VZCZCXRO2850
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0330/01 0560850
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 250849Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0277
INFO IGAD COLLECTIVE
UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0003
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000330
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KPKO MARR EAID SU
SUBJECT: SE GRATION VISITS SPLM-ADMINISTERED REGION OF SOUTHERN
KORDOFAN
REF: KHARTOUM 222; KHARTOUM 308; KHARTOUM 218
1. (SBU) Summary: On February 18 U.S. Special Envoy (SE) to Sudan,
General Scott Gration traveled to Kauda. Although h located in the
north, Kauda is an area of Southern Kordofan State that is
administered by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). SE
Gration attended a meeting to discuss efforts to integrate Kaduna
into Southern Kordofan's government. He also attended meetings on
preparations for popular consultations in Southern Kordofan, and to
learn about the initiatives of the Reconciliation and Peaceful
Coexistence Mechanism (RPCM), an independent committee tasked with
defusing violence in Southern Kordofan. In addition, he attended
briefings in a newly-constructed camp for conducting disarmament,
demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) in Kauda, and also went to
an active demining camp where UN and international NGOs described
demining progress in the region. Kauda, one of the areas most
devastated by the north/south war, clearly has a long road to
recovery, but many people there who spoke to SE Gration expressed
hope about the tentative first steps to recovery that have recently
been achieved there. End Summary.
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Integration Efforts Require Assistance
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2. (SBU) On February 18 SE Gration met with state and local
officials in Kauda to discuss progress toward the integration of
the civil service and police there. Despite being located in the
north, Kauda is an area that is a part of Southern Kordofan due to
its being held by the SPLA during Sudan's civil war. It remains a
"selected area" administered by the SPLM. Kamal Al Nour,
Commissioner of Heiban Locality, told SE Gration that integration
is one of the most important requirements of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA), but that progress is slow, and that in
effect Kauda is still administered by the SPLM despite recent
efforts to integrate it into Southern Kordofan. (Note: Khartoum
officials note that efforts at integrating local civil servants
from selected areas such as Kauda into the Sudanese civil service
are hindered because these local officials are frequently not
trained or qualified for the positions they currently hold. End
Note.) State officials noted that approximately 2000 civil
servants, including 700 teachers, have been indentified for
integration, but that intensive training for them is needed, and
called on USAID to support these efforts.
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Preparations Underway for Popular Consultations
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-
3. (SBU) SE Gration met with Neroun Phillip, SPLM co-chair of the
Presidential Assessment and Evaluation Commission and member of the
Popular Consultations Steering Group. Phillip stated that initial
efforts were already underway in Southern Kordofan to "ascertain
the views of the people", as dictated by the CPA (Ref A). Phillip
stated that while it might not be possible to reach all the people
of the state in this process, at least all state localities and
most administrative units will be canvassed. He said that plans to
raise public awareness and build capacity are also being addressed,
though the primary responsibility for the process will rest with
the elected legislature of Southern Kordofan and its designated
commission. Phillip acknowledged that an SPLM boycott of elections
in Southern Kordofan would create serious issues regarding the
timing and conduct of popular consultations (Ref B), but said that
work on popular consultations will continue with the assumption
that election issues can otherwise be settled.
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RPCM - An Innovative Approach to Conflict Mitigation
--------------------------------------------- ----------------------
---------
4. (SBU) SE Gration met with members of the RPCM, a task force
created by Southern Kordofan Governor Ahmed Haroun in June, 2009,
to rapidly address and defuse violent situation in Southern
Kordofan, and to prevent future conflicts based on ethnicity,
resource use, and historic animosity. Osman Gadim, Chair of the
RPCM, told SE Gration that the RPCM is an independent task force
consisting of eight members of diverse ethnic and professional
KHARTOUM 00000330 002 OF 002
background with high levels of influence in the state and their
communities. Gadim noted that the RPCM explores innovative
approaches to conflict mitigation focusing on timely intervention
and early warning systems to address volatile situations. He said
the RPCM succeeds in part because it receives support from both CPA
partners and from the state and federal government. Gadim did note
constraints on the effectiveness of the RPCM, including resource
constraints and the lack of strong state level counterparts in
neighboring states to address issues such as cross border
migration.
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New DDR Site Ready for Launch in March
--------------------------------------------- -------------
5. (SBU) SE Gration visited a newly completed DDR site in Kauda
where Colonel Karlo Trille Kuku (SPLM), Deputy Commissioner of the
Joint DDR Commission, told him that the processing of 7000 DDR
candidates, primarily old and disabled former combatants, will
begin in March. Kuku noted that 20,000 candidates are scheduled to
receive DDR in Southern Kordofan, with 3000 candidates in Julud and
8000 candidates in Kadugli having already been disarmed and
demobilized, but awaiting reintegration benefits. Kuku said that
these delays are caused by financial constraints and blamed these
problems on what he claimed was the international community's
failure to fulfill its financial commitments to DDR. (Note:
Findings of mismanagement and corruption in a November 2009
assessment of the program have contributed to donor reluctance to
contribute funds until these problems are resolved (Ref C) End
Note.) He asked SE Gration to push the international community to
fulfill its DDR funding commitments, so that DDR candidates in
Kauda can receive reintegration benefits promptly after having been
disarmed and demobilized.
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Demining Process Improved
--------------------------------------
6. (SBU) SE Gration visited a demining camp near Kauda where United
Nations Mine Action personnel and international NGO partners told
him that progress on demining has undergone rapid progress recently
due to improved techniques and technology. With respect to
techniques, demining personnel explained that, because mine fields
were not mapped in Sudan, demining was overly reliant on local
knowledge and the memory of former combatants to choose locations
to search for mines. This information was typically inaccurate and
resulted in a large search for a limited number of mines. Recently
demining personnel have codified methods to reliably survey a large
area to quickly determine the actual mined area. Demining
personnel also displayed a recently-acquired device for subsurface
mapping that triples the area that can be searched per day over
previous methods. With these improvements, demining personnel said
they have achieved more in the previous five months than they had
in the last five years. They noted that most unexploded ordinance
has been removed in Southern Kordofan, but that 70% of the mine
threat remains.
7. (SBU) Comment. Kauda, one of the areas most devastated by the
north/south war, clearly has a long road to recovery, but many
people who spoke to SE Gration expressed hope about the tentative
first steps to recovery that have recently been taken there.
Local officials did not expressly credit Governor Haroun with
progress in the state, but several officials noted that progress
had begun "recently" or "in the last nine months" (Note. Haroun was
appointed Governor in May 2009. End Note.) Lasting peace in
Southern Kordofan cannot be assured until people in Kauda and other
"selected areas" perceive themselves as citizens of their state and
northern Sudan. End Comment.
8. (U) This cable has been cleared by the Office of the Special
Envoy.
ASQUINO