VZCZCXRO3903
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1103/01 2050649
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230649Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1404
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001103 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, AF/SE, INL/AAE 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO AID 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: UN PROPOSES TO TRAIN AND EQUIP ABYEI BASED JOINT INTEGRATED 
POLICE UNITS (JIPU) 
 
REF: (A) KHARTOUM 1081 
(B) KHARTOUM 1033 
(C) KHARTOUM 1031 
(D) KHARTOUM 1010 
(E) KHARTOUM 1007 
 
¶1. (SBU) UNMIS Police Commissioner Kai Vittrup told poloff July 14 
that the UN has proposed a Joint Integrated Police Unit (JIPU) Rapid 
Deployment Package (RDP) to jointly train the anticipated 
1,000-troop JIPU in Abyei.  He said that that the $835,000 RDP, if 
funded and implemented, would quickly raise the security in Abyei 
and surrounding areas and facilitate return of residents to Abyei. 
The RDP proposal - approved by Deputy Commissioner of Sudan Police 
Forces Police General Al-A'Del Ajab Yagob, South Sudan Police 
Service Inspector General of Police Lt. General Makuei Deng Majuc, 
and UNMIS Police Commission Kai Vittrup on July 7 - envisions the 
immediate provision of joint training, joint office space, 
communication facilities, vehicles and a common uniform for both 
Southern and Northern police. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Politically the situation in Abyei is delicate, said 
Vittrup, and requires rapid support from the international 
community.  Vittrup explained that soon after the signing of the 
June 8 Abyei Roadmap Agreement, 300 police officers from the 
northern Special Reserve Police (SRP) began to arrive in Abyei. SRP 
commander Col. Luka Deng Kual (part of the northern force but 
specifically chosen because he is a southerner) told the media that 
his forces are part of the Joint Integrated Police Unit (JIPU) 
stipulated in the June 8 Abeyi Roadmap's Security Arrangements 
clause.  After initially protesting the deployment of the SRP, the 
GOSS announced plans to deploy its own 300-police contingent to the 
JIPU, using residents local to the area. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Vittrup said that the Special Reserve Police (SRP) appear 
well-trained and equipped, arriving in Abyei with a solid range of 
police capabilities ranging from immigration control to 
investigative (detective) capacity.  He compared this with the 
Southern Sudan Police Service (SSPS) who he said have limited 
resources to deploy a police unit equivalent to the SRP.  In order 
to quickly restore trust and a sense of security to Abyei, Vittrup 
said that the UN needs to build up joint capacity so that all 
residents feel sufficiently secure so that they could eventually 
return to Abeyi.  He said that the RDP is intended to quickly 
provide results while longer term requirements for Abyei's 
reconstruction - such as the rebuilding of destroyed schools, 
clinics and infrastructure - will obviously be addressed later once 
security is restored. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Observers have expressed concern that the JIPU not repeat 
the mistake of the military joint counterpart where the Southern and 
Northern military units share only a name and location.  They note 
that a true joint police force would be a critical first step in 
fostering good citizen-police relations and could allow for 
Misseriya and Dinka Nyok tribal group disarmament.  (Comment: A 
priority should be the near-term establishment of police outposts 
along the migration routes. If these police outposts could 
contribute to the Misseriya's feeling that the JIPU are effective, 
and they treat both Southerners and Northerners fairly and 
adequately assure the safety of their cattle, then they would be 
more inclined to disarm this fall when they begin their migrations. 
End comment.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) UNDP Rule of Law Coordinator Amanda Serumaga told poloff on 
July 20 that UNDP intends to meet with potential donors this week to 
seek immediate contributions to support the RDP.  She stressed that 
for the Abyei roadmap to be successful, the international donor 
community needs to quickly support security needs as well as other 
Abyei programs and seemed cautiously optimistic that donors would 
quickly fund the UNMIS JIPU proposal. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment:  The disarmament of Rizeigat during their southern 
travel to Bahr Al Ghazal last year is a model that might be used in 
Abyei, if security and confidence is restored (this is obviously far 
from assured).  In Bahr al Ghazal, USAID sponsored conferences with 
Rizeigat traditional leaders, who agreed to disarm after given 
guarantees for the protection of their cattle.  A similar model for 
interaction with the Misseriya could be supported (ref C).  Post 
will encourage UNDP and UNMIS police efforts to develop the 
establishment of early warning posts along migration routes to 
mitigate conflict in these remote locations. While not a final 
solution to the problems of Abyei (we note that there has been no 
progress on the naming of a joint administration while the GNU 
regime is embroiled in the ICC crisis) the UN proposed joint police 
training, endorsed by both Northern and Southern police commanders, 
offers an opportunity to diminish possible tensions in this volatile 
area. 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00001103  002 OF 002 
 
 
FERNANDEZ