VZCZCXRO5430
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0621/01 1940253
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 120253Z JUL 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4588
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000621 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR IO, AF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ETTC UNSC ZI
SUBJECT: UN: RUSSIA, CHINA VETO ZIMBABWE SANCTIONS 
RESOLUTION 
 
REF: USUN 619 
 
¶1. (U) On July 11 Russia and China vetoed the adoption of the 
U.S.-authored draft Security Council resolution that would 
have imposed a comprehensive arms embargo on Zimbabwe and 
subjected fourteen senior members of the Zimbabwean 
government most responsible for the campaign of violence 
against the political opposition, including President Robert 
Mugabe, to an international asset freeze and travel ban. 
Nine delegations voted in favor of the resolution (the U.S., 
UK, France, Belgium, Italy, Panama, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, 
and Croatia), five delegations voted against (Russia, China, 
Viet Nam, South Africa and Libya), and Indonesia abstained. 
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Italy, France, Liberia, 
the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sierra Leone, the U.S. and the 
UK co-sponsored the text. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
ZIMBABWE IMPUGNS UK MOTIVES 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (U) Zimbabwe PermRep B.G. Chidyausiku, in a statement 
before the vote, asserted that Zimbabwe was "at peace with 
itself and its neighbors," and posed no threat to 
international peace and security.  The resolution was 
therefore "a clear abuse of Chapter VII of the UN Charter." 
Chidyausiku said that reports on the violence in Zimbabwe had 
been "over-dramatized," and the proposed sanctions were "an 
expression of imperialist conquest" on the part of the UK and 
its allies, who viewed the results of the elections as 
unfavorable to UK interests.   Chidyausiku asserted that the 
current U.S. and EU sanctions were responsible for the state 
of the Zimbabwean economy and had caused the suffering of the 
Zimbabwean people, who were willing to engage one another in 
an effort to resolve their problems. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
SOUTH AFRICA, LIBYA, VIET NAM AND INDONESIA 
ARGUE SANCTIONS ACTION ILLEGITIMATE 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3. (U) Following Chidyausiku's statement, South African 
PermRep Dumisani Kumalo said that the talks between the GOZ 
leadership and the opposition party Movement for Democratic 
Change (MDC) had resumed on June 10 in South Africa.  Kumalo 
called the elections "unfair and not transparent," but stated 
that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit 
on June 25 "called for the lifting of all sanctions" on 
Zimbabwe.  He continued that SADC had decided that it would 
encourage the parties to honor their commitments to promote 
"peace, stability, democracy, and reconciliation," and that 
South Africa was obliged to follow the decisions of SADC and 
the African Union (AU), and therefore would vote against the 
resolution. 
 
¶4. (U) Libyan Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi expressed concern 
with the tension between the parties, and pledged to work to 
diffuse that tension in line with the AU's July 1 resolution 
on Zimbabwe.  Dabbashi asserted that the situation did not 
present a threat to international peace and security, and 
this was an opinion confirmed by Zimbabwe's neighbors.  He 
alleged that the draft text would violate Zimbabwe's 
sovereignty and represent interference in its internal 
affairs.  Imposing sanctions would run counter to the 
"opinion of the international community" that sanctions are a 
tool of last resort, and would  remove the incentive for one 
party (the MDC) to enter into further dialogue. 
 
¶5. (U) Explaining Indonesia' abstention, DPR Hasan Kleib 
stated that his government was "appalled by the violence" and 
human rights abuses, but the draft resolution would neither 
promote dialogue and reconciliation, nor support regional 
efforts to solve the crisis.  Viet Nam PermRep Minh said that 
in the absence of a threat to international peace and 
security, the imposition of Chapter VII sanctions would run 
counter to international law. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
BURKINA FASO COMMITTED TO 
PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF THE CONFLICT 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Burkina Faso PermRep Michel Kafando stated that the 
situation in Zimbabwe continued to worsen and it was a threat 
to peace in Southern Africa.  Burkina Faso endorses the AU 
commitment to encouraging a dialogue to promote peace in 
Zimbabwe, but as a member of the Security Council, Burkina 
Faso "must also shoulder the responsibility to respond to any 
threat to international peace and security."  The proposed 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000621  002 OF 003 
 
 
arms embargo was designed to prevent a large-scale conflict, 
and the text had the support of Burkina Faso for this reason. 
 Kafando argued that the adoption of the resolution would not 
have compromised or undermined a political settlement, but on 
the contrary would have encouraged one. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
US AND UK SPAR WITH RUSSIA OVER POSITIONS 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶7. (U) Speaking immediately after the vote, UK PermRep John 
Sawers said that the Security Council had "failed to shoulder 
its responsibility to do what it (could) to prevent a 
national tragedy deepening, and spreading its effects across 
southern Africa."  Rather than undermining the ongoing 
mediation efforts, the resolution would have required the GOZ 
to engage meaningfully with the mediation, and would have 
placed "countervailing pressure on the Mugabe regime to 
balance the pressure and intimidation it continues to exert 
on the political opposition."  Sawers argued that the 
resolution was not an intrusion into Zimabawe's internal 
affairs, as the Council has often determined that instability 
in one country has consequences for wider peace and 
stability.  The Council had now lost the opportunity to 
impose a legal obligation on Mugabe to discontinue the 
violence, strengthen the mediation efforts, and impose an 
arms embargo.  Sawers called Russia's position 
"inexplicable," noting that President Medvedev had supported 
the G8 statement to "take further steps, inter alia 
introducing financial and other measures against those 
individuals responsible for the violence."  The vetoes of 
China and Russia were "deeply damaging to the long-term 
interests of Zimbabwe's people" and had harmed the prospects 
of an early end to the violence and oppression. 
 
¶8. (U) Speaking next, Russian PermRep Vitaly Churkin 
criticized the "irresponsible and factually inaccurate" 
statement by the UK.  Churkin said that there was no 
reference in the G8 statement to Security Council action, and 
that "all members (of the Council) knew this."  Churkin 
characterized the draft resolution as an "illegitimate and 
dangerous" attempt to take action beyond the scope of the UN 
Charter.  The situation in Zimbabwe could not be solved, he 
continued, by "artificially elevating" it to a threat to 
international peace and security, and the initiative 
interfered in a national process.  Furthermore, the draft 
ignored the ongoing discussion between the political parties 
in Zimbabwe and the position of the AU on the need to foster 
dialogue.  Churkin said that the sponsors of the resolution 
had been warned that sanctions would deepen the crisis, and 
had missed an opportunity to develop a united Council 
approach on the way out of the crisis.  Churkin added that 
the failure to adopt the resolution did not impact the 
international community's interest in resolving the crisis in 
Zimbabwe. 
 
¶9. (U) Ambassador Khalilzad expressed U.S. disappointment 
that Russia and China prevented the Council from adopting a 
strong resolution condemning and sanctioning the violent 
regime of Robert Mugabe, and stated that, in blocking the 
resolution, China and Russia had stood with Mugabe against 
the people of Zimbabwe.  Particularly surprising and 
disturbing, he said, was the reversal of the Russian position 
from a few days earlier during the G8 summit, when Russia had 
supported a G8 statement deploring that the Government of 
Zimbabwe had carried out elections on June 27 despite the 
violence and intimidation that prevented the conduct of free 
and fair elections, quoting the statement's commitment to 
further measures.  "The Russian performance here today," 
Ambassador Khalilzad said, "raises questions about its 
reliability as a G8 partner."  He cited UN Deputy 
Secretary-General Migiro's characterization of the situation 
in Zimbabwe as "the single greatest challenge to regional 
stability in southern Africa," and noted that the AU had 
expressed the "urgent need to prevent further worsening of 
the situation to avoid the spread of conflict."  Ambassador 
Khalilzad noted that no substantive negotiations were 
underway between the Mugabe regime and the opposition, 
contrary to what had been reported by South Africa. 
Ambassador Khalilzad applauded Burkina Faso, Liberia and 
Sierra Leone for standing up for the people of Zimbabwe by 
supporting the resolution, and pledged to continue to work 
with all Security Council members to monitor the situation in 
Zimbabwe and urge the SYG to appoint a representative to 
support the negotiation process. 
 
¶10. (U) French PermRep Maurice Ripert said the violence 
continued, and the number of refugees was growing, 
threatening regional stability.  The draft resolution would 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000621  003 OF 003 
 
 
have provided the necessary pressure to bolster the political 
process and hold accountable those perpetrating that 
violence.  Ripert stated that going forward it was important 
to ensure that democracy prevailed. 
 
11 (U) Chinese PermRep Wang Guangya stated that China had 
"insurmountable difficulties" with the text, and asserted 
that at the G8 summit African leaders had clearly opposed the 
use of sanctions.  This was not a threat to international 
peace and security, and the threat of sanctions would 
interfere with the dialogue between the parties, which China 
believed was the best approach to solving the crisis.  Wang 
called on the parties to exercise restraint, and refrain from 
action that would lead to the further deterioration of the 
situation. 
 
¶12. (U) Croatian PermRep Neven Jurica expressed deep regret 
over the defeat of the draft resolution, noting that the 
Council had failed to apply "long needed" pressure on Mugabe, 
and that the Council should not tolerate the use of violence 
"to distort democracy at the expense of the people."  Costa 
Rican DPR Saul Wiesleder expressed regret for the vetoes, 
stating that the situation in Zimbabwe had dangerous 
implications for the region.  He stated the fundamental 
importance that the will of the majority be respected, and 
noted that the elections had not met the minimum standards 
for fairness.  Belgian DPR Olivier Belle stated that, despite 
the regrettable outcome of the vote, the Council was still 
unanimous on the gravity of the situation and the need for a 
negotiated settlement.  Panamanian PermRep Ricardo Arrias 
said that while Panama did not believe that the situation yet 
constituted a threat to international peace and security, it 
could soon become one and had voted for the resolution on 
those grounds.  Italian DPR Aldo Mandovani stated concisely 
that the people of Zimbabwe should be able to express their 
legitimate political will. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
AU, ANGOLA, AND TANZANIA ENCOURAGE 
SUPPORTING DIALOGUE 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
¶13. (U) Angola, representing SADC, said that sanctions on one 
party could further complicate and damage the ongoing 
political dialogue, and that the international community 
should "give dialogue a chance."  Tanzanian PermRep Augustine 
Mahiga said the Security Council should consider working in 
tandem with the AU as outlined in its recent resolution in 
particular by supporting SADC-led mediation.  AU Ambassador 
Ratsifandrihamanana said that African leaders had taken full 
responsibility (for mediating the situation), and asked that 
no actions be taken that would have a negative impact on that 
mediation. 
 
Khalilzad