VZCZCXRO8981
OO RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0723/01 2252139
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 122139Z AUG 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4782
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD IMMEDIATE 0684

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000723 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PREM IZ UNSC
SUBJECT: U/SYG PASCOE BRIEFS COUNCIL ON UNAMI REPORT, SC 
EXTENDS UNAMI MANDATE 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) Summary:  On August 6 the Security Council met to 
discuss the Secretary-General's quarterly report on the 
United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the 
Multi-National Force in Iraq (MNF-I). 
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe 
noted UNAMI's expanded role, and commended political and 
military efforts which have "contributed to improved security 
in most parts of the country, most visibly during the past 
three months."  Ambassador Wolff, briefing on behalf of 
MNF-I, noted the sustained decrease in security incidents and 
violence in Iraq, the improved capability of the Iraqi 
Security Forces, and the GoI's efforts at political 
reconciliation.  Iraqi PermRep Hamid al-Bayati told the 
Council that the Iraqi government had "succeeded in 
preventing a sectarian war."  Council members all 
acknowledged that a combination of political and military 
efforts have contributed to improvements in security, though 
members have different opinions on the extent of those 
improvements.  The following day, on August 7, Council 
Members voted unanimously to adopt UNSCR 1830 which extends 
the UNAMI mandate for a period of twelve months. END SUMMARY. 
 
REMARKS BY U/SYG PASCOE 
 
¶2. (SBU) U/SYG Pascoe provided the Council with an update on 
UNAMI and highlighted portions of the Secretary-General's 
quarterly report on the fulfillment of the responsibilities 
of UNAMI pursuant to paragraph 6 of UNSCR 1770 (2007). 
Pascoe noted UNAMI's expanded role, and commended political 
and military efforts which have "contributed to improved 
security in most parts of the country, most visibly during 
the past three months."  He stated that while a window for 
improved political dialogue may exist, the situation remains 
"tenuous" and progress achieved thus far could be lost. 
Pascoe said that UNAMI's offices in Baghdad and Erbil are 
expanding.  A UNAMI presence has been established in Basra 
and Kirkuk, and planning is underway to post national and 
international staff in Mosul, Najaf, and Ramadi.  UNAMI's 
Iraqi Government Liaison Officers (GLOs) are currently 
operating in the offices of nine governors in Iraq.  Pascoe 
expressed his appreciation to MNF-I and the UN's Department 
of Safety and Security (DSS) for maintaining UNAMI's security 
in Iraq and stressed the importance of continued security for 
UNAMI after the MNF-I mandate expires on December 31. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Pascoe cautioned that the number of civilian 
casualties is still too high as demonstrated by recent 
suicide bombings in Kirkuk and Baghdad during which sixty 
people were killed and hundreds were injured.  He called 
these bombings "brutal reminders of the lengths to which some 
are willing to go to provoke hatred and division among 
Iraqis."  Pascoe commended the recent implementation of the 
Amnesty Law, saying that it has the potential to contribute 
to developing trust between various communities.  He cited 
the return of the Sunni coalition Tawafuq to the government 
as an example of increased political dialogue in Iraq. 
Pascoe commended the Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC) 
for achieving a number of milestones, most notably, the 
development of a field structure for the voter registration 
update, the recruitment and training of over 8,000 electoral 
staff, and the establishment of 564 registration centers 
countrywide.  He urged the GoI to maintain transparency and 
strong oversight throughout the registration process.  He 
cautioned that without electoral legislation, the 2008 
provincial elections would not occur.  He said that a failure 
to pass an election law would be a "major setback." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Pascoe stated that reconstruction and development is 
UNAMI's top priority.  He lamented the increase in 
unemployment and the lack of effective governance on 
socio-economic issues such as malnutrition and literacy.  He 
pledged that the UN would work with the GoI in the area of 
private sector development, aimed primarily at increasing 
employment opportunities and diversifying the nation's 
economic output.  Pascoe added that the percentage of UN 
projects dedicated to addressing humanitarian issues has 
increased supported by funding received through the 2008 
Consolidated Appeal for Iraq which currently stands at 47 
percent funded or 128 million USD.  Also, 20 million USD from 
the Trust Fund has been dedicated to addressing humanitarian 
needs, including through the development of an Emergency 
Response Fund that will provide a rapid response capacity to 
handle the effects of major military operations.  In regards 
to human rights, Pascoe noted some progress but reminded all 
parties of the need to address gender-based violence, 
murders, and suicide bombings. 
 
REMARKS BY IRAQI PERMREP AL-BAYATI 
 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000723  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Iraqi PermRep Hamid al-Bayati told the Council that 
the Iraqi government had "succeeded in preventing a sectarian 
war."  He emphasized the improvement of the Iraqi Security 
Forces and commended Iraqi-led operations in Basra, Baghdad, 
Maysan, Mosul, and Diyala.    Al-Bayati suggested that these 
operations "led to the success of the Iraqi Law Enforcement 
Plan, the enforcement of government control, and an 80 
percent decrease in the number of terrorist operations and 
violent acts."  Al-Bayati noted Iraq's commitment to 
maintaining respect for human rights during all ISF 
operations.  Al-Bayati also noted that the GoI is in the lead 
on security in 10 out of 18 provinces, and expressed Iraq's 
intent on establishing "complete control over security by the 
end of 2008." 
 
¶6. (SBU) Al-Bayati asserted that the decrease in violence has 
enabled refugees and internally displaced persons to return 
home.  He stated that the GoI is working with UNHCR to 
develop a national strategy to encourage the voluntary return 
of IDP's and refugees to their homes.  He also stated that 
the Iraqi Cabinet has allocated more than 195 million USD for 
the "repatriation" of internally and externally displaced 
persons, and 140 million USD to help Iraqi refugees. 
Al-Bayati noted that 271 Iraqi families returned to Iraq from 
Iran in addition to 31 individuals who returned from Saudi 
Arabia.  On detainees, Al-Bayati stated that the adoption of 
the Amnesty Law has had a positive role on enhancing 
reconciliation efforts.  He asserted that as a result of the 
law the Ministry of Justice released 1,648 detainees, the 
Ministry of Interior released 2,560 detainees, the Ministry 
of Defense released 545 detainees, and the Ministry of Labor 
released 314 detainees. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Al-Bayati noted significant improvements in Iraq's 
economic situation, primarily in the form of increased 
foreign investment and a revival in trade.  Al-Bayati stated 
that the Iraqi House of Representatives adopted a number of 
laws to support higher education and scientific research. 
Additionally, 700 new schools have been built with another 
4,000 expected to be built by the end of the year.  He said 
that Iraq has built 300 health centers and 37 general 
hospitals.  In regards to oil wealth, al-Bayati stated that 
the GoI has made plans to increase production to 3.5 million 
barrels of oil per day with a goal of fairly distributing oil 
revenues.  He said that Iraq intends on using oil revenues 
under the 2008 budget. 
 
COUNCIL MEMBERS RECOGNIZE SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS AND EXTEND 
THE UNAMI MANDATE, CRITICAL ON DETAINEES, CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 
 
¶8. (SBU) Council members all acknowledged that a combination 
of political and military efforts have contributed to 
improvements in security, though members have different 
opinions on the extent of those improvements.  Ambassador 
Wolff, briefing on behalf of MNF-I, noted the sustained 
decrease in security incidents and violence in Iraq, the 
improved capability of the Iraqi Security Forces, and the 
GoI's efforts at political reconciliation.  Ambassador Wolff 
stressed the importance of Iraq's neighbors in supporting 
Iraq's efforts to provide security, achieve political 
progress, and build its economy.  He also expressed concern 
over the flow of foreign fighters and lethal aid into Iraq 
from Syria and Iran. 
 
¶9. (SBU) China, Croatia, Russia, Indonesia, Panama, South 
Africa, and Libya acknowledged that the security situation 
has improved but lamented the "unacceptable number of 
civilian casualties."  China stated that military operations 
must do more to avoid causing civilian casualties.  Russia 
also urged UNAMI to provide statistics on the number of 
civilian casualties in future human rights reports. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Russia, Panama, France, South Africa, and Libya 
expressed concern over the detainee situation.  Russia 
lamented the "horrible treatment of children" currently being 
held in military jails.  Russia called for the establishment 
of a timeframe on the presence of foreign troops and 
complained about the activities of private security companies 
and other "mercenary structures" in Iraq that violate the 
rights of civilians and the norms of international law. 
Libya focused on child detainees, detainee conditions, and 
the lack of due process for detainees.  Libya asserted that 
there are currently 21,000 people detained in Iraq, 1,500 of 
which are children detained for "alleged" offenses.  Libya 
also stated that the rate of return of refugees to Iraq 
(about 10,000 per month) is low and demonstrates that 
"genuine efforts have not been made" to address the 
humanitarian situation in Iraq. 
 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000723  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) The following day, on August 7 Council Members 
voted unanimously to adopt UNSCR 1830 which extends the UNAMI 
mandate for a period of twelve months. 
Khalilzad