SRSG JENCA BRIEFS THE SECURITY COUNCIL ON THE

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000610

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC UNRCCA
SUBJECT: SRSG JENCA BRIEFS THE SECURITY COUNCIL ON THE
ACTIVITIES OF THE UNRCCA


1. (SBU) Summary: On June 19, Miroslav Jenca - SRSG for
Central Asia and head of the UN,s Regional Centre for
Preventative Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA) - briefed the
Council on the activities of the newly constituted center.
His priorities are to gain the trust of Central Asian
leaders, support regional efforts to address water resource
issues, and address regional security challenges, including
terrorism, narcotics trafficking and Afghanistan. Council
members praised the activities of the center; several noted
the importance of cooperation with the UN Assistance Mission
to Afghanistan (UNAMA). The Turkish Presidency issued a
press statement reaffirming the Security Council's support
for the UNRCCA. End summary.


2. (SBU) Jenca began by noting that his center had begun
operations a year ago, during a period of global economic
tension. In addition to building trust with regional
leaders, his immediate focus was to encourage the countries
of the region to focus on long-term solutions to their water
resource issues. UNRCCA worked to move the region from ad
hoc arrangements to durable solutions. Jenca also noted
UNRCCA,s work to increase border controls, to raise
awareness on joint counter-terrorism strategies and
biological, chemical and nuclear terrorism. He called
Afghanistan one of the region,s priorities, and said
individual countries had already contributed significantly to
the international effort there, although he said UNRCCA would
encourage them to do more. Jenca noted that some countries
lacked capacity; Tajikistan in particular needed
international assistance because of its long, mountainous
border. In concluding remarks, Jenca thanked Council members
for their uniform support of UNRCCA, and said he would
present some benchmarks during his next briefing to the
Council. He declared that UNRCCA is "visible, operational
and fully engaged" in Central Asia.


3. (SBU) Council members supported the work of UNRCCA and
thanked Jenca for his efforts. China noted its concern for
the region because of the "three forces of terrorism,
religious extremism and secessionism." Along with Russia,
China urged that UNRCCA cooperate very closely with the CIS
and SCO regional organizations. Russia, the U.S., Austria,
France, Croatia and Costa Rica supported UNRCCA,s focus on
Afghanistan issues. The UK urged Jenca to report to the
Council with clear benchmarks during his next briefing.
Ambassador DiCarlo emphasized U.S. support for UNRCCA,s
water management and counter-narcotics efforts. All Council
members asked Jenca to continue his pattern of regularly
briefing the Council.


4. (SBU) The Turkish Presidency concluded by noting the
decision to establish the center was "the right one."
Turkish PR Ilkin said the countries of Central Asia had a
special relationship with Turkey, and he promised full
Turkish support for UNRCCA. Following conclusion of the
meeting, Ilkin issued a press statement that welcomed
Jenca,s briefing, expressed the Council,s appreciation for
the efforts of the center, and reaffirmed its support.
RICE