VZCZCXRO5552
OO RUEHBZ RUEHQU
DE RUCNDT #0091/01 0322313
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 012313Z FEB 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1254
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA IMMEDIATE 0733
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI IMMEDIATE 0054

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000091 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPKO UNSC CH TW HA
SUBJECT: SECURITY COUNCIL WILL EXTEND MINUSTAH MANDATE, BUT 
LENGTH OF EXTENSION STILL UNDECIDED 
 
REF: STATE 10313 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  During UNSC consultations on January 29, 
Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of 
the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) Edmund Mulet 
strongly defended recent joint operations between the UN and 
the Haitian National Police (HNP) against armed gangs in the 
Cite Soleil section of Port-au-Prince and vowed they would 
continue until the entire country is pacified.  Chinese PR 
Wang confirmed that the PRC could accept a six-month 
extension of MINUSTAH's mandate at the current authorized 
troop/police strength, but insisted that the UN begin 
planning to wind down MINUSTAH and transition its operations 
in Haiti from peacekeeping to peacebuiding.  Eleven other 
Council members, however, supported Ambassador Wolff's call 
for a one-year extension to indicate the UNSC's long-term 
commitment to Haiti.  Partly in response to Chinese arguments 
that MINUSTAH's future should be limited, Mulet launched an 
impassioned appeal to the UNSC not to repeat the mistakes of 
the past by prematurely withdrawing from Haiti.  End Summary. 
 
Mulet Delivers Impressive Performance 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In his first briefing to the Council since becoming 
SRSG, Edmund Mulet strongly defended MINUSTAH's recent 
operations against gangs in Cite Soleil and vowed they would 
continue until the country is stabilized.  Describing how 
difficult the conditions in Haiti's slums are, Mulet related 
how gang leader Evans recently executed at point-blank range 
twelve of his associates on suspicion of disloyalty and that 
nuns stationed in Cite Soleil report that gang members 
routinely rape girls as young as six years old.  No job 
creation, investment, or rule of law institution-building 
could take place in this climate.  Mulet argued that gang 
activity in Haiti, as opposed to other Latin American 
nations, threatens the stability of the entire country. 
While the challenges facing MINUSTAH are significant -- Mulet 
noted how gang members had recently fired 20,000 shots in one 
hour against UN peacekeepers in a bid to reclaim a four-story 
gang headquarters building in Cite Soleil -- the SRSG opined 
that most gang activity in Haiti is motivated by criminal and 
not political concerns and that MINUSTAH and the HNP would 
eventually prevail in their effort to restore security. 
 
¶3. (U) In part to respond to Chinese arguments that MINUSTAH 
should begin to wind down its operations in Haiti (see 
below), Mulet launched an impassioned appeal to the 
international community to make a long-term commitment to the 
country's reconstruction.  Noting that Haiti lacks the most 
basic institutions of the state -- customs officers at most 
ports and birth registries in most villages, for example -- 
Mulet argued that the international community could not leave 
until it helped the Haitians build at least a modicum of 
institutional capacity.  Recalling that there have been six 
multinational operations in Haiti since 1991, Mulet argued 
that each of them had been hobbled by the lack of a long-term 
vision.  He appealed to donors to continue to support the 
GOH, particularly its &Plan d'Appeasement Social,8 as well 
as to extend trade agreements that would help to revive 
Haitian industry.  The biggest challenge facing Haiti's 
reconstruction now, Mulet suggested, was not a lack of 
reconstruction funds but a lack of Haitian capacity and 
expertise to spend those funds wisely. 
 
¶4. (U) Explaining why he thought Haiti now had a real chance 
to break with its history of political instability and 
violence, Mulet reported that Haitian political parties had 
begun working with each other to address the problems facing 
their country ) he cited as one such example the unanimous 
confirmation of Prime Minister Alexis by the legislature.  In 
response to South African PR Kumalo,s point about the need 
for national reconciliation (see below), Mulet said MINUSTAH 
would continue to promote dialogue and reconciliation but 
that the Haitians made significant strides towards this goal 
on their own.  Noting that support for former President 
Aristide in Haiti has dropped dramatically over the past 
year, Mulet also rebutted Kumalo,s suggestion that some gang 
violence in Haiti could be politically-motivated by arguing 
that Haitian gangs are almost universally criminal, not 
political, organizations. 
 
China Agrees to Six-Month Extension 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Before the UNSC meeting, Chinese PolMinCouns Li 
Junhua told USUN PolMinCouns that the PRC would agree to 
extend MINUSTAH's mandate for at most six months at the 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000091  002 OF 002 
 
 
current authorized force levels, with the stipulation that 
the resolution would ask the Secretariat to provide "force 
reconfiguration" options in its next report to the Council. 
During UNSC consultations, Chinese PR Wang said he could 
accept a six-month extension -- with no details on force 
levels -- but focused most on the need for the UN to 
transition its role in Haiti "from peacekeeping to 
peacebuilding."  Over the past three years, Wang said, the UN 
had restored order "for the most part" in Haiti and had 
helped carry out elections.  Now the challenge facing the UN 
would depend more on building rule of law and economic 
institutions, tasks for which the GOH would have to take on a 
"primary role" and achieve self-reliance "at an early date." 
The UN peacekeeping budget is stretched thin around the 
world, Wang observed, and as a result the UNSC should soon 
expect the Secretariat to "carry out a full evaluation of 
security in Haiti to formulate a strategy for MINUSTAH's 
final withdrawal." 
 
Large Majority of Council Supports One-Year 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U)  All UNSC members except China, Russia, and South 
Africa expressed support for extending MINUSTAH's mandate by 
one year at the current authorized troop/police strength. 
Drawing from reftel points, Ambassador Wolff underscored the 
importance to Haiti and the region of extending the mandate 
for one year in order to send the GOH a signal of the 
international community's long-term commitment.  Peruvian PR 
Voto-Bernales, offering a strong statement of Latin America's 
support for MINUSTAH, argued that the UNSC "must not recommit 
the errors of the pats with a premature withdrawal from 
Haiti."  Emphasizing that MINUSTAH must intensify its efforts 
to ensure security in Port-au-Prince by maintaining pressure 
on armed gangs, Voto-Bernales also urged the Council to 
prioritize development in Haiti by tasking MINUSTAH to help 
coordinate reconstruction aid.  France also welcomed recent 
MINUSTAH action against gangs in Cite Soleil, and called on 
MINUSTAH to use election resources freed up due to the 
completion of most of the transitional cycle to build the 
GOH's institutional capacity. 
 
¶7. (U)  South African PR Kumalo spoke at length about the 
need for national reconciliation and dialogue in Haiti and 
suggested that Pretoria's position on the duration of the 
mandate renewal would depend on the extent to which MINUSTAH 
promotes such efforts.  Noting that MINUSTAH has a mandate to 
promote reconciliation and dialogue under resolution 1542, 
Kumalo asked why the issue had not received much attention in 
the Secretary-General's last report and wondered if some of 
the violence in Haiti could be attributed to the lack of 
reconciliation.  He also asked Mulet why he thought the 
situation in Haiti was different now than in the past ) why 
the country,s fractious political parties would come 
together when they had failed to do so before (Note: The 
subtext of Kumalo's argument seemed to be that South Africa 
wanted reconciliation efforts to proceed in Haiti in order to 
facilitate the return of former President Aristide.  End 
Note.).  Russian PR Churkin expressed support for an 
extension of MINUSTAH's mandate but refrained from specifying 
a timeframe. 
WOLFF