areas by 2017, provide safe access to Tiwintza, implement a
preventative educational campaign, assist 70 victims, incorporate
training into the final destruction of 1000 mines currently in
storage, avoid degradation of biodiversity in the southern border
region, and integrate development programs into the demined areas.



GOE HUMANITARIAN DEMINING MANAGEMENT




9. (SBU) Ecuador's National Humanitarian Demining Center
(CENDESMI),established on September 22, 1999, still manages
Ecuador's demining program. However, an ongoing reorganization of
Ecuador's Foreign Ministry changed the leadership of CENDESMI.
While it had been led since its inception by the MFA's Directorate
General of Sovereignty, CENDESMI was placed under the supervision
of the Directorate General of Border Relations with Peru in
November 2009.




10. (SBU) CENDESMI is a multi-agency organization led by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in conjunction with the Ministry
of Defense, Ministry of Health, Ecuadorian Agency of International
Cooperation (AGECI),and the Demining General Command (CGD).




11. (SBU) The CGD is an organic entity of the Ecuadorian Army's
Corps of Engineers, and is in charge of managing all of Ecuador's
demining operations and Ecuador's demining school. The CGD
increased the number of its soldiers from 60 to 100 in October

2009.



STATUS OF ECUADOR'S DEMINING PROGRAM



12. (SBU) In November 2008, the GOE and Government of Peru
received an eight year extension to fulfill their obligations under
the Ottawa Convention to complete the destruction of their
anti-personnel mines by 2017. The MFA states that as of December
3, 2009, Ecuador still had approximately 5,786 mines to be
destroyed (5,758 anti-personnel and 28 anti-tank) of the 10,910
mines originally planted along its southern border. According to
information from the OAS' Comprehensive Action Against
Anti-Personnel Mines (AICMA),these mines are localized in an area
of approximately 499,200 m2, in 74 distinct areas along the
southern provinces of El Oro, Loja, Zamora-Chinchipe,
Morona-Santiago and Pastaza. The Embassy has sent separately to
PM/WRA tables showing previously demined areas and the types of
mines per province.



BILATERAL COOPERATION WITH PERU




13. (C) Ecuador's relations with Peru have steadily improved since
the Peace Accord. Former head of CENDESMI Bolivar Torres called
demQng "the most important confidence building mechanism between
the two countries."




14. (SBU) Subsequent to the signing of the Peace Accord between
Ecuador and Peru on October 26, 1998, bilateral cooperation began
on an operational level, with demining activities along the border
area. Since 2003, both countries have conducted joint demining
operations in the El Oro-Tubes and Loja-Piura sectors. Since
October 2006, Ecuadorian and Peruvian demining units have conducted
simultaneous parallel operations along their common border in the
Cordillera del Condor region, near the Shirumsa-Chiqueiza border
marker.




15. (SBU) Since 2007, Ecuador and Peru formalized their demining
cooperation with the creation of bilateral mechanisms, including
biannual meetings between CENDESMI and CONTRAMINAS (Peru's mine
action authority),and have conducted joint training and
participated in multilateral fora. Coordination of demining
activities is conducted via a bilateral mechanism called the "2
plus 2", in which members of CENDESMI and CONTRAMINAS, and the
foreign and defense ministries, meet. Bilateral summits between
presidents Correa and Garcia also have provided impetus to
initiatives such as the Bilateral Commission of Measures to Promote
Mutual Confidence and Security, which meets annually and includes a
discussion of humanitarian demining issues.




16. (SBU) In February 2009, Ecuadorian and Peruvian demining unit
commanders signed the Seventh Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to
strengthen cooperation. The MOU established specific areas for
clearance, provided for periodic information exchanges, exchange of
equipment, bilateral working meetings and joint terrain
reconnaissance, and defined a combined medical evacuation and
treatment plan.



GOE RECEPTIVITY TO CONTRACTORS




17. (C) The GOE stated in its December 3 response to the Embassy's
request for additional information that the GOE's demining program
is "transparent", but did not clarify whether contractors would be
accepted to implement any new cooperation/USG-funded activities.
The response stated that all demining activities have been


conducted by its CDG. (Comment: Embassy believes that the GOE
would be receptive to the inclusion of third party contractors as
long as the Demining General Command (CGD) is trained and involved
in the process, as was the GOE's response regarding the use of
contractors for the destruction of munitions during PM/WRA's Mark
Adams' August 28 meeting visit to Ecuador (Ref C). GOE acceptance
would require a clear explanation of the GOE's role in the process
and could be discussed during an assessment visit. End Comment.)




18. (C) Former head of CENDESMI Torres told the Embassy in October
2009 that Ecuador considered multilateral participation essential
in maintaining confidence between Ecuador and Peru's demining
efforts. The GOE's demining program has been implemented primarily
through its CDG in cooperation with AICMA since 2001. The
Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) has coordinated a team of
international monitors who compose the Assistance Mission for Mine
Clearance in South America (MARMINAS) and supported Ecuador and
Peru's demining operations since 2003.



OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT USG COMMITMENT




19. (C) The USG's role in the peace process between Ecuador and
Peru following the Cenepa War was unique and still provides
opportunities for trilateral engagement. The U.S. was one of the
guarantors that helped achieve the Brasilia (Itamaraty) Peace
Accord of October 26, 1998, which formally ended hostilities
between Peru and Ecuador. The innovative solution for Tiwintza as
part of the Accord (i.e., privately owned land of one state, inside
another's territory) still has important international precedence
and ramifications, but the commitment to provide mine-free access
to the land has not been fulfilled.




20. (C) During the November 10 U.S-Ecuador Bilateral Dialogue in
Washington, the GOE suggested that humanitarian demining would be a
positive area for cooperation (Ref A),reiterated by the MFA Under
Secretary of Bilateral Affairs Leonardo Arizaga to the Ambassador
on November 22 (Ref B). A recommitment of U.S. assistance to
Ecuador's humanitarian demining program offers an opportunity to
underscore the USG's commitment to the Ecuadorian people and
provide leverage with the GOE. Renewing assistance in humanitarian
demining would also allow the Embassy to highlight publicly that
the USG is fulfilling its commitments as one of the guarantors of
the 1988 peace treaty.



REQUEST FOR ASSESSMENT VISIT BY PM/WRA




21. (C) The Embassy would welcome a visit by PM/WRA in early 2010
to perform an assessment of Ecuador's humanitarian demining program
needs, as well as the GOE's receptivity to direct assistance and
use of contractors. The Embassy will follow up with the MFA to
confirm appropriate visit dates. In addition to this request for
funds from PM/WRA, the Embassy will also coordinate with U.S.
Southern Command regarding ongoing assistance in training,
equipment and facility upgrades.





22. (U) POCs for this request are Embassy Quito Political-Military
Officer Mark Pannell, telephone: 011-593-2-398-5502, e-mail:
PannellMA@state.sgov.gov, or Military Group Commander COL Robert
Gaddis, telephone: 011-593-2-398-5387, e-mail:
Robert.Gaddis@tcsc.southcom.smil.mil.
HODGES