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FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5997
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 1031
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY 1407
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA PRIORITY 0359
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000212 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNSC ETTC SU PGOV
SUBJECT: SUDAN SANCTIONS COMMITTEE CONSIDERS EXPERT PANEL 
SETBACKS 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Sudan Sanctions Committee reviewed 
recent setbacks confronting the Sudan Panel of Experts (POE) 
that have resulted in the Panel being unable to travel to 
Sudan.  According to the POE, Sudan remains unwilling to 
grant appropriate visas to all POE members and the UN 
Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) decided in 
February to deny the POE country clearance due to security 
concerns about an International Criminal Court (ICC) 
indictment of the Sudanese president.  A DPKO official 
pledged to the Committee that DPKO would review its decision 
on country clearance within a few days of an ICC indictment; 
U.S. and French representatives urged DPKO to offer all 
possible support to the POE.  Regarding the Committee's 
long-standing requests for meetings with the Perm Reps of 
Sudan and Chad, the chair reported that the Sudanese Perm Rep 
prefers to meet only with the chair in a bilateral format, 
whereas the Chadian Perm Rep is willing to meet with the 
Committee.  END SUMMARY. 
 
POE SHARES SETBACKS WITH COMMITTEE 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On March 3, the UN Security Council's Sudan 
Sanctions Committee ("1591 Committee") reviewed a letter to 
the Committee from the Sudan Panel of Experts (POE) about 
setbacks that the Panel has recently faced.  (NOTE: The 
five-person POE assists the Sudan Sanctions Committee in 
monitoring the sanctions imposed in UNSCR 1591 -- the asset 
freeze, travel ban and Darfur arms embargo -- and violations 
of international humanitarian law.  In October 2008, the 
Council renewed the POE's mandate for twelve months.  END 
NOTE.)  Austrian Perm Rep Thomas Mayr-Harting, chair of the 
Committee, noted that Sudan continues to deny without 
explanation a visa to the POE's arms expert.  He said that 
the POE also reported that in mid-February UNAMID and UNMIS 
management decided that due to "anticipated security 
conditions" (e.g., a probable indictment from the 
International Criminal Court of the Sudanese President), 
neither UNAMID nor UNMIS could support the POE or any other 
"non-essential mission" in the field.  Consequently, the POE 
has not been able to start its monitoring tasks in Sudan and 
would have "very limited or no access" to Sudan for at least 
the first half of its mandate. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At the request of the chair, DPKO Margaret Carey, 
deputy director of the DPKO Africa division, provided the 
Committee a fuller explanation of DPKO's position.  She 
explained that while UNAMID had determined it could not 
provide on-the-ground support to the POE in light of the 
security situation, the relevant decision-makers would review 
the situation "within a few days" after a March 4 ICC 
decision.  Carey claimed that this decision would be based on 
whether UNAMID has the capacity to support the POE's work and 
not "whether the Panel's work is essential or non-essential." 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The U.S. representative thanked the chair for 
having reached out to the Sudanese Perm Rep about the visa 
problem and suggested that the Committee consider expressing 
these concerns in writing.  The U.S. representative regretted 
that the POE believed it had received inadequate support from 
DPKO and field missions.  He observed that this complaint 
reflects a broader problem of misunderstanding within the UN 
system of the role of UN sanctions expert panels and their 
mandates.  This problem, he added, is not limited to Sudan 
but also includes uneven UN Secretariat support to other 
sanctions regimes.  He urged the chair to continue dialogue 
with DPKO about how to strike a balance between the safety of 
UN personnel and the need to support the POE's essential 
mission, as well as to increase understanding and awareness 
within the UN system of the role of these panels. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The French representative also encouraged DPKO to 
provide support where possible and reminded the Committee 
that France had insisted that the mandates for UNAMID and 
MINURCAT include the responsibility to monitor sanctions / 
arms embargo violations.  The chair said he would continue to 
discuss the visa issue with the Sudanese Perm Rep and asked 
that countries also make this point with Sudan bilaterally. 
 
SUDAN REBUFFS, CHAD ACCEPTS COMMITTEE INVITATION 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The chair explained that he had raised again with 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000212  002 OF 002 
 
 
the Perm Reps of Chad and Sudan the Committee's long-standing 
invitation for these officials to meet with the Committee. 
The Sudan Per Rep, he reported, "strongly preferred" meeting 
bilaterally with the chair instead of attending a meeting of 
the Committee.  The chair said that the Sudanese Perm Rep 
also requested to have questions in writing prior to any such 
exchange.  According to the chair, the Chad Perm Rep was 
willing to meet in person with the Committee, but wanted to 
wait to schedule this meeting until after the POE meets with 
Chadian officials in N'Djamena in the coming weeks. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Libyan representative said he agreed with the 
general approach, but believed the Committee should not take 
any measures that would undermine stability in Sudan around 
the time of the ICC decision.  The U.S. and UK 
representatives noted that the Committee still hoped that the 
Sudan Perm Rep would meet in person with the Committee at 
some point in the future.  The chair said he intended to 
consult with the Committee about developing written questions 
for his bilateral meeting with the Sudan Perm Rep. 
Rice