VZCZCXRO5005
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0068/01 0171422
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 171422Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9721
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000068
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, AF FOR SPECIAL ENVOY WILLIAMSON
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: AMIS "LIQUIDATION TEAMS" TO REDISTRIBUTE UNAMID ASSETS
1. (SBU) This is an action request. Please see paragraph ten.
2. (SBU) Summary. The African Union (AU) plans to form Liquidation
Teams to inventory and redistribute equipment, possibly including
USG assets already transferred to UNAMID. Until the inventory, AMIS
refuses to permit UNAMID personnel access to the equipment. UNAMID
has requested USG and donor intervention to prevent diversion of
these badly-needed assets. End Summary.
AU LIQUIDATION TEAMS FORMED
---------------------------
3. (SBU) The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) has issued
instructions on the "Liquidation of AMIS Human Resources and
Assets," which could possibly undermine donor and USG materiel
support for the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
4. (SBU) To conduct this liquidation, Joint Special Representative
(JSR) Senior Advisor and transitioning African Union Mission in
Sudan (AMIS) Chief Political Officer Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Ahmed told
emboffs on January 14 that the Khartoum African Union (AU) office
has established a team of 100 former AMIS officers, including UN
appointees, headed by former AMIS Deputy Head of Mission Ambassador
Hassan Gibril and former AMIS Joint Chief of Staff Brigadier General
Musonda, to conduct an inventory of AMIS equipment.
5. (SBU) AU Liquidation Team Chief told FieldOff in El-Fasher on
January 16 that "liquidation" was part of every peacekeeping
operation and that this action was overdue. He said that most, if
not all, of the AMIS equipment belongs to the AU and the AU would
decide which assets would go to the UN, which would go to other
operations "such as Somalia," and which would go to "local
populations."
AU REFUSES EQUIPMENT TO UNAMID
------------------------------
6. (SBU) UN Chief of Integrated Support Services (CISS) Ian Divers
expressed to emboffs January 15 his view that the AU's "sense of
entitlement is out of hand," citing AMIS' refusal on January 12 to
permit entry to a UNAMID Joint Logistics warehouse to the Deputy
CISS. He said that AMIS has refused to release badly-needed
ground-to-air radios and vehicles to UNAMID. Divers added that
there is no recognition that most if not all of the equipment was
USG-owned and now belongs to UNAMID.
AU TOLD THAT USG ALREADY TRANSFERRED ASSETS TO UNAMID
--------------------------------------------- -
7. (SBU) Emboffs provided Joint Special Representative (JSR)
Political Advisor Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Ahmed on January 14 a copy of
the USG Technical Manager's (USGTM) one-page statement that was
posted at AMIS camps in advance of Turnover of Authority (TOA).
This statement alerted all AMIS personnel on the mechanics of the
transition and transfer of assets to UNAMID. Emboffs explained that
the USG inventoried all equipment prior to TOA and that all USG
assets used by AMIS are now UNAMID property.
8. (SBU) Abdul Rahman confirmed he knew USG assets should be turned
over to UNAMID, but said that there was a great deal of equipment
that the AU had donated as well. However, Abdul Rahman appeared to
confuse USG, UK, Canadian and other bilateral support given to
individual Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) with donor
contributions made to the AU.
UN SEEKS HELP
--------------
9. (SBU) UN CISS Director Divers expressed dissatisfaction with the
situation, saying that UN New York headquarters seemed "amused" by
the liquidation problem. He added that the prolonged absence of UN
Director of Administration Mohammed Yunis makes the situation worse
as only Yunis has the financial and personnel decision-making
authority to deal with the problem. Divers urged USG assistance
saying that
donors need to protect their investments in the peacekeeping
operation and control the AU. He said that the UN Department of
Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Assistant-Secretary-General for
Mission Support Jane Holl Lute's January 19 visit would be a good
time to raise the issue and, he hoped, would be before Joint Special
Representative Rudolphe Adada formally authorized the AU Liquidation
Teams.
10. (SBU) Action request: Embassy plans to relay our concerns to
AU/UNAMID officials such as Special Representative Monique
Mukaruliza and others on the AU's liquidation plans. We suggest that
other missions do the same prior to Holl Lute's upcoming Darfur
KHARTOUM 00000068 002 OF 002
trip, which will soon be followed by a DPKO Under-Secretary-General
Jean-Marie Guhenno Darfur visit. While it is unlikely to change
the Liquidation Team's mandate at this stage without risking some
loss of AMIS prestige, we believe it would make sense nonetheless to
weigh in with the AU in Addis Ababa to try to modify the parameters
for distribution of AMIS assets in order to control the potential
loss of UNAMID equipment and materiel. This is the latest of a
series of self-inflicted wounds carried out by the international
force in Darfur "against itself" leading to an already weakened and
divided force.
FERNANDEZ