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
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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.

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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