ERITREA IN THE UNSC: NO CONSENSUS FOR ACTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000369 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS UNSC ER DJ SUBJECT: ERITREA IN THE UNSC: NO CONSENSUS FOR ACTION Classified By: Amb. Susan Rice, for reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a brief Security Council session on April 7, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe described developments in the ongoing border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti. Council members voiced unanimous support for the Secretary-General's good offices efforts but only Costa Rica seconded the U.S. in pressing the Council to consider future action should Eritrea continue to fail to comply with UNSC resolution 1863. After learning that Djibouti did not support a Council statement on the issue, Council ambassadors decided that the Mexican presidency should summon the Eritrea's UN ambassador in order to express the Council's displeasure. End Summary. ¶2. (C) U/SYG Lynn Pascoe briefed the UNSC on April 7 on the tense, largely unchanged situation between Eritrea and Djibouti. His briefing did not depart significantly from Secretary-General Ban's letter of 30 March, in which the SYG reported no information that Eritrea has complied with resolution 1862 and announced his intention to continue his good offices efforts with both Djibouti and Eritrea. Responding to a question on timelines, Pascoe responded "I'm afraid this will be protracted, despite Djibouti's urge for a quick resolution" to the problem. France initially proposed that the Council approve a press statement, but withdrew this request after circulation of a letter from Djibouti indicating that such a statement would not be welcome. Mexico offered to meet with the Eritrean ambassador in order to personally convey the Council's displeasure over the lack of compliance with resolution 1862. Other Council members unanimously agreed. ¶3. (C) In national statements, Council members unanimously voiced support for implementation of resolution 1862 and the good offices efforts of the Secretary-General. In the U.S. statement, Amb. DiCarlo said that Eritrea's contempt for the Council's authority must not be allowed to set the agenda, and stressed that the Council would need to consider its options for future action should Eritrea continue to fail to comply with its obligations. Costa Rica explicitly backed these comments. Uganda said that it would "continue to evaluate" its position and Burkina Faso said Eritrea was failing to abide by its obligations under international law and the UN Charter. Libya "deplored" that Eritrea had rejected the mediation efforts of the UN, AU and Arab League, including the personal efforts of "President Gadhafi." Russia urged countries to approach Asmara bilaterally, while China said the conflict could be solved only through direct dialogue. Mexico said that dialogue was the best way to resolve the issue and Turkey urged Council members to "look for a way out without further measures." Rice