SUDAN/SANCTIONS: EXPERTS BRIEF ON VIOLATIONS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000695 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2019 TAGS: ETTC PGOV PREL SU UNSC SUBJECT: SUDAN/SANCTIONS: EXPERTS BRIEF ON VIOLATIONS AND POOR COOPERATION WITH UN AGENCIES Classified By: Amb. Susan Rice, for reasons 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Sudan Panel of Experts (POE),a monitoring group charged with monitoring implementation of UN sanctions on Sudan, shared with USUN their thoughts on the changing dynamics of violence in Darfur. The POE also briefed USUN on their ongoing problems due to the lack of cooperation from UN agencies. The POE briefed the Sudan Sanctions Committee ("1591 Committee") on increased Chad-Sudan fighting and documented widespread arms embargo, human rights, and international humanitarian law violations in Darfur. In both the Committee meeting and in a subsequent briefing to the "Friends of UNAMID," the POE reiterated concerns about poor cooperation and information sharing with other UN bodies, including peacekeeping operations in the field. END SUMMARY. Bilateral Meeting with POE and USUN -------------- ¶2. (C) USUN POLOFF met with the Sudan Panel of Experts (POE) prior to their 1591 Sanctions Committee briefing. (NOTE: Composed of five UN contractors, the POE has year-long mandate from the Council to assist the Sudan Sanctions Committee in monitoring and improving the implementation the targeted asset freeze, travel ban and Darfur arms embargo. END NOTE) The POE told USUN that since their last visit to New York in January, the "dynamics of violence" has changed in Darfur with increased direct cross border and air attacks between Sudan and Chad. Given the increased frequency, level of attacks, and direct governmental involvement, the conflict can no longer be considered a "proxy war," they said. ¶3. (C) The POE said that lack of cooperation between the POE and UN agencies overshadows the difficulties of working with the GOS. The diminished capacity of the international community to conduct independent monitoring in Darfur, they claimed, is adding to the impunity of violence. The POE further claimed that given the operational complexities of the hybrid mission and the difficult political dynamics with the GOS, the overriding political imperative of maintaining a presence in Darfur has led to a reduction in monitoring and reporting on human rights violations. They said that the difficulties of working with Khartoum were also significant: for example, the POE reported being under twenty-four hour GOS surveillance in Sudan and told USUN that Joint UN-AU Special Representative Rodolphe Adada was reprimanded by the Government of Sudan (GOS) for meeting with the UN sanctions committee last April. ¶4. (C) The POE reported that it is still investigating the presence of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in Darfur that rebels claimed in 2008 had been supplied by Iran. (NOTE: USUN has previously urged the POE to share any information suggesting that Iran-origin UAVs were being used in Darfur; to date, these reports remain uncorroborated. END NOTE.) 1591 Committee Briefing -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On July 8, the POE briefed the Sudan Sanctions Committee (1591 Committee) on the POE's current work. The POE reported on on-going investigations of arbitrary arrests and alleged torture (not yet confirmed),of Darfurians by the GOS. In particular, the POE has heard a number of accounts of arrests in connection to alleged Darfurian support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The POE also cited the rebel groups Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Union of Resistance Forces (URF) for violating the arms embargo and committing human rights violations, including recruiting child soldiers. ¶6. (SBU) The POE presented the Committee with images of weapons found in Darfur varying from small firearms to rocket launchers and missiles, evidencing violations of the arms embargo. (NOTE: Several weapons had "made in China" inscriptions. China has repeatedly claimed that its weapons sales to Khartoum are legitimate, since the embargo covers only the territory of Darfur, not all of Sudan. END NOTE). The POE reported on an increase in new materials, including vehicles, being brought into Darfur. They reported that large quantities of firearms and ammunition catalogued by the POE bear 2007 and 2008 production stickers, demonstrating the USUN NEW Y 00000695 002 OF 002 ineffectiveness of the 2004 arms embargo. Given the large quantity of items, the POE said it will only be able to trace a fraction of the embargoed items. The POE also noted that because of Sudan's difficult terrain, vehicles are a necessary weapon in the war effort and directly related to the level of violence in Darfur. The POE has evidence that regular pick-up trucks are being delivered to Sudan and then armored and transformed within Sudan, thereby making manufacturers "innocent bystanders" of the arms embargo and creating a difficult challenge to the POE in monitoring efforts. ¶7. (SBU) The POE reported to the Committee that the Governments of Sudan and Chad have been willing to meet with the POE on numerous occasions but have left countless letters unanswered. The POE re-iterated their concerns about the lack of cooperation amongst UN agencies with the POE which, according to the POE, hinders its ability to carry out the Security Council mandate. (NOTE: The POE stressed also this point during a briefing to the Friends of UNAMID on July 9. END NOTE.) RICE