NORWEGIAN FM HOSTS BREAKFAST TO DISCUSS

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000969 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER SC SUBJECT: NORWEGIAN FM HOSTS BREAKFAST TO DISCUSS INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW - 2009 TRYGVE LIE SYMPOSIUM ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian Foreign Minister, hosted a breakfast meeting on September 24 to discuss the application of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in regard to the "protection of civilians". High-level representatives from France, Indonesia, the United States, the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),the International Peace Institute (IPI),and the United Nations (UN) participated. At the close of the meeting, Store signaled that maybe a conference in 2010 to have more time to focus on the issues would be necessary and said that he would see what he could do to make such a conference happen. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Store efficiently chaired the short meeting and the issues he highlighted included an open ended question as to how states should best communicate with non-state actors (NSAs). He said that during his tenure with the ICRC, the ICRC used to communicate directly with NSAs, unlike governments that have "taboos" with respect to communicating directly with them. Store conveyed that many issues could be resolved more easily and more quickly if governments put their taboos aside and decided to communicate with NSAs which are increasingly one side of any armed conflict. He also signaled that the debate on the issue should be more focused in close coordination with the ICRC. ¶3. (U) Bernard Kouchner (French Foreign Minister) made brief remarks at the very beginning on the important role that IHL plays in protecting civilians in armed conflict. ¶4. (U) Jakob Kellenberger (President of the ICRC) said that in regard to the protection of civilians in armed conflict, certain concepts have to be defined. In particular, he said that states and NSAs have to respect proportionality and distinction between civilians and noncombatants. ¶5. (U) Hassan Wiradjuda (Indonesian Foreign Minister) said that protecting civilians and ensuring respect for IHL are more easily accomplished through national militaries. This can be accomplished Wiradjuda said, by educating militaries on the rules of engagement. He said that the ICRC provided such training to the Indonesian military in 1996 - using several workshops. Wiradjuda stressed that Indonesia is committed to promoting IHL. ¶6. (U) Antonio Guterres (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) said that the evolving nature of conflict dictates that the Security Council and international community have to adapt to make sure principles of IHL are upheld. He also said that in recent years, government's stronger national positions on their own sovereignty in general have eroded the responsibility to protect. He noted that there is a perception that human rights and IHL are Western concepts, but that this perception is changing, though more needs to be done to ensure that these concepts are embraced. He also said that in some cases where there are UN peacekeepers, there is no peace to keep and then the peacekeepers become part of the conflict. ¶7. (U) John Holmes (UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator) said that the world's perception of IHL in general is that its agenda is linked to the western world and that in order to mobilize action on IHL, leadership from states such as Brazil and South Africa must be in the forefront. As another example to gain "buy in" from all states worldwide, Holmes said that at the African Summit in October, there will be a discussion on the Convention on displaced persons and how the roots of refugee law are based on Islamic law - to make its reach universal. Holmes also focused on the Security Council and its inability to hold violators of IHL accountable over the last ten years. He cited GAZA and Sri Lanka as recent examples, saying that in the Security Council, "friends help friends" and therefore although eventually there is accountability - it takes too long. He also raised the concern that other countries will take the Sri Lanka example as evidence that by keeping out media and NGOs, a regime has free reign to commit atrocities without being stopped. Holmes offered that there needs to be more focused conferences on IHL and that there needs to be direct communication with NSAs. He also said that UN Peacekeeping Missions are not well designed to achieve "protection of civilians" and that access to assist civilians needs to be addressed. Finally, he noted that a challenge they need to acknowledge is that peace and justice are not always complementary, and are often in competition; this raises difficult questions about the goals of different humanitarian actors involved in relief and reconstruction. ¶8. (U) Eric Schwartz, Assistant Secretary State for Population, Refugees and Migration, said that the United States attended the meeting to listen to others and that President Obama has made some critical decisions in the first months of his Presidency - demonstrating the U.S. commitment to IHL by issuing Executive Orders with respect to Guantanamo. Scharwtz also conveyed that President Obama had selected several people who have a substantive background and strong support for IHL to key positions within the USG including Michael Posner, Greg Craig, and DOD Under Secretary for Policy, Michele Flournoy. He also said that in his position, he is uniquely situated to try to make sure that IHL is considered and plays a role in the national security and foreign policy decisions of the United States. He stressed the importance of policy integration and making sure that humanitarians 'have a seat at the table'. Humanitarians should ensure their equities are represented both in the stages of policy formation and in articulation and implementation. On the subject of peacekeeping reform, he noted that it was important to understand the difference between remaining neutral in a conflict at the expense of protecting civilians, and being an impartial actor with a protection mandate. As Schwartz noted, the Brahimi report on peacekeeping reform made clear that traditionally interpreted neutrality (not engaging in any way with any armed group or perpetrator) could undermine the credibility and protection capacity of more complex peace operations. Rather than striving for neutrality, peacekeeping operations should aim for enforcing their mandates impartially, even if that means engaging in operations against groups whose actions are threatening the mandate. ¶9. (U) Terje Rd-Larsen (President, IPI) responded to A/S Schwartz's comment about the Brahimi report on peacekeeping reform, stating that it did not make clear enough the difference between impartiality and neutrality. (Later, he explained to A/S Schwartz that he thought he was referring to another report, and withdrew this criticism). Also, he noted that (on the subject of the importance of articulating a policy decision to a wider audience),in the past, Jan Egeland's communications strategy often created some challenges for the UNOCHA staff involved in sensitive negotiations in the field. Rice