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PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0138/01 0450029
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 140029Z FEB 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5855
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000138 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS KPKO UNSC SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA: UN BRIEFS ON SECURITY SUPPORT, POLITICAL 
DEVELOPMENTS 
 
REF: USUN 101 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: UN Under-Secretary-General (U/SYG) Malcorra 
briefed the Security Council on February 12 on UN plans to 
implement resolution 1863.  Malcorra mentioned the need for a 
bridging arrangement with the contractor already on the 
ground and said that the UN planned to conclude its own 
logistical support contract by June.  She outlined a 
smaller-than-expected initial budget request (approx. $150m) 
for the UN-funded support package to support the AU mission 
in Somalia for the period March 1 - August 31, but admitted 
costs will increase as the UN ramps up provision of support. 
U/SYG Pascoe followed with an upbeat briefing on political 
developments in Somalia, emphasizing that the peaceful 
departure of President Yusuf had been followed by the 
peaceful selection of President Sharif.  He urged immediate 
donor assistance to TFG/ARS security forces.  End summary. 
 
Funds for AMISOM support 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) U/SYG for Field Support Susanna Malcorra delivered a 
detailed briefing on February 12 to the Security Council on 
the findings of the Secretariat's recent Technical Assessment 
Mission (TAM) and the UN's plans for support to the African 
Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) as mandated by resolution 
¶1863.  Malcorra characterized the current level of support as 
"very basic" but said that it needed to be maintained in the 
short term as the UN launched complementary efforts to 
support a full deployment of 8,000 troops at UN standards. 
(NOTE: By "current level of support," Malcorra meant, but did 
not expressly say, the existing USG contract with DynCorp for 
provision of logistical support to AMISOM.  End note.) 
Malcorra said that the Secretariat would seek assessed 
funding for AMISOM support from three pots: 
 
A - The Secretary-General would seek the immediate approval 
of the Administrative Committee on Administrative and 
Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) to use $4m in unspent pre-mandate 
commitment authority (PMCA) funds that were originally 
approved for use by the Secretariat's Somalia planning team. 
These funds would be used to fund "quick wins" -- to start up 
a field support headquarters in Nairobi, to provide AMISOM 
with communications and IT support, to set up an AMISOM 
public information radio broadcast capability and to provide 
flak jackets and night vision equipment.  Malcorra gave 
special emphasis to communications as an area where support 
could have a high impact, saying that AMISOM currently relied 
on vulnerable commercial cellular networks for communication. 
 
B - The Secretariat would also ask ACABQ to authorize $42m in 
additional PMCA funds which, combined with the $4m above and 
$4m already spent, would reach the PMCA ceiling of $50m. 
 
C - The Secretariat would then make a formal budget request 
to the Fifth Committee for approximately $100m to be funded 
through a new assessment.  The roughly $150m total would fund 
mission support from March 1 to August 31.  It would be used 
to build a new force headquarters in Mogadishu, to procure 
vehicles and ambulances, to fund supplies (through existing 
arrangements per reftel request), to build new camps for 
additional battalions and to provide port and airport 
enhancements including firefighting equipment and night 
signaling.  The UN also plans to base a small jet in the 
region which would allow for emergency medevacs. 
 
Timelines 
--------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Malcorra said that further details on logistical 
support to AMISOM would be forthcoming in a DFS report by the 
end of February and that the first "quick win" projects could 
be implemented in Q2 of 2009 pending approval by the General 
Assembly.  Bids for the UN's logistical support contract will 
be submitted by the end of March, she said, and she hoped to 
finalize a contract by June.  While the UN estimated that 
$150m would suffice until the end of August, Malcorra said 
that a second tranche budget request would be necessary by 
May, and that the amount of that request - while dependent on 
developments on the ground - would likely be significantly 
higher than $150m. 
 
Trust fund(s) 
------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The U/SYG said that planning for the trust fund and 
donors conference requested in resolution 1863 was moving 
ahead, and that separate trust funds would likely be 
established for AMISOM support and support to Somali security 
forces in order to minimize the potential complication of 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000138  002 OF 003 
 
 
donors earmarking their contributions for a particular use. 
The AMISOM trust fund would likely be managed by DFS on the 
basis of a yet-to-be-concluded UN-AU agreement, while the 
trust fund for Somali security forces would likely be managed 
by the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), which has 
been actively soliciting such support for some time. 
Malcorra said that the UN had initially proposed holding the 
donors conference during the February 26-27 meeting of the 
International Contact Group for Somalia, but that the AU was 
not ready.  The UN was currently looking at a date in early 
March.  Malcorra said that bilateral support mechanisms were 
AMISOM's "lifeline" as the UN stood up its own arrangements 
and stressed repeatedly that they should be continued. 
 
Additional measures 
------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Malcorra informed the Council that earlier on 
February 12 a UN-contracted ship carrying donated equipment 
from the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea was shelled by 
mortars while offloading in Mogadishu's harbor in an attack 
that killed four civilian porters.  She used the example to 
make the point that the UN would need both blue water and 
brown water maritime security in order to deliver planned 
assistance to AMISOM.  Blue water assistance was important to 
guarantee UN access to Mogadishu and prevent supplies from 
falling into the wrong hands (e.g., pirates), while brown 
water support was necessary as AMISOM's four small boats were 
"almost unable to operate because of a lack of maintenance." 
Malcorra said that donors might need to provide additional 
maritime security assets if TCCs could not provide them. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Malcorra told the Council that the Secretariat was 
implementing assistance to AMISOM in full compliance with UN 
procedures.  She said that DFS was planning for a small UN 
footprint on the ground in Mogadishu as meaningful 
accountability and oversight would be impossible otherwise. 
She said that the UN's planned field support HQ in Nairobi 
would have a presence in Addis Ababa in order to facilitate 
liaison with the AU and that the UN would seek where possible 
to strengthen the AU's financial management capabilities. 
 
Political process 
----------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) U/SYG Pascoe followed Malcorra's briefing with an 
update on political developments in Somalia, including the 
expansion of parliament to include members of the opposition 
Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) and the 
election of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.  Pascoe 
praised the AU and particularly Ethiopia for reaching out to 
President Sharif after his election, and noted that defeated 
presidential candidate Nur Hassan Hussein traveled to the AU 
summit along with the new president in a show of political 
maturity.  He said that the UN expected Sharif to name a 
prime minister and cabinet shortly and to travel with them to 
Mogadishu by early in the week of February 16.  Pascoe 
mentioned that UNPOS had worked with the National Democratic 
Institute to hold training sessions for Somali 
parliamentarians during their stay in Djibouti.  In response 
to questions from Council members on the possible inclusion 
of al-Shabaab in the political process, Pascoe cautioned 
against buying into a media-driven "al-Shabaab myth."  He 
said that al-Shabaab's strength on the ground was often 
vastly overstated in outside media, and that many acts 
attributed to al-Shabaab were in fact simple acts of 
brigandage. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Pascoe praised forces of the Transitional Federal 
Government (TFG) and ARS for providing security in many areas 
of Mogadishu, but said that following the departure of 
Ethiopian troops both faced critical shortfalls of rations 
and money to pay their soldiers.  Donors could not wait to 
meet these needs through contributions to the trust fund 
mentioned by Malcorra, he said: the Somalis needed assistance 
now.  Pascoe said that beyond immediate provision of rations 
and salaries, TFG/ARS forces and the Joint Security Committee 
meant to oversee them would require assistance and training 
as they sought to stand up the joint security forces called 
for under the Djibouti Agreement.  He said that the 
deployment of civilian police was another important plank to 
a stabilization strategy for south-central Somalia, and that 
UNDP funding for police training had resumed. 
 
Council reaction 
---------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Council members unanimously welcomed the election of 
President Sharif and many expressed hope that his election 
could signal a further expanded political process.  Uganda 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000138  003 OF 003 
 
 
confirmed that it and Burundi were planning to send one 
additional battalion each to reinforce AMISOM.  China, Uganda 
and Burkina Faso mentioned their hope of rehatting AMISOM as 
a UNPKO by June, while the UK and Russia emphasized that such 
a decision had not yet been made.  France and the UK worried 
over the cost of the proposed package, with France saying it 
expected to see more detailed justification of the cost and 
the UK voicing concern over limited resources.  Mexico said 
that it hoped war crimes would be fully investigated, while 
Austria went further, saying it hoped that AMISOM's 
responsibilities under international humanitarian law would 
be incorporated into the UN's financial oversight process for 
assistance to AMISOM.  Ambassador Rice welcomed the UN's 
increased engagement on Somalia, and urged the UN to 
streamline its contracting process to enable faster provision 
of support to AMISOM.  She condemned al-Shabaab for its 
continuing attacks against AMISOM and civilians and urged the 
UN to redeploy UNPOS into Somalia at the earliest opportunity. 
 
Rice