Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09USUNNEWYORK979
2009-11-02 21:45:00
UNCLASSIFIED
USUN New York
Cable title:  

AU-UN: SECURITY COUNCIL DIVIDED ON UN ASSESSED

Tags:  PREL PGOV KPKO AU 
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OO RUEHIK
DE RUCNDT #0979/01 3062145
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 022145Z NOV 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7497
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000979 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO AU
SUBJECT: AU-UN: SECURITY COUNCIL DIVIDED ON UN ASSESSED
CONTRIBUTIONS AS A FUNDING OPTION

USUN NEW Y 00000979 001.2 OF 003


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000979

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO AU
SUBJECT: AU-UN: SECURITY COUNCIL DIVIDED ON UN ASSESSED
CONTRIBUTIONS AS A FUNDING OPTION

USUN NEW Y 00000979 001.2 OF 003



1. SUMMARY. In an October 26 open debate on support for
African Union peacekeeping, Security Council members
expressed divergent views on whether UN assessed
contributions were a viable option to finance AU peacekeeping
operations authorized by the Security Council. Uganda, Libya
and Burkina Faso urged the Council to use UN assessed
contributions to fund such missions, since, they said, other
modalities of financing African peacekeeping missions had
proven inadequate. The United States, Russia and Japan said
they could not support the regular use of assessed
contributions, though they acknowledged the previous use of
such financing methods in the past in exceptional
circumstances. The United Kingdom, Austria, China, Croatia,
Mexico and Turkey said that all modalities of support
(including assessed contributions) should be considered.
Several members, including Russia, France and the U.S.
supported the use of multi-donor trust funds. Former Italian
Prime Minister Romano Prodi urged the Council to consider the
use of assessed contributions, as did representatives of the
AU, Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil, with the latter two
suggesting that the Special Committee on Peacekeeping
Operations ("C-34") and the Fifth Committee could take up the
issue. Council members broadly supported enhanced strategic
cooperation between the AU Commission and the UN Secretariat,
and between the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and
Security Council. Members also supported efforts to build
the institutional capacity of the AU to plan, manage and
carry-out peacekeeping operations. END SUMMARY.

--------------
Background
--------------


2. On October 26, the Security Council held an open debate to
review the Secretary-General's September 18 Report on
"Support to African Union peacekeeping operations authorized
by the United Nations" (S/2009/470). The Council had
requested the report in a March 18 Presidential Statement
(PRST) following a debate on the recommendations of a
high-level AU-UN panel led by former Italian Prime Minister
Romano Prodi (the "Prodi panel"),which had been formed to
examine the "modalities of support to African Union
peacekeeping operations" (S/2008/813). Three key Prodi panel

recommendations analyzed in the September 18 SYG's report
were: the need for an enhanced strategic partnership between
the AU Commission and the UN Secretariat, and between the UN
Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council; the
need to build the institutional capacity of the African Union
to plan, manage and carry out peacekeeping operations; and
the need to improve the sustainability, predictability and
feasibility of financial support for AU-led, UN-authorized
peacekeeping operations through the use of UN assessed
contributions, on a case-by-case basis, in cases where the
Council intended to transition the AU mission to a UN
mission.

--------------
Funding Modalities for AU Missions
--------------


3. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Alain LeRoy told
the Council that several aspects of AU-UN cooperation
required immediate action, including restructuring the UN
presence in Addis Ababa, creating a joint AU-UN task force on
peace and security to review immediate short and long-term
strategic and operational issues, and engaging in
institutional capacity building of the AU. LeRoy said that if
the international community were to ask the AU to intervene
in the initial stages of a crisis due to the AU's flexibility
to act quickly, then the international community also needed
to provide resources in a sustainable and predictable manner.
LeRoy reviewed the five different funding mechanisms that
had been examined in the Secretary-General's report: African
Union assessed contributions; contributions through
individual African Union troop contributing countries;
voluntary contributions from international donors; UN support
packages through assessed contribuions; and a combination of
the above. Though Leroy did not offer recommendations as to
which funding option was the most viable, he said that
experience with the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the
AU-UN Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) had shown that
existing funding mechanisms for AU missions had not proved
adequate. He noted that the Prodi panel had recommended the
use of UN assessed funding for AU-led, UN-authorized
peacekeeping missions, and that a multi-donor trust fund, as
part of the African Union Peace Fund, would be one option to
provide predictability and sustainability for mounting a
peacekeeping operation.


4. Uganda, Libya and Burkina Faso all offered explicit

USUN NEW Y 00000979 002.2 OF 003


support for the use of assessed contributions to fund AU
peacekeeping operations. The Ugandan representative said he
had hoped the Council would make a "firm commitment" to
support the Prodi-panel recommendation for the use of
assessed contributions, since the Council had delayed action
on the recommendation in March. He said that only a small
portion of the confirmed pledges from donors had been
disbursed for AMISOM, while forces were taking fire on the
ground on behalf of the international community. It was not
enough for the Council to "undertake to keep all options
under consideration", he said, referring to the language of a
draft Presidential Statement that was set to be adopted at
the end of the meeting. The Libyan representative echoed the
Ugandan's sentiment, saying he "doubted" that voluntary
contributions to the AU Peace Fund would provide sufficient
resources for AU missions. The UN spends "huge sums" for
peacekeeping missions in areas of less threat than Somalia,
he added. He suggested that if the international community
had spent the equivalent amount of money in Somalia as had
been spent fighting piracy off the coast on Somalia, then
"piracy would have disappeared."


5. The United States, Russia and Japan all underscored that
AU peacekeeping missions should be fully resourced, but said
they could not support the use of assessed contributions on a
regular basis. Ambassador Rice said the United States would
continue to be a major bilateral contributor to African peace
operations, and would continue to support training and
equiping initiatives. She also offered U.S. support for the
use of a multi-donor trust fund. Rice explained that the
U.S. had supported assessed contributions for AMISOM on an
exceptional basis, but was "unable to make any broad
commitment to support such arrangements in future
operations." The Russian representative also said that the
AMISOM logistical support package was a "one-off," and that
it would be premature to "make it more regular." He said
that the burden of funding AU missions should lie "first and
foremost" with AU member states, but he welcomed the use of a
multi-donor trust fund as part of the AU Peace Fund. The
Japanese representative said AU-led, UN authorized
peacekeeping missions should be funded through the AU budget
and voluntary contributions. He added that UN assessed
contributions for AU peacekeeping operations did not conform
to the established rules of UN procedure as provided for
under the UN charter.


6. The United Kingdom, Austria, Croatia, Turkey, China and
Mexico emphasized that all of the modalities of support for
AU peacekeeping outlined by the SYG, including assessed
contributions, should be considered for future operations.
Costa Rica and Vietnam acknowledged the need for AU
peacekeeping to be fully resourced, but did not make specific
mention of assessed contibutions. France emphasized its
preference to support AU peacekeeping operations through a
multi-donor trust fund. France also said that the practice of
assessed contributions could lead to serious political, legal
and financial problems, though it did not specifically oppose
this option. COMMENT. In negotiations over the PRST, France
made clear that it strongly opposed the use of assessed
contributions; France may not have specificlaly ruled out the
option in its public statement, due to the agreed EU position
that no option should be ruled out. END COMMENT.


7. Sweden, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said
that the EU was committed to seeking pragmatic and effective
ways by partners could support the development of the AU
peace and security architecture. The EU, he said, would not
rule out any option currently being studied, but recognized
that every "modality of support" must be accompanied by
appropriate accountability mechanisms. The Swedish
representative also noted the contributions of EU members to
the African Peace Facility, which serves as an important
funding tool for African peacekeeping.


8. South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria and Tunisia supported the
use of assessed contributions and the creation of a
multi-donor trust fund. South Africa suggested that the
General Assembly should review the Secretary-General's
recommendations for funding mechanisms, just as the Security
Council was doing. The Brazil representative also said he
expected the question of support for AU peacekeeping to be
raised in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations
(C-34) and in the Fifth (Budgetary) Committee.


9. Mr. Prodi urged the Council to consider the use of
assessed contributions to fund AU peacekeeping, saying it was
"unrealistic to continue to deal with Africa in a bilateral
way." The existing strengths of the AU were not sufficient,
he said, to tackle its current problems, and the
international community needed to give the AU resources to

USUN NEW Y 00000979 003.2 OF 003


develop over the long-term.

-------------- --------------
AU Capacity Building and AU-UN Strategic Cooperation
-------------- --------------


10. In contrast to the differing views on the modalities of
financial support for AU peacekeeping, Council members
broadly supported enhanced strategic cooperation between the
AU Commission and the UN Secretariat, and between the UN
Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council as
outlined in the SYG's report. Several members welcomed the
intention of the Secretary-General to set up a joint AU-UN
task force on peace and security to review immediate and
long-term strategic and operational issues. Other members
welcomed efforts by the Secretary-General to recalibrate the
UN presence in Addis Ababa.


11. Council members also overwhelmingly supported efforts to
build the institutional capacity of the AU to plan, manage
and carry-out peacekeeping operations. Ambassador Rice
welcomed the intention of the African Union to develop a
long-term capacity building roadmap, and emphasized the need
to build capacity not only for peacekeeping, but for
mediation, crisis management, post-conflict reconstruction,
civil institutions and civil society. France, Russia, Japan,
Turkey and the United States highlighted their bilateral
efforts to build African capacity in peacekeeping through
training programs.


12. A full transcript of the open debate can be found on the
Security Council website: www.un.org/docs/sc
Rice