VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #1185 3540026
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 190026Z DEC 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5551
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI PRIORITY 0305
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA PRIORITY 1672

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001185 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO UNSC XA BY CG
SUBJECT: MONUC AT UN: WE ONLY HAVE PLEDGES FOR HALF 
REQUESTED TROOPS 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  UN Under Secretary-General Le Roy on 
December 15 told the Security Council that diplomatic efforts 
are thawing the relationship between the DRC and Rwanda.  He 
said direct talks between the DRC and Nkunda's CNDP stalled, 
but were set to resume December 17.  Le Roy said he had 
received commitments to meet only half of total number of 
newly authorized troops for MONUC.  The U.S. said 
implementation of existing agreements is the key to a lasting 
peace.  Council members agreed that protecting civilians was 
MONUC's first priority.  France said the EU is still 
discussing the possibility of sending troops.  MONUC's new 
mandate is scheduled to be adopted December 22. END SUMMARY. 
 
DRC/RWANDA RELATIONS IMPROVING 
 
¶2. (SBU) UN Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping 
Operations Alain Le Roy said diplomatic efforts between the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda are 
improving their bilateral relationship.  The foreign 
ministers had recently met three times, and each country 
planned on reopening its embassy by April 2009. 
 
CNDP/DRC NEGOTIATIONS STALLED 
 
¶3. (SBU) Le Roy reported Special Envoy for the Great Lakes 
Obasanjo said there were three problems with the ongoing 
talks in Nairobi between the DRC and General Nkunda's CNDP 
rebel group.  First, the CNDP delegation had no authority to 
make binding commitments.  Second, the CNDP was raising 
national issues, such as mining contracts, that the 
facilitators did not believe they were mandated to address. 
Third, there was no agreement on incorporating these talks 
into the Goma/Nairobi framework or on whether non-CNDP armed 
groups should participate.  Le Roy said the talks were set to 
resume December 17. 
 
PLEDGES SLOW IN COMING FOR NEW TROOPS 
 
¶4. (SBU) Le Roy briefed the Council on the status of 
identifying the roughly 3,000 additional troops for MONUC 
authorized in Security Council Resolution 1843.  He said 
Bangladesh offered one formed police unit and possibly one 
battalion of infantry, Guatemala proposed sending one Special 
Forces company, Jordan indicated a desire to send an 
unspecified number troops, and Belgium pledged a C-130 plane 
and intelligence assistance.  Le Roy said MONUC lacked, 
assuming specific pledges materialized, one battalion of 
infantry, one Special Forces company, one formed police unit, 
one engineering unit, and one C-130.  Overall he said 92 
percent of MONUC's existing forces were deployed in eastern 
DRC. 
 
MANDATE LANGUAGE-STRAIGHT FROM DPKO 
 
¶5. (SBU) Le Roy asked for as much clarity as possible in the 
new MONUC resolution.  He even introduced language MONUC 
wanted included in the resolution in order to clarify MONUC's 
role in cooperating with the DRC army (FARDC), to wit:  "to 
allow MONUC to operate with FARDC only if FARDC had 
sufficient command and control and operational capacity." 
(COMMENT: This was an unconventional step for DPKO to take-as 
normally DPKO works bilaterally to introduce text into a 
resolution.  END COMMENT). 
 
U.S. SAYS USE EXISTING AGREEMENTS 
 
¶6. (SBU) DepPolCouns said the Nairobi Communique, the Goma 
Accords, and the September 2008 MONUC disengagement plan 
provide the framework for re-establishing security and 
protecting civilians.  He also stressed the importance of 
making sure MONUC's tasks were clearly prioritized in the new 
mandate. 
 
ALL MEMBERS SUPPORT PROTECTING CIVILIANS; EU STILL DISCUSSING 
TROOPS 
 
¶7. (SBU) All Council members said protection of civilians 
needed to be MONUC's first priority.  French PermRep Ripert 
said the European Union was still discussing the possibility 
of sending an interim "bridging" force to the DRC, to assist 
MONUC until the new UN troops arrive. Several delegations 
praised France's draft MONUC renewal resolution, scheduled 
for a December 22 adoption. 
Khalilzad