VZCZCXRO1913 
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV 
DE RUEHKH #0840/01 1570936 
ZNR UUUUU ZZH 
P 050936Z JUN 08 ZDK 
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0966 
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE 
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000840 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, SE WILLIAMSON 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU SU ER ET UNSC
 
SUBJECT: UNAMID CHIEF OF STAFF LEAVES MISSION 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 650 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. After months of uncertainty about his possible 
PNG-ing, UNAMID Chief of Staff Patrick Davidson-Houston left the 
Mission on May 27, lamenting that he "left much undone." The 
majority of UNAMID officials acknowledge that Davidson-Houston's 
departure is a blow to the Mission, and none as vociferously as 
Force Commander Martin Luther Agwai himself, who avers that without 
Davidson-Houston, "Transfer of Authority never would have happened." 
Davidson-Houston's premature departure leaves the critical Chief of 
Staff position vacant. Top contenders to succeed him reportedly 
hail from Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) Kenya, Gambia, Egypt, 
Ethiopia and Pakistan. Neither Agwai nor Davidson-Houston sees the 
position being filled before at least August, and Agwai himself does 
not consider those candidates in the running to add value to the 
Mission's leadership. While two months is a long time to be without 
a key UNAMID player, it does afford some time for the international 
community to weigh in with the UN to consider other candidates for 
the job. END SUMMARY. 
 
"LIKE REPLACING A V8 WITH A PRIUS HYBRID ENGINE" 
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¶2. (SBU) May 27 marked the last day on the job for Brigadier General 
Patrick Davidson-Houston (UK), Chief of Staff to the United 
Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) Force Commander. 
Since February credible rumors have circulated of the Government of 
Sudan's intent to declare Davidson-Houston persona non grata and 
expel him from the country as a violation of the "predominantly 
African character" of the UNAMID peacekeeping operation. (NOTE: The 
GoS ignored that such an expulsion also conflicts with the Status of 
Forces Agreement it signed with UNAMID, also in February, which, in 
paragraph 7, stipulates that the GoS "undertakes to respect the 
exclusively international nature of UNAMID." END NOTE). 
 
¶3. (SBU) Davidson-Houston will transfer to Addis Ababa as Acting 
Force Commander overseeing the closedown of the UN Mission in 
Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), and he noted to FieldOff in a May 27 
farewell courtesy call that Addis was only a short plane ride from 
Sudan, adding that his Sudanese visa (one of at least three issued 
to him by the GoS) was still valid. He reiterated the regret with 
which he is leaving the Mission, as he feels he is "leaving much 
undone." 
 
¶4. (SBU) UNAMID Force Commander Agwai (Nigeria) told FieldOff that 
he had lobbied hard for Davidson-Houston's initial appointment as 
Chief of Staff, explaining that he brought to the Mission a "fresh 
perspective" that others did not. Agwai was emphatic that "had 
Patrick not been there to tie up so many loose ends for me, Transfer 
of Authority never would have happened." He doubted that any 
successor could fill Davidson-Houston's shoes from an operational 
standpoint. Davidson-Houston's Military Assistant Marc Lawson (UK) 
concurred, saying that Davidson-Houston's acting successor, Chief 
Operations Officer Col. Joseph Prah (Ghana), as is akin to 
"replacing a V8 with a Prius hybrid engine." 
 
VIABLE ALTERNATIVE UNLIKELY 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶5. (SBU) Davidson-Houston did not expect his ultimate replacement to 
arrive "for at least two to three months, knowing the UN." He noted 
that UN Headquarters in New York had closed the nominations for 
candidates for the position on May 26 but had not yet begun 
interviews, and he claimed not to know who was on the short-list. 
The Force Commander, however, told FieldOff that candidates under 
consideration are from Kenya, Gambia, Egypt, Ethiopia and Pakistan. 
(NOTE: The Egyptian and Ethiopian candidates come as no surprise, 
as the additional battalions pledged by those two TCCs pushed them 
to the top of the list of UNAMID contributors and justified their 
seeking such an appointment, as reported reftel. END NOTE.) Agwai 
does not expect any new ideas from any of these candidates, noting 
that he had pushed UN Headquarters to expand the candidate pool. 
The UN balked in the face of the GoS' perceived resistance to any 
non-African appointment. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Agwai noted he had had lobbied hard with AU leadership for 
Davidson-Houston's initial appointment, including with former 
Commission Chairperson Konare and former Commissioner for Peace and 
Security Djinnit, but he doubted that any European would be 
subsequently considered for any senior UNAMID post. "We will just 
have go on with what we get" from this more limited candidate pool, 
Agwai sighed. 
 
COMMENT AND RECOMMENDATION 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶7. (SBU) Davidson-Houston's departure is a blow to the Mission, 
paired as it will be by mid-June with the departure of another key 
player, COL Murdo Urquhart, Chief of Planning. Agwai's lack of 
faith in the candidates put forward for Chief of Staff should be 
reason enough for the international community to weigh in with the 
UN on this appointment. We could take advantage of the expected 
delay in New York's deliberations on a candidate and use this time 
to push the UN to re-open nominations to expand the pool TCC 
candidates. Better still would be to make our own proposal, perhaps 
in conjunction with the P3. It doubtless will be a sensitive, but 
crucial, task given the high-profile of the post and the potentially 
damaging precedent that could be set if TCCs are allowed to dictate 
UNAMID leadership appointments. 
 
POWERS