UN SECRETARIAT TELLS THE SECURITY COUNCIL TO "STAY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000649 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL UNSC XY LI IV SUBJECT: UN SECRETARIAT TELLS THE SECURITY COUNCIL TO "STAY THE COURSE" IN LIBERIA USUN NEW Y 00000649 001.3 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. UN DPKO U/SYG Le Roy told the Security Council on June 25 that UN troops in Liberia should not be withdrawn too quickly, and that 8,000 should remain through the 2011 national elections. He said training for the Liberian National Police needed to be brought back on track, and recommended against changing the UN police presence in Liberia. Among Council members, only France overtly opposed Le Roy's troop-level recommendation, which was supported by a recent review of a technical assessment mission. The UK suggested that the UN start planning now for an integrated mission "like in Sierra Leone" for Liberia after its election. On Cote d'Ivoire, Le Roy said elections by November 29 were "possible, but not certain," and confirmed that both the President and Prime Minister had committed to him to respect the current electoral timeline. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations Under Secretary General Alain Le Roy briefed the Security Council on June 25 on the Secretary-General's special report on the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and on his recent trip to Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. Le Roy noted the fragile state of peace in Liberia and called on the Council to "stay the course, "not to draw down troop levels precipitously. He supported the technical assessment mission's (TAM) suggestion for the "phase three" drawdown to be completed in May instead of December, 2010, which will reduce troop levels from 10,000 to 8,000 in country. Le Roy agreed with the special report, which calls for maintaining troops at the 8,000 level through the 2011 elections, as well as its suggestion to then send a TAM to consider next steps in the drawdown based largely on the level of progress in security sector capacity-building. ¶3. (SBU) Le Roy concurred with the TAM in holding UNMIL's police contingents at current levels of 1,375, saying the Liberian National Police force was neither credible, professional, nor effective. He stressed training of the police must be gotten back on track. Le Roy also described systemic problems within Liberia's justice and corrections systems, and cited mass jailbreaks as a recurrent phenomenon. Le Roy said the holding of free, fair, transparent, and open elections should be a core benchmark for UNMIL. ¶4. (SBU) Ambassador DiCarlo welcomed the Secretary-General's report and its suggestions to increase UNMIL's efficiency and effectiveness. She said the drawdown plan as envisioned will result in a fifty percent reduction of UNMIL's forces over three years. DiCarlo called Liberia a success story, but a fragile one, and said that its hard-won peace should not be jeopardized by having the UN depart too hastily. She also said the 2011 Liberian elections will be a crucial milestone that will test the sustainability of peace. Uganda, Mexico, Japan, Viet Nam, Burkina Faso, China, Russia, Croatia, Libya, Turkey, Costa Rica, and Austria all agreed with Ambassador DiCarlo in calling for no precipitous drawdown for UNMIL. ¶5. (SBU) UK PermRep Sawers said he hoped to see the UN instill an integrated peacebuilding mission "like in Sierra Leone" following the 2011 national elections. He requested the UN not wait until after the elections to plan for this mission. Sawers said Liberia needs a self-sustained security sector before the UN could withdraw, and he expressed disappointment that the Liberian police force remains unreliable, corrupt, and is not trusted. He said reforming and rebuilding the police should be the "highest priority." Sawers also repeated the question he posed to Liberian President Johnson-Sirleaf during the Council visit in May, by asking if the $660 million the UN spends on UNMIL (especially in light of Liberia's $280 million national budget) is the best use of UN resources. (On rebuttal, Le Roy said the UK figures would be compelling only if UNMIL and Liberian budgets were somehow commingled.) ¶6. (SBU) Japan also said the efforts to create a viable police force were not succeeding, and suggested more attention be paid to creating economic opportunities within Liberia. ¶7. (SBU) French PermRep Ripert said UNMIL could afford to be more ambitious in its drawdown plan, and suggested the African Union could potentially take the place of UN troops. Ripert said there was no justification for a military presence in Liberia, commenting the army is doing police work, which "no UN country would allow its military to do." On the plans for UNMIL to offer emergency support to UNOCI, Ripert said French troops would intervene if necessary, and if French troops were not up to the task, UNMIL would not be able to help either. USUN NEW Y 00000649 002.2 OF 002 COTE D'IVOIRE -------------- ¶8. (SBU) On Cote d'Ivoire, Le Roy said both Prime Minister Soro and President Gbagbo confirmed to him their commitment to the November 29 election date. He said elections were technically feasible by that date, but thought personally elections were "possible, but not certain" to be held as scheduled. Le Roy said authorities must now ensure that there are no non-Ivoirians on the electoral list. He was encouraged that the three main political parties had started their electoral campaigns. ¶9. (SBU) Ripert was pleased with the prospects for elections, but remained cautious. Burkina Faso requested UNOCI SRSG Choi brief the Council in July on the level of preparations in place for the election. (NOTE: UNOCI comes before the Security Council on July 23. Its mandate expires July 31. END NOTE). RICE