UNAMID SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING: GOS RESTRICTIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001096 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SU AF SUBJECT: UNAMID SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING: GOS RESTRICTIONS NOT ACCEPTABLE ¶1. Summary: A/SYG Mulet briefed the Security Council on November 30 on the Secretary General's report on the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). Joint Chief Mediator (JCM) Djibril Bassole updated the Council on political process talks. The Sudanese Perm Rep accused the UN of inaccurately reporting isolated incidents of armed conflict. Ambassador Rice insisted that the UN not to be intimidated by the Government of Sudan (GoS) and to provide real time reporting on armed conflicts. Council members discussed the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation, obstacles to peace, restrictions on UNAMID's freedom of movement, and UNAMID deployment. End Summary. Mulet and Bassole Brief Council -------------- ¶2. In general remarks to the Council on November 30, Assistant Secretary General for the Department of Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet stated that the security situation in Darfur remains unstable, and the United Nations is concerned about the welfare of two UNAMID workers kidnapped by armed attackers in August. Mulet also described significant attacks between GoS and rebel movements. He noted that Under Secretary-General Le Roy had presented a list of GoS violations of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to the Sudanese Mission in New York on October 14, underscoring the UN's concern with GoS restriction on UNAMID's freedom of movement. ¶3. JCM Bassole provided a read-out of the November 17 to 20 meetings in Doha, and noted that civil society must be involved for peace to be sustainable. Bassole stated that the refusal of some armed movements to participate should not impede the peace process. He acknowledged the rebel unification efforts made by Libya and the United States. He also noted that the African Union High Level Panel on Darfur's (AUPD) report identified the root causes of conflict in Darfur. (Note: The AUPD report describes the root cause of conflict as the marginalization of the periphery by the Khartoum elite. End Note.) ¶4. Sudanese Perm Rep Mohamad stated that the war in Darfur was over and the desire for peace had triumphed. He characterized Sudanese cooperation with the UN as "boundless" and said that the Secretary-General's report was biased because it highlighted "isolated" incidents of fighting when most fighting had ceased. Mohamad urged the UN to be more objective in its reporting. Security and Humanitarian Situation -------------- ¶5. China agreed with the Sudanese Perm Rep's remarks that peace had been consolidated, though most Council members discussed continuing clashes between GoS and armed movements, which indicate otherwise. Libya said that there had been less confrontation between belligerents. Ambassador Rice said that when attacks occur like the September conflict in Korma, the Council needs to be informed immediately, and she asked the UN to include information about who bears responsibility for attacks. Rice stressed that the Council needs to receive this information in real time and not on a quarterly basis. ¶6. France deplored the deterioration of the humanitarian situation and squarely placed the blame on the GoS expulsion of NGOs. Ambassador Rice noted that international NGO presence in remote rural areas had decreased by fifty percent, affecting the ability to provide aid. The UK expressed concern for UNAMID hostages and urged bringing perpetrators to justice. Political Process -------------- ¶7. Russia reiterated its readiness for the Council to take action against rebel movements refusing to participate in the peace process, and endorsed the AUPD recommendation that these rebels should be designated by the Council as terrorists. Vietnam also criticized rebel movements' refusal to participate, especially the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). Burkina Faso said that continued clashes do not facilitate peace talks. Croatia specified that the GoS engagement in armed conflict contradicted its stated intent to engage in peace negotiations. ¶8. Turkey stressed that the Doha track should be the only forum for peace negotiations, noting that the Council should carefully study AUPD recommendations. China indicated it would pledge 500,000 USD to the UNDP political process trust fund, and France said it would provide one million euros. USUN NEW Y 00001096 002 OF 002 Freedom of Movement for UNAMID -------------- ¶9. Security Council members universally agreed that GoS threats against UNAMID were not acceptable. Ambassador Rice condemned the GoS for threatening and denying access to UNAMID, noting this violates the SOFA. Rice noted that the Council relies on UNAMID for full reporting and urged the UN not to be intimidated by GoS actions. Russia stated that this issue should be resolved through dialogue with the GoS, to preserve its sovereignty. UNAMID Deployment -------------- ¶10. Ambassador Rice asked whether the UN would reach its target of 90 percent deployment by the end of the year, and Mulet responded that UNAMID would be eighty percent deployed by December 31 and ninety percent deployed by March 2010. Mulet also said that reaching one-hundred percent deployment would depend on the UN receiving additional pledges from member states. Ambassador Rice also raised the GoS failure to issue visas to Western staff officers, noting that UNAMID was never intended to be an exclusively African peacekeeping force. France agreed that failure to issue these visas and not being fully deployed were problematic. Libya cautioned against defining UNAMID's success by time bound indicators. RICE