VZCZCXRO2228
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0308/01 0651341
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 061341Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3167
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 1 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000308 
 
DEPT FOR AF A A/S CARTER, AF/SPG, AF/C, AF/E 
NSC FOR MGAVIN AND CHUDSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: MFA AND UN BRIEF DONORS ON NGO EXPULSIONS 
 
REFS: A) KHARTOUM 306 
B) KHARTOUM 299 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On March 5 MFA U/S Mutriff Siddiq briefed 
diplomatic Chiefs of Mission on the expulsions of NGOs, claiming 
that the organizations had exceeded their mandates and therefore had 
been asked to leave Sudan.  Siddiq acknowledged that "we are also 
concerned about gaps left by these organizations" and promised "we 
do not want the organizations to leave in disarray and we want them 
to have a decent departure."  Siddiq said that for the moment all 
diplomatic missions would be protected but "if any mission exceeds 
its mission it will be dealt with."  Donor Chiefs of Mission 
including CDA Fernandez protested loudly against the expulsions, 
noting that many of the organizations have been in Sudan for decades 
and that there are no other organizations prepared to take their 
place, including the UN.  CDA also noted that these expulsions will 
negatively affect CPA implementation, especially programs in the 
Three Areas.  Siddiq later informed the UN that the expelled NGOs 
would be given until Monday (five days instead of the 24 hours 
originally announced) to prepare for departure.  Later at a separate 
briefing, UN humanitarian coordinator Ammeerah Haq informed Chiefs 
of Mission that the vital question is not "how we can fill the gaps 
but rather if we can fill the gaps."  The UN reported that in terms 
of feeding programs 1.1 million people in Darfur will be affected by 
the NGO expulsions, for health programs 1.5 million people will be 
affected, and for water and sanitation 1.8 million will be affected. 
 The UN called on donors to continue with diplomatic efforts to try 
and reverse the expulsions or at least mitigate the effects. End 
summary. 
 
MFA BRIEFING 
------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) In a briefing to diplomatic Chiefs of Mission on March 5, 
MFA U/S Mutriff Siddiq began by explaining why the GOS views the ICC 
indictment of President Bashir as unlawful.  Siddiq noted that Sudan 
is not a member of the ICC and further stated that Sudan has legal 
institutions capable of receiving information about alleged crimes 
and pursuing them in its own courts.  He said the Government of 
Sudan views the ICC case as "purely political" and that the actions 
of ICC prosecutor Ocampo demonstrate that he is a political 
activist.  He noted that the African Union, the Arab League, and 
many other non-aligned states have requested that the Security 
Council defer the indictment, but instead the international 
community has chosen a path of further escalation with Sudan. 
Siddiq called for reform of the UNSC because it has become "unfair, 
unbalanced, and undemocratic.  Siddiq said the result of the 
indictment is that the JEM rebel group is preparing for further 
attacks into Sudan from Chad and Siddiq claimed that Chadian 
President Deby had deployed his forces along the border and 
instructed his troops and JEM to strike inside Sudan.  "We are 
expecting hostilities at any time," said Siddiq. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Siddiq said the GOS leadership had determined to respect 
all obligations in the CPA, DPA, and ESPA and would implement these 
agreements in letter and in spirit.  He said Sudan would respect all 
foreign presence and would protect and cooperate with all foreign 
missions and with the UN, but warned that these missions should 
respect their mandate and threatened that if they exceed their 
mandate "they will be dealt with." 
 
¶4. (SBU) With regard to the expulsion of the NGOs, Siddiq said the 
government had received information that these organizations had 
exceeded their mandate, and therefore they had been asked to leave 
Sudan.  He said the concerned authorities are working hard to ensure 
that no gaps are left by these organizations.  Siddiq promised that 
the organizations would be allowed time to ensure that they do not 
leave in disarray and further added that "we want them to have a 
decent departure."  Following strong protests by several Chiefs of 
Mission, Siddiq said that the GOS is also concerned about the loss 
of services to the people in Darfur and elsewhere.  Without 
providing any details as to how the government could make such 
assurances, Siddiq promised that no one would go without food, 
water, or healthcare.  (Note: In response to earlier requests by 
SRSG Qazi and UN Humanitarian Coordinator Ameerah Haq to allow the 
NGOs more time to organizes their affairs, Siddiq sent Qazi and Haq 
a message several hours later (during the UN briefing to COMs) that 
the NGOs had been given until Monday to leave Sudan - an extension 
of four days. End note.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) CDA Fernandez and several other donor COMs protested 
strongly against the government's decision to expel the NGOs.  CDA 
said the U.S. is deeply concerned about the expulsions and noted 
that humanitarian assistance is a major element of U.S. policy in 
 
KHARTOUM 00000308  002 OF 003 
 
 
Sudan.  He noted the disastrous effect that these expulsions will 
have on humanitarian delivery in Darfur, the East, and the Three 
Areas, and pointed out that some of these organizations have been 
operating in Sudan for decades.  The effect of the expulsions will 
be felt by innocent people, and the withdrawals from the Three Areas 
will hurt CPA implementation.  Italy is its capacity as EU 
President, the UK, Canada, and several other countries also made 
similar statements of protest.  UN Humanitarian Coordinator Ameerah 
Haq made a lengthy intervention, pointing out that these NGOs are 
the main implementing partners that were supposed to have carried 
out the UN work plan approved in Geneva.  She noted that 1.1 million 
people will be affected by the withdrawal of NGOs hat handle food 
distributions at IDP camps.  She urged that additional time and 
space is needed for the NGOs to handle a withdrawal in an orderly 
manner, and said that the primary concern of all parties should be 
that this move puts people in jeopardy.  She noted that IDPs may 
soon begin to move from one camp to another with disastrous effects 
if the IDPs perceive that some camps are able to continue with 
services while others are not. 
 
¶6. (SBU) MFA Protocol Chief Ali Yusuf replied to these interventions 
with an emotional response, demanding to know why the diplomatic 
community is worried only about people in Darfur, and not the 40 
million people in Sudan who are affected by ICC Prosecutor Ocampo's 
action.  "You continue to ignore our expressions of concern about 
the effect of the ICC on the peace process," complained Yusuf. 
Siddiq responded to the donor concerns by promising that the 
government would sit down with the UN to ensure that thre are no 
gaps.  Siddiq pointed out that there have been gaps before, 
sometimes due to food shortages worldwide, sometimes due to banditry 
in Darfur, but that the government had always done its best in 
working with the WFP and UNAMID and others to ensure that no one 
would go hungry.  Siddiq closed by saying "we are not extremists, 
but you should take the emotional comments of Yusuf seriously, 
because we are really angered."  Siddiq closed with a prayer from 
the Koran stating that "justice is life" and no one is condoning 
impunity is Sudan. 
 
UN BRIEFING 
----------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) UN SRSG Qazi and Humanitarian Coordinator Haq, accompanied 
by the heads of WFP, WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, and the Joint Logistics 
Center (JLC) provided a briefing for the diplomatic corps on the 
effect of the expulsions.  Haq stated that the NGOs that remain 
can't just take over for the departing NGOs, nor does the UN have 
the capacity to take over their functions.  Qazi said the vital 
question is not "how we can fill the gaps but rather if we can fill 
the gaps."   Haq noted that some of the services are irreplaceable - 
for example in the case of MSF which provides remote health care 
services in rural areas of Darfur near Muhajaria and Sheira where 
there are no other services available for hundreds of kilometers. 
She also noted that an additional NGO had its registration revoked - 
local NGO "SUDO" that implements many projects in Darfur including 
water and sanitation, among others.  WFP stated that 1.1 million 
people will be affected by the departure of the NGOs in terms of 
feeding programs; WHO stated that 1.5 million people will be 
affected in terms of health programs; UNICEF stated that 1.8 million 
people will be affected in terms of water and sanitation programs. 
UNHCR said the expulsions would make it impossible to monitor 
refugee programs in West Darfur.  JLC said that due to the 
expulsions, fifty percent of the beneficiaries in Darfur will not 
have access to non-food items such as materials for building 
shelters.  OCHA reported that national organizations such as the 
Sudanese Red Crescent do not have the capacity to take over these 
projects.  UN advisor Jason Matus described the dramatic impact that 
the expulsions will have on the Three Areas and CPA implementation. 
Matus noted that programs such as the USAID/OTI/PADCO program on 
conflict prevention and mitigation are unique and have no 
replacement at this time.  Matus also noted that the large recovery 
and "Bridge" programs carried out by Save, PADCO, and Mercy Corps in 
the Three Areas. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: It is clear that there will be tremendous gaps in 
humanitarian delivery due to the expulsions of the 13 NGOs.  The GOS 
apparently views the extension of the departure deadline to Monday 
as a concession, but appears to be taking a very hard line on the 
expulsions.  Having embraced them publicly, it will be hard for 
President Bashir to step back from this decision, though there is 
some hope that the departures could be quietly delayed in order to 
slightly mitigate program disruptions.  First Vice President Salva 
Kiir (SPLM) met with President Bashir about this and other ICC 
issues the evening of March 5 (septel) and we understand that Kiir 
intended to push for flexibility on the NGO issue, as well as to 
 
KHARTOUM 00000308  003 OF 003 
 
 
push for them to be able to remain in the Three Areas, but there is 
no indication that he got any traction on these requests. 
Additional interventions from the UN, from diplomatic missions, and 
from capitals may have some effect in delaying the departure of the 
NGOs, but overall it appears increasingly unlikely that the decision 
to expel the NGOs will be reversed. The regime and Bashir's closest 
advisors are convinced that the NGOs that operate in Darfur are 
agents of the West and are determined to demonstrate that they are 
in charge in Darfur, as well as express their extreme outrage over 
the ICC decision by expelling western organizations, regardless of 
the humanitarian cost - which by all indications could be dramatic. 
The embassy remains in constant contact with NGOs (with a general 
meeting planned with them for March 7), as well as with the UN and 
the GOS (CDA pressed FM Alor on March 6 again) but so far the NCP is 
maintaining its hard line. End comment. 
 
FERNANDEZ