VZCZCXRO5957
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1066 1891142
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081142Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7813
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001066 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AU SU UN
SUBJECT: UN ENVOY ELIASSON BRIEFING ON AU/UN ROADMAP 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) In a July 6 briefing for chiefs of mission in advance of 
the upcoming Tripoli meetings (July 15-16), UN Secretary -General 
Special Envoy for Darfur Mr. Jan Eliasson discussed recent efforts 
made in support of the three-phased AU/UN roadmap. He described the 
"convergence" phase of the roadmap as coming to an end, and hoped 
that by the end of the Tripoli meetings, the "pre-negotiations" 
stage would begin. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Eliasson said that the UN and AU had cast their nets wide 
during consultations over the previous months, meeting with civil 
society members, Sudanese government officials and non-signatories. 
(Note: AU Special Envoy Dr. Salim Salim was not present at the 
briefing. End note.) He described the consultations as "high 
quality," with the goal of building broad support for the political 
process. At the end of the "pre-negotiations" stage, he said, UNSYG 
Ban ki-Moon and AU Chairman Alpha Konare would formally invite 
selected participants to joint the third phase of "negotiations." 
Eliasson did not give a detailed timeline for this, saying only that 
he hoped the third phase would take place during late summer. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Eliasson also briefed on his recent trip to West Darfur. 
IDP camps were becoming increasingly politicized, he said, and camp 
representatives' main concerns centered on security and 
compensation, with much less concern around the role of 
non-signatories or power-sharing. Eliasson was worried that without 
a political settlement by the end of this year, the "new realities" 
on the ground would effectively block any peace negotiations. (Note: 
see reftels for Khartoum reporting on the same subjects). 
 
¶4. (SBU) Eliasson said that the AU and UN were keeping close tabs on 
regional initiatives (Chad, Libya, and Eritrea) and also indicated 
that there might be a need for another Tripoli-like meeting in early 
August. He suggested that this meeting could take place outside of 
Libya, in another regional capital. (Note: PolOff understood this to 
mean Asmara. End note.) When asked about an update on the Center for 
Humanitarian Dialogue's proposed conference, Eliasson only noted 
that while all efforts contributing to the "convergence" phase of 
the Roadmap were welcome, they should all be coordinated with the AU 
and UN. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Eygptian Ambassador pressed Eliasson about whether he 
and Dr. Salim were being firm enough with non-signatories who 
continued to resist efforts to bring them to the negotiating table, 
contrasting the soft treatment of such individuals with the "very 
tough" message being sent to the Government of Sudan through tools 
such as sanctions. Eliasson agreed that the international community 
needed to tell non-signatories that now is the time for 
negotiations. UN senior advisor Pekka Haavisto, also present at the 
meeting, said that the recent alliance between SLM/A's Abdulshafi 
and Sudan Democratic Federal Alliance's Ahmed Direij was very 
positive, he said. Haavisto contrasted the two commanders with Abdul 
Wahid, who he said wasn't answering his phone or returning e-mails. 
 
 
POWERS