VZCZCXRO4403
RR RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHLO #1666 1721447
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201447Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8985
INFO RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0391
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1213
RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS LONDON 001666 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NAIROBI FOR SOMALIA SECTION 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PINS UNSC KPKO SO XW UK
SUBJECT: SOMALIA: UN SPECIAL REP CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL 
SUPPORT FOR DJIBOUTI AGREEMENT 
 
¶1. (U) UN Special Representative for Somalia Ahmedou 
Ould-Abdallah called for the international community's 
support for the Djibouti Agreement between the Somali 
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for 
Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) at a June 19 think-tank event 
in London.  Defending the agreement, he called the TFG "a 
group that is considered legitimate by many of us and is 
therefore legal," and said it is normal to have "elements 
that oppose" the peace deal.  He estimated that 75 to 80 
percent of Somalis are represented by the two groups. 
 
¶2. (U) Turning to the agreement itself, Ould-Abdallah said 
there are three core paragraphs.  Paragraph seven calls for a 
UN stabilization force, re-deployment of Ethiopian troops 
from Somalia, and a cessation of violence; these three 
elements are inter-linked to "ensure there is no security 
vacuum."  Paragraph eight is also linked to improving 
security; it calls for the establishment of a joint security 
committee.  This committee, he suggested, should have 
national, regional, and local elements from both sides. 
Describing paragraph nine, he said the high-level political 
committee should be comprised of five to seven individuals 
from both sides who can deal with national issues.  The 
committee is designed to help the parties become "familiar 
with political government management and is not a parallel 
government" and should be replicated at the local level as 
well.  Learning political management of government will be a 
crucial element to the successful implementation of the peace 
agreement. 
 
¶3. (U) The Special Representative acknowledged the Djibouti 
Agreement would be met with skepticism because of the history 
of peace deals in Somalia, but insisted that it could be 
successful with international support.  He said it was now 
incumbent on the international community to "respond to the 
agreement."  He highlighted resolving Somalia's debt issues 
and robust international participation at the conference on 
Somalia's reconstruction and development as two key 
initiatives, noting that the IMF and World Bank will be 
important players in Somalia's full-scale reconstruction.  He 
also called for the international community to intervene 
immediately to stop the dumping of solid, chemical, and 
possibly nuclear waste in Somalia.  The Djibouti Agreement is 
"part of the process" and resources must be mobilized 
immediately, including the relocation of the UN offices to 
Mogadishu, to ensure the process continues. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶4. (SBU) Earlier in the day, the Special Representative met 
with HMG officials, including FCO Minister for Africa Lord 
Malloch-Brown.  Our FCO contacts tell us that the Special 
Representative's description of the background thinking on 
the Djibouti Agreement has allayed many of their concerns 
that the deal lacked "real substance."  Although the UK has 
not yet determined its support, Ould-Abdallah's visit has 
certainly nudged their thinking forward.  His thoughts on how 
and when to scale up the UN's presence in Somalia and on 
deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation will heavily 
influence the UK's support for such multilateral initiatives. 
 End comment. 
 
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