Cablegate: A/Syg Mulet Briefs Council On Sudan Elections

VZCZCXRO0059
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0784/01 2362237
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 242237Z AUG 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7096
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000784

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SU AF
SUBJECT: A/SYG MULET BRIEFS COUNCIL ON SUDAN ELECTIONS

1. (SBU) Summary: In his August 20 briefing to the Council
on Sudan elections, A/SYG Mulet discussed remaining
challenges towards holding credible elections in April 2010:
ensuring freedom of press, speech and assembly; reaching an
agreement on census results; developing an operational plan
and budget; and clarifying voter registration requirements.
Mulet also discussed the Secretary-General's request for
extra-budgetary resources to support elections. While
welcoming the parties' commitment to hold elections, Security
Council members agreed that substantial challenges remain,
including security issues, the failure of Darfur rebels to
engage in the peace process, and the risk that some voters
could be disenfranchised. Some members questioned the UN's
need for extrabudgetary resources to support elections and
requested additional information. Ambassador Rice briefed
Council members on the August 19 agreement between parties to
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) facilitated by SE
Gration. End Summary.

Mulet's Briefing
----------------

2. (SBU) On August 20, Assistant Secretary General for the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Edmond Mulet
briefed the Council on the Secretary General's Report on
Elections in Sudan and its addendum requesting extrabudgetary
resources to support elections. Mulet noted that the Darfuri
movements and prominent political leaders from Southern Sudan
have indicated that they will boycott elections if laws
restricting freedom of speech, press and assembly are not
amended by October. Mulet also discussed the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement (SPLM) rejection of census results,
noting that the census results reduce the number of
legislative seats the SPLM would have from one-third to only
one-fifth of the seats in the National Assembly. Mulet
suggested that holding only Presidential elections could
obviate the need to reach agreement on the census, but
questioned whether this would be a sufficient step towards
democratization.

3. (SBU) Mulet stressed that many technical requirements for
elections remain outstanding. He noted that the NEC still
needs to develop voter registration policies, in addition to
an operational plan and budget. Mulet stressed that the UN
Development Program (UNDP) would not be able to provide
assistance without timely planning. He said that UNDP had
revised its basket fund budget to 81 million dollars, an
increase of 38 million over the initial projection. Mulet
said that the fund had received 10 million, with 21 million
pledged and 55 million outstanding.

UN Request for Extrabudgetary Resources
---------------------------------------

4. (SBU) Mulet discussed the UN's two phase approach,
detailed in the SYG report. Phase One would include hiring
127 additional civilian personnel within current UN resources
so that the UN can provide the same level of technical
assistance to the north as it provided to the south. Mulet
said that the second phase of assistance would require
Security Council authorization. Under Phase Two, the UN
would hire 100 additional UN police officers to conduct
elections security training in the south, and the UN would
obtain air assets to assist with transporting registration
and electoral material. Mulet urged the Council to authorize
this additional expenditure (estimated at 46 million USD)
quickly so that the UN could begin to enter into necessary
contractual relations.

5. (SBU) Mulet underlined that the UN's request for
additional resources was conditional. Only if three
conditions were met, he said, would the UN need the
additional funding. These conditions include (1) an enabling
environment for free and fair elections; (2) developing an
operational plan and budget; and (3) addressing registration
concerns to prevent disenfranchisement of significant numbers
of potential voters. Mulet stated that the Secretary General
would notify the Council when these conditions had been met
before releasing funds.

Rice's Intervention
-------------------

6. (SBU) Noting that elections are a key benchmark in
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA),
Ambassador Rice briefed the Council on the August 19 Juba
agreement between the parties facilitated by Special Envoy
Gration. Rice said that Gration had mediated discussions
between the two parties to the CPA -- the National Congress
Party (NCP) and the SPLM -- for the last three months,
beginning with the conference the U.S. hosted in Washington

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in June. Rice said that the parties had initialed an
agreement that would be forwarded to the Presidency for
signature. The agreement, Rice explained, advanced key
aspects of CPA implementation, with timed benchmarks for
issues such as wealth-sharing and Abyei border demarcation.
Rice noted that the parties could not reach agreement on
census data and that Gration would return to Juba September 7
for an additional round of negotiations on this issue.

7. (SBU) Rice also discussed critical elements for
successful elections, emphasizing that the NEC must prevent
voters from being disenfranchised by narrow registration
requirements. Rice also said that political rights must be
real, and the people of Sudan must believe in freedom of
speech, assembly and press, both by law and in practice. She
reinforced that the NEC must develop an operational plan and
budget to secure funding from the international community.
With regard to the extrabudgetary request, Rice said that, in
principle, the U.S. supports ensuring adequate funding for
elections and looks forward to further dialogue with DPKO.
Rice reiterated that before funds would be released, the
pre-conditions discussed by Mulet would have to be met.

P-5 Interventions
-----------------

8. (SBU) France welcomed the Juba agreement brokered by
Gration and noted that delays in election preparation were
not only technical, but also political -- including
legislative framework issues, the census dispute, and Darfur
participation. France also said the people of Sudan must
take ownership of elections, and the NEC must set forth its
budget. France indicated that it would look closely at the
UN request for extrabudgetary resources, as duplication of
resources should be avoided. The UK said that in order for
free and fair elections to take place, hostilities in Darfur
must cease so that Darfuris can participate in elections.
Regarding the request for extrabudgetary resources, the UK
noted that PKO resources are already stretched and indicated
that police training should be funded within UNMIS' existing
budget.

9. (SBU) China characterized elections as a test for
political parties in Sudan, and noted that security
challenges created by the Darfur rebels and ethnic conflict
in Southern Sudan must be addressed by political parties in
Sudan and the international community. Russia focused on the
2011 referendum and said that not enough has been done to
make unity attractive. Russia stressed that the
international community should not create the impression that
referendum results have been predetermined.

Other Interventions
-------------------

10. (SBU) Libya expressed concern about pressing the NCP to
implement timeframes for reaching benchmarks. Libya said
that elections should not be held if this would cause
confrontation or spread instability, and expressed fear that
Sudan could be plunged into catastrophe. Regarding the 2011
referendum, Libya said that the atmosphere for a true
referendum must be set, such that the South is aware of the
consequences of its decision. Uganda highlighted concern
with intercommunal violence in Southern Sudan. Turkey
cautioned against the negative dynamic between the Government
of Sudan and the political opposition, which has threatened
to boycott elections, and also said that Darfur rebel
movements lose the opportunity to establish their relevance
by failing to engage in the peace process.

11. (SBU) Japan raised the tension between Chad and Sudan as
complicating efforts to ensure elections security and
requested additional information from the Secretariat
regarding the extrabudgetary request. Mexico expressed
support for the SYG's two phase approach to elections,
including the extrabudgetary request.

Mulet's Response
----------------

12. (SBU) Mulet clarified that the census had been conducted
without technical problems and the difficulties now were
entirely political and related to the SPLM's concerns about
diminished political influence. Mulet also said that the
census results should not be interpreted in a way that would
disenfranchise Darfur and Eastern Sudan. With regard to
election timelines, Mulet expressed concern if elections get
postponed further because this would result in elections
being held too close to the 2011 referenda. Mulet noted that
both parties need time and space to prepare for the

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referenda. Mulet also said that the Secretariat would be
happy to discuss further with member states its
extrabudgetary request.
RICE

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