VZCZCXRO6076
OO RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2276 2611358
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181358Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4613
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA PRIORITY

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 002276 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT ALSO FOR AF A/S FRAZER AND AF/SPG 
NSC FOR COURVILLE AND SHORTLEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SU
SUBJECT: DARFUR CONFERENCE REQUIRES COORDINATED 
INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT 
 
REF: A. STATE 140816 
 
     ¶B. KHARTOUM 02010 
     ¶C. KHARTOUM 02020 
     ¶D. KHARTOUM 02045 
     ¶E. KHARTOUM 02104 
     ¶F. KHARTOUM 02264 
 
¶1. (SBU) At a working-level meeting of the Darfur Partners 
Group on September 17, representatives of the USG, UK, 
Netherlands, Canada, France, Norway, Italy, and EU agreed 
that significant preparatory work with the non-signatories of 
the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) is needed at the local level 
prior to a leadership conference.  Given the recent 
splintering of the non-signatory commanders and political 
leadership, such international engagement must be coordinated. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Embassy's Senior Security Advisor and his UK 
colleagues began the meeting with a summary of their recent 
exploratory trip to Darfur.  They reported that SLM/Abdul 
Wahid appeared to have splintered into four groups and said 
they had heard from one SLM/Abdul Wahid commander that the 
forces of Ahmed Abdul Shafi were "worse than the janjaweed." 
Despite this, local commanders and leaders remain willing to 
participate in a conference in Jebel Marra.  The EU 
representative informed the group that one Abdul Wahid 
commander had later called to apologize for the hard-line 
approach taken in meetings with the USG and UK 
representatives.  He had explained that several Abdul Wahid 
relatives had been present, which had prevented free 
discussion. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Darfur partners proposed the following 
five-prong approach to lay the groundwork for a leadership 
conference. 
 
-- Creation of a small group of Western diplomats to reach 
out to non-signatories, both in Darfur and through the 
non-signatories' representatives in Khartoum, on behalf of 
the international community.  The group would engage with 
local leaders to promote constructive political cooperation 
in preparation for a leadership conference.  The emphasis 
would be on developing approaches to achieve peace and to 
support the DPA. 
 
-- Development of a contact list of non-signatories agreed to 
by the Darfur Partners Group. 
 
-- Development of talking points agreed to by the Darfur 
Partners Group for use in outreach to the non-signatory 
commanders and political leaders. 
 
-- Development of a draft protocol or annex to the DPA to 
address the concerns of the non-signatories and encourage 
their accession to the agreement.  This protocol could be 
used during local outreach efforts. 
 
-- Development of a list of essential requirements to support 
and strengthen Minni Minawi and a recommended timeline for 
implementation. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The group recommended that the five-prong approach 
be adopted at the Chief of Mission-level during the Darfur 
Partners Group meeting on September 20. 
HUME