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DE RUCNDT #1196/01 3571125
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 221125Z DEC 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI IMMEDIATE 0309
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA IMMEDIATE 1673
RUEHMV/AMEMBASSY MONROVIA IMMEDIATE 1303
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5574
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
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UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001196 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: DRC PREL UNSC PGOV ETTC
SUBJECT: UNSC CONSIDERS NEXT STEPS ON LIBERIA/DRC SANCTIONS 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The UN Security Council (UNSC) on 17 
December heard briefings from the chairs of the UNSC Liberia 
Sanctions Committee and the UNSC Democratic Republic of Congo 
(DRC) Sanctions Committee detailing recent reports from the 
UN expert bodies tasked with monitoring implementation of the 
sanctions regimes in each country.  The chair of the DRC 
Sanctions Committee noted troubling allegations in the DRC 
report, among them that the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) 
has been fighting alongside the FDLR, that Rwandan 
authorities are active supporters of the CNDP, and that the 
illicit exploitation of natural resources continues in the 
DRC.  Italy, Costa Rica, Belgium, China and Vietnam echoed 
these concerns.  The chair of the Liberia Sanctions Committee 
recognized progress in Liberia, including on diamonds and 
forestry, but noted that a number of overarching issues 
continue to have the potential to affect security.  The 
United States introduced a draft UNSC resolution to renew 
Liberia sanctions for another year and noted the important 
role sanctions have played in supporting Liberia's democratic 
development.  END SUMMARY. 
 
THE DRC: ALLEGATIONS OF WORRYING LINKAGES 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Indonesian Permanent Representative Natalegawa, 
chair of the DRC Sanctions Committee, noted in his 
presentation that the UN Group of Experts (GOE) assessing 
implementation of the sanctions in the DRC made several 
disturbing allegations in their report, including that 
Rwandan authorities have been complicit in the recruitment of 
children by the CNDP rebel group operating in eastern DRC and 
that there is extensive collaboration between the FARDC and 
the FDLR and PARECO rebel groups.  He said the GOE also 
reported that some UN member states fail to implement the 
sanctions because they are unaware they exist, that the FDLR 
gains revenues in the order of millions of USD from the 
minerals trade, including through the taxation of mines and 
trade routes, and that the FARDC is a major source of arms 
through leaks, sale, loss, and theft.  The Chair noted that 
the GOE made a series of recommendations to address problems 
in the regime, including that the DRC Sanctions Committee 
promote broad-based compliance with and implementation of the 
general arms embargo, and that the Committee request the DRC 
government to tell the FARDC that collaboration with 
non-governmental armed groups is prohibited. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In response, several Council members deplored the 
situation in DRC and called for more serious efforts to 
implement the sanctions.  Italy, stressing its hope that the 
UNSC will act in a timely manner to resolve the situation in 
the DRC, noted that serious violations of human rights and 
humanitarian law in the DRC must not go unaddressed and that 
the ongoing illicit exploitation of natural resources is a 
serious concern.  Costa Rica supported the GOE's work in 
addressing child recruitment and the exploitation of natural 
resources to fuel the fighting in the DRC, noting further 
that San Jose firmly supports the GOE's recommendations and 
disagrees with those who might feel they infringe on the 
DRC's national sovereignty.  Costa Rica also expressed 
concern over the lack of awareness among some member states 
of the regime and called for a more active Council role in 
working with governments in the region to ensure proper 
implementation.  Belgium noted that the situation in the 
eastern part of the DRC reaffirms the importance of effective 
sanctions regimes and stressed further the need for more 
robust action to address the exploitation of natural 
resources and for countries in the region to cooperate. 
China supported the Chair's intention to refer the GOE's 
report to the Permanent Representatives of Rwanda and the 
DRC.  Burkina Faso noted its support for most of the GOE's 
conclusions, the initiatives in play to resolve the conflict 
in the DRC, and the crucial role of MONUC. 
 
LIBERIA: MORE PROGRESS, 
BUT SANCTIONS FOR ANOTHER YEAR 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Libyan Permanent Representative Etthali, chair of 
the Liberia Sanctions Committee, provided a relatively more 
optimistic description of continued progress but lingering 
problems in Liberia throughout his presentation of the UN's 
Liberia Panel of Expert's (POE) report.  On diamonds, for 
example, he said the POE determined that progress has been 
made since May 2008 and that a number of the issues which 
were considered to pose threats to the integrity of Liberia's 
 
system have been resolved, including the appointment of an 
independent diamond valuator.  He cautioned, however, that 
the POE report also documents alleged recruitment and 
movement of arms as well as a lack of regulation of natural 
resource sectors.  The POE recommended, among other things, 
that Liberia strengthen the capacity of its law enforcement 
agencies to monitor borders and reassess its strategy for 
allocating commercial timber concessions, and that the 
 
Security Council direct the UN Mission in Liberia to continue 
to support Liberia's security sector reform efforts and to 
help Liberia establish control over its natural resources. 
Permanent Representative Etthali also noted that since 16 
June 2008 the Liberia Sanctions Committee has removed the 
names of four individuals from its travel ban and assets 
freeze lists, for a total of ten individuals in 2008, 
continuing a trend toward the conditioned lifting of 
sanctions related to Liberia. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Following this presentation, Ambassador DiCarlo 
formally introduced a U.S.-drafted UNSC resolution renewing 
the travel ban and arms embargo in Liberia, which will come 
to a vote on 19 December.  The assets freeze, she noted, 
which remains in place until the UNSC decides otherwise, is 
unchanged.  Ambassador DiCarlo emphasized the important role 
targeted sanctions have played in supporting Liberia's 
democratic development. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Electronic copies of the two UN expert reports and 
of each Chair's statement are available by contacting 
Lorraine Konzet (lkonzet@state.gov). 
Khalilzad