RSA GAME TO PROMOTE SAFEGUARDS AGREEMENTS, LATER; GUMBI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 UNVIE VIENNA 000551

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

ISN/MNSA FOR ADAMS/SHARP; ISN/RA FOR FISHER
ALSO FOR T, S/SANAC, IO/GS, ISN/NESS, INR/B
PRETORIA FOR ECON-YOUNG, POL-SEIDENSTRICKER
DOE FOR NA20 BAKER/LOONEY; NA24 WHITNEY/MENDELSOHN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KNNP PREL TRGY KTIA SF XA IAEA
SUBJECT: RSA GAME TO PROMOTE SAFEGUARDS AGREEMENTS, LATER; GUMBI
RETURNING TO PRETORIA

REF: STATE 116776


1. (U) Summary: Mission reached out to South African counterparts
upon receipt of reftel and will continue efforts in Vienna to
collaborate in recruiting further states to sign and implement
Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements with the Additional Protocol or,
as appropriate, to modify existing Small Quantities Protocols or
adopt the modified SQP. Staff turnover at the top of the South
African mission delays our collaboration. End Summary.

"No Problem," but no Manpower
--------------


2. (U) On receipt of reftel IAEACouns met November 13 with RSA
counterpart Bennie Lombard to convey U.S. interest in partnering
with South Africa, per the August Minty-Einhorn understanding, to
encourage further states to sign and implement Comprehensive
Safeguards Agreements (CSA) with the Additional Protocol (AP) with
the IAEA before the 2010 NPT RevCon. Msnoff noted U.S. interest in
working together also to expand the number of relevant countries
with the modified Small Quantities Protocol (SQP) in force, and
provided Lombard the nonpaper from reftel para 13. Lombard warned
that with the departures from Vienna of his ambassador and himself
in December 2009 and expected gaps of several weeks in their
positions, the RSA mission would likely not be in a position to
engage with us until mid-January.


3. (U) Ambassador raised the issue November 18 in a bilateral
office call on Gumbi in his mission. Gumbi confirmed that the RSA
mission had already conveyed our nonpaper to Pretoria and that his
successor and Lombard's had both been made aware of the issue. He
said RSA had no problem with cooperating on CSA outreach but that we
needed to discuss strategy and tactics. (See also below.)


4. (SBU) During the ensuing meetings of the IAEA Technical
Assistance and Cooperation Committee (TACC) and Board of Governors
(BoG) November 23-27, Msnoff and STATE/ISN colleagues acquainted RSA
counselor-designate Lunga Bengu with the issue. We expect Bengu
back in mid-January to succeed Lombard, who said in the meeting his
mission had not yet been instructed to engage and suggested an
Einhorn-Minty call. U.S. side took note and provided reftel
nonpaper a third time to RSA side.

Gumbi on Governance
--------------


5. (U) In their November 18 bilateral, Gumbi (accredited as
ambassador to Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia and as PermRep to
international organizations in Vienna) confirmed he would depart in
December 2009 to a new post in Pretoria. Without identifying a
title, he said he would cover the UNSC, IAEA, and disarmament,
including the CD in Geneva; he added that he might get the USA in
his portfolio, too. He expected to be back in Vienna for the June
2010 IAEA Board of Governors meeting and the General Conference in
September.


6. (SBU) Ambassador drew on reftel para 12 points and emphasized
South Africa's leadership position in the Non-Aligned Movement as an
asset in promoting safeguards agreements. Gumbi said that after
thinking about our paper (which his mission had had for several
days),what he had found missing were means for ensuring the Agency
had the capacity to "deliver" on safeguards, as well as steps to
"de-politicize" verification work and ensure its acceptance as a
public good. In the ensuing exchange Gumbi embarked thematically
from the damaged credibility of nonproliferation claims after the
Iraq case of 2002/3. He touched on exclusive sourcing of safeguards
technology from advanced nuclear nations and asserted that the IAEA
relied on too few partners for analysis of environmental samples.
(To the Ambassador's question, Gumbi acknowledged not knowing if any
South African laboratories were contracted by the IAEA's Safeguards
Analytical Laboratory, but he said "everyone needs to take 'full
ownership'.")


7. (SBU) Finally, he critiqued at some length that the "governing
element" was missing from the Board of Governors', and for that
matter from the Secretariat's, interaction with countries of
safeguards concern. Instead of simply issuing statements amplifying
what each Member State finds most of concern in the Director
General's reports, as in the case of Iran, Gumbi went on, the Board
should be providing "corrective" measures and incentives. It was
unfair for Member States to go on criticizing infractions and

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requiring the Secretariat to rectify situations without helping a
state in question "meet our expectations." To our dismay, Gumbi
volunteered no thoughts on the thrust of the Ambassador's query and
the nonpaper -- the identification of countries to lobby for CSA, AP
or modified SQP adherence and the strategy for doing so.


8. (U) Begin text of Ambassador Gumbi's official biography, from
South African Mission, Vienna:

Leslie Mbangambi Gumbi
Permanent Representative
South Africa

Prior to joining the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic
of South Africa in 1995, Ambassador Leslie Mbangambi Gumbi was,
among others, a full time member of a national liberation movement,
an NGO worker and a researcher in strategic studies. In the latter
capacity, Ambassador Gumbi authored several articles published in
specialized professional journals and contributed chapters to two
published books.

From 1996 to 2000, Ambassador Gumbi was Counsellor at the South
African Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York where he
dealt with peacekeeping, disarmament and Security Council matters.
In New York, he was also in drafting teams of various working groups
and was appointed to several stewardship roles.

In August 2000, Ambassador Gumbi was promoted to a Director's rank
in the Department of Foreign Affairs. In the period from 2000 to
early 2003, Ambassador Gumbi successfully led several South African
delegations to some major international and regional meetings and
conferences. In 2003, Ambassador Gumbi also served in the Third
Party Verification Mechanism for the Implementation of the Peace and
Security Agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of
Congo.

From February 2004 to August 2005, Ambassador Gumbi was Minister,
Deputy Permanent Representative at the South African Permanent
Mission to the United Nations Office and other International
Organizations at Geneva. He continued in this capacity to promote
actively South Africa's interests in the United Nations disarmament,
non-proliferation and arms control machinery within the multilateral
system in Geneva, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the First
Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the United
Nations General Assembly.

In September 2005, Ambassador Gumbi was appointed South Africa's
Ambassador to Austria, Slovenia, and Slovakia as well as Permanent
Representative to the United Nations Organizations in Vienna. In
2009, he was promoted to the rank of chief Director in the
Department of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Gumbi's main professional focus continues to be on
peacekeeping, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.
During his recent speaking engagements in Europe and the United
States of America on disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control
Ambassador Gumbi made presentations on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty, nuclear weapons free zones and the nuclear fuel cycle.

Ambassador Gumbi obtained his Master's Degree in Political Science
and International Relations at Warsaw University in Poland. He is
married to Veronica Gumbi and has five children.

End Text.


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