VZCZCXRO5278
PP RUEHC
DE RUEHDS #1581/01 1601623
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091623Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1017
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 001581 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/SPG, EUR/RPM, IO/PSC, D:T.SMITH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPKO MOPS NATO PREL SU AU UN
SUBJECT: AFRICAN UNION CHAIRPERSON FORMALLY REQUESTS NATO 
ASSISTANCE FOR MISSION IN SUDAN 
 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00001581  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  AU Commission Chairperson Konare has 
formally requested NATO assistance for AMIS in a June 2 
letter to NATO Secretary-General Scheffer, but confines the 
scope of such assistance to manning a handful of advisory 
positions in AMIS's Forward Joint Mission Headquarters and 
providing training in specific areas.  The letter calls for 
"in-depth study" of NATO's offer to provide "on-the-job" 
capacity building, and invites NATO to consult with the AU on 
"other areas of possible assistance."  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In a June 7 note verbale to the Norwegian Embassy in 
Addis Ababa (forwarded by Post to AF/SPG and AF/SE), 
subsequently distributed by the AU to all partners (i.e., 
non-member donor states, as well as the EU and NATO), the 
African Union formally transmitted a June 2 letter from AU 
Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare to NATO 
 Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.  Konare's letter 
requests NATO assistance to the African Union Mission in 
Sudan (AMIS) in three specific areas: 
 
-- providing personnel to man the Joint Operations Center 
(JOC) of the AMIS Forward Joint Mission Headquarters, to be 
established in El Fasher, Sudan; 
 
-- training and assistance to establish standardized 
assessment procedures for pre-deployment certification of 
troops and individuals to be deployed to Darfur; 
 
-- training and assistance to help the AU establish a 
mechanism to compile "lessons learned" from AMIS, for future 
AU peace support operations that may be conducted by the 
nascent African Standby Force (ASF). 
 
¶3. (U) In the letter to NATO, Konare also refers to NATO's 
offer to provide "on-the-job capacity building," but observes 
that "there is a need for a more in-depth study as to how 
NATO, with other Partners, could provide technical assistance 
at appropriate levels."  Konare's letter concludes with a 
recommendation that a NATO technical team visit the AU 
Commission for consultations with the Commission's Darfur 
Integrated Task Force (DITF) and "explore other areas of 
possible assistance based on NATO's offer." 
 
------------------------------- 
PARTNER RESPONSE TO AU REQUESTS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) JOC/FJMHQ:  The AU Commission formally requested six 
advisors to staff specific positions in the Joint Operations 
Center of AMIS in a May 18 note verbale to partners 
(forwarded by Post to AF/SPG and AF/SE) outlining the 
proposed structure of a Forward Joint Mission Headquarters, 
that would be headed by a newly created AMIS Deputy Head of 
Mission.  In its note verbale, the AU explained that the JOC, 
an intelligence element, Force Generation and Campaign Plan 
Unit, and Civil-Military Cooperation Unit (CIMIC), were to be 
subordinate to a Joint Operations Staff and a Joint Logistics 
Staff to the headed by a Joint Chief of Staff.  The Joint 
Chief of Staff, in turn, would report to the AMIS Deputy Head 
of Mission (who has yet to be identified, but is widely 
expected to be a retired African brigadier).  (NOTE: Such a 
joint structure is intended to harmonize military and 
civilian police (CIVPOL) operations of AMIS, but has been 
viewed with skepticism by the AMIS Force Commander, who would 
lose much of his current authority and be subordinate to the 
as yet unnamed Deputy Head of Mission.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶5. (U) In response to this request, Addis-based partner 
representatives have agreed that the UN will provide the 
requested advisor to the officer in charge of plans (J5), as 
that will facilitate planning for the transition of AMIS to a 
UN peacekeeping operation; the USG will provide advisors for 
the officers in charge of information analysis (J2) and 
civil-military cooperation (J9); and the EU (likely the UK) 
will provide an advisor for the officer in charge of 
operations (J3), as well as a military advisor and a police 
advisor for the Joint Chief of Staff.  In addition to the six 
advisors requested by the AU, Canada has announced its 
intention to provide an expert to work on air operations, 
particularly as Canada is the chief donor for helicopter 
block hours and is concerned about rationalizing the use of 
helicopters for operational purposes (i.e., conducting 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00001581  002 OF 003 
 
 
patrols, vs. transporting food stocks or VIP visitors). 
 
¶6. (SBU) The NATO Senior Military Liaison Officer (SMLO) in 
Addis Ababa does not expect NATO to provide any advisors in 
response to this request, citing a political decision of the 
North Atlantic Council not to do so, due to French 
opposition.  Ad hoc trainers, however, are a possibility. 
 
¶7. (SBU) While NATO is thus not responding directly to the 
first request listed in Konare's letter, an Amcit NATO 
officer from Joint Command-Lisbon has already arrived in 
Addis Ababa to compile "lessons learned" for AMIS.  AU DITF 
officials originally challenged his presence at the AU 
Commission, as he arrived without terms of reference, prior 
to Konare's formal request.  NATO SMLO explained to DITF 
officials that the "lessons learned" expert from NATO had 
been requested verbally by DITF Head Ambassador Ki Doulaye 
Corentin in a May 17 meeting with visiting NATO Deputy 
Assistant Secretary-General for Operations Maurits Jochems. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: Konare's formal request to NATO is a 
welcome development, but limits the scope of NATO assistance 
to specific areas.  While acknowledging "other areas of 
possible assistance," it does not address information or 
intelligence-sharing, nor does it provide carte blanche for 
the large-scale presence of NATO troops in Sudan.  The UN-AU 
joint technical assessment mission, led by UN 
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean 
Marie Guehenno and AU Peace and Security Commissioner 
Ambassador Said Djinnit, which is to depart for Sudan today 
for a three-week mission, is likely to identify additional 
needs that partners, including NATO, may be able to fill. 
END COMMENT. 
 
¶9. (U) Text of Konare's request to NATO follows. 
 
BEGIN TEXT. 
 
BC/FK/NATO/606.06 
Addis Ababa, 2 June 2006 
 
Your Excellency, 
 
I with to refer to our recent discussions regarding the 
assistance offered by NATO to the African Union Mission in 
the Sudan (AMIS) and also to the discussions between NATO 
representatives and AU officials on this issue. 
 
I wish to express to you our appreciation that had been 
provided to AMIS by NATO:  coordination on strategic air 
transport in support of troop induction and rotation, 
training of AMIS HQ and DITF staff, and support given to the 
UN for the MAPEX. 
 
I am pleased to inform you that, in view of our fruitful 
cooperation, the AU is seeking further NATO assistance to 
AMIS in the following areas of activity: 
 
a) Joint Operations Centre 
-------------------------- 
 
The organizational structure, the Terms of Reference and 
resource requirements for the Forward Joint Mission 
Headquarters, of which the JOC is a part, has been prepared 
with the participation of AU Partners, in particular the UN 
and the EU, and the establishment of the Centre has already 
begun.  A copy of the study has been given to NATO.  The AU 
has requested experts from Partners for certain positions in 
the Centre in an advisory role. NATO could certainly provide 
assistance within this framework. 
 
Furthermore, the Commission is considering forwarding a 
request for additional assistance from Partners to strengthen 
the Forward Joint Mission Headquarters and we envisage NATO 
participation in this endeavor, especially as it related to 
the management and operation of the Forward Joint Mission 
Headquarters. 
 
I suggest that NATO staff discuss the modalities of 
implementation with the Darfur Integrated Task Force (DITF) 
and Senior AMIS staff. 
 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00001581  003 OF 003 
 
 
b) Unit Pre-Deployment Certification 
------------------------------------ 
 
The issue of training, whether inside the Troop Contributing 
Countries (TCCs) or in-theatre, is critical to the 
operational effectiveness and efficiency of the Mission.  In 
this respect, the AU Commission issues guidelines to TCCs to 
ensure that personnel are trained to accomplish individual 
and collective tasks.  What remains is the task of 
verification inside the TCCs, by the DITF and the Mission 
Headquarters based on established criteria, to ensure that 
the standards of training have been met.  Furthermore, 
training is a continuous process, so the pre-deployment 
training has to be augmented by in-theatre training.  A 
training cell has been established in the Forward Joint 
Mission Headquarters for the purpose of identifying the 
requirements and coordinating implementation.  This will, 
among other things, help to standardize the training of 
Mission personnel.  NATO in collaboration with other Partners 
can make significant contribution in this area through a 
program of training the trainers both at the DITF and the 
training cell of the Forward Joint Mission Headquarters, 
among others.  Furthermore, NATO can help to establish 
standardized assessment procedures for certification of all 
proposed individual personnel and troop unit contribution. 
 
c) Lessons Learned 
------------------ 
 
AMIS represents a significant achievement in the African 
Union's peace support operations efforts.  It is very 
important to systematically review and document all areas of 
activities of AMIS, which will enable the Mission to improve 
its operational capacity, as well as provide valuable records 
of lessons learned for future AU peace support operations, 
within the context of the African Standby Force (ASF).  In 
this respect, therefore, we would like NATO to join the other 
partners to utilize the Train-the-Trainer concept and to 
assist the AU in establishing mechanisms for collecting 
analyzing lessons from AMIS. 
 
d) On-the-Job Capacity Building 
------------------------------- 
 
With regard to the offer of On-the-Job capacity Building 
Team, there is need for a more in-depth study as to how NATO, 
with other Partners, could provide technical assistance at 
appropriate levels. 
 
I would like to recommend that a NATO technical team visit 
the AU Commissions for discussions with the Darfur Integrated 
Task Force (DITF) regarding assistance in the areas mentioned 
above and explore other areas of possible assistance based on 
NATO's offer. 
 
Once again I wish to express on behalf of the African Union 
appreciation and gratitude for the assistance that NATO has 
provided in furtherance of the peace process in Darfur.  At 
this time of the transition, the continued support and 
assistance of our Partners would be most appreciated. 
 
Accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest 
consideration. 
 
(signed) Alpha Oumar Konare 
 
END TEXT. 
HUDDLESTON