VZCZCXRO6586
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1854 3310856
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 270856Z NOV 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9309
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001854 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID UN AU SU
SUBJECT: UN UPDATE: HUMANITARIAN AND POLITICAL PROCESSES IN DARFUR 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Briefing the donor community on November 25, UN 
DSRSG Ameera Haq introduced an agenda that included an update on the 
Darfur political process and humanitarian access situation, as well 
a preview of the launch of the UN's 2008 workplan (donors will be 
invited to a formal presentation in December). The census and the 
current state of HIV/AIDS awareness in Sudan were also briefly 
discussed. End summary. 
 
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POLITICAL PROCESS: SLOWLY MOVING FORWARD 
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¶2. (SBU) Joint Mediation Support Team (JMST) director Jack 
Christofides said that SPLM efforts currently under way in Juba to 
facilitate cohesion between some of the rebel movements were moving 
forward, with two major groups emerging. While "Darfur is full of 
false dawns," he said, he was optimistic that the groups would agree 
on a single negotiating position. Similar efforts in Darfur were 
also taking hold, he said, and he hoped that ultimately the groups 
in Juba and Darfur would choose a joint negotiating team between 
them.  At present, the talks in Juba were due to conclude on 
November 29, and movement delegates would then be transported back 
to Darfur. An outstanding question, however, was whether the 
government's delegation would be represented by the GNU or solely 
the NCP when the Sirte peace talks reconvened. 
 
¶3. (SBU) On civil society representation at the talks, Christofides 
said that its role was still unclear, though civil society 
representatives present at Sirte had been pleased with their 
involvement. Responding to a question from CDA on IDP 
representation, Christofides conceded that this was one of the more 
difficult issues the JMST was looking at, as IDPs were the group 
most affected by Abdulwahid Nur's opposition to the talks and the 
Sudanese Government is also highly suspicious of their 
participation. Other opposition political parties could also be 
included with civil society, he added. (Note: This would doubtless 
incur suspicion on the part of the Sudanese government, who already 
considers civil society participation in general as a cover for 
political parties wanting to attend the talks. End note.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Christofides also confirmed that late last week NISS had 
blocked a senior JMST team from flying to Umm Rai where they had 
planned to conduct meetings. The team was ultimately permitted to 
travel, but he said he feared that the Sudanese government was 
"changing its attitude" toward cooperating with the UN/AU. 
 
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HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS 
----------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Turning to humanitarian operations, the UN's Mike McDonagh 
said that there was still no word on extending the NGO moratorium, 
due to expire on January 31, 2008. The government would likely wait 
until the last moment, he surmised. Heavy fighting between rebels 
(probably SLA-Unity) and the SAF near Kutum was affecting 
humanitarian operations in North Darfur, he said. In South Darfur, 
the Sudanese government had not responded to charges of forced 
relocations of IDPs from Otash; the government considered these 
newcomers "illegal" as they had come from Kalma, he said. However, 
considering that police forces used whips to move people out and 
conducted the operation in the middle of the night, the UN and IOM 
deemed the relocations as forced. CDA suggested that during 
Under-Secretary General John Holmes' upcoming visit he make the 
point to the government that while the international community 
wasn't inherently opposed to some rearrangement in Kalma, it must be 
voluntary. 
 
¶6. (SBU) UNHCR's Craig Sanders briefed on the organization's ongoing 
dialogue with the government to extend its operations to North and 
South Darfur. The recent Zoe's Ark scandal had set these discussions 
back, he said, and HAC Commissioner Hasabo Abdelrahman was pressing 
UNHCR to come up with a "useful definition of protection" and then 
present it to the governors of the two states. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: The large group donor briefings are a relatively 
new UN phenomenon, and are set to occur monthly. While we share the 
UN's assessment that the Sudanese government may wait until the last 
moment to extend the moratorium on humanitarian access, we have 
repeatedly urged the government to grant the extension sooner rather 
than later; we will continue to press this point in the coming 
weeks. Further reporting on civil society inclusion in reconvened 
peace talks will follow septel. End comment. 
 
FERNANDEZ