VZCZCXRO0488
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUCNDT #0965 3111414
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 071414Z NOV 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2980
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA IMMEDIATE 1727
C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000965
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2017
TAGS: PREL UNSC AS PM IZ
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA WANTS UNSC MANDATE FOR MNF-I FOR SEVERAL
YEARS TO COME
Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay M. Khalilzad, per 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) During a meeting with Amb Khalilzad on November 2,
Australian PermRep Robert Hill said his government would want
a Chapter VII UNSC mandate for its troops in Iraq for several
years to come (other issues reported septel). Hill was
reassured by Amb Khalilzad that the UNSC would extend the
Chapter VII authorities for MNF-I at the end of 2007 for one
year. But Hill emphasized that when this mandate expires in
2008, it should be extended again, rather than acceding to
the Iraqi Government's preference that individual troop
contributors conclude bilateral Status of Forces Agreements
(SOFAs) to govern the conduct of their troops. Hill was
particularly concerned about possible Iraqi attempts to
include a provision in the 2008 MNF-I resolution stipulating
that this would be the last Chapter VII Council mandate. Amb
Khalilzad told him we understood Australia's concerns and
would take them into account when discussing the issue with
Iraq and other UNSC partners.
Khalilzad