VZCZCXRO9583
OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHGI RUEHIK RUEHKW
RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMA RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR
RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHLO #1318/01 1541532
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 031532Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2508
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LONDON 001318 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EAID KDEM NO FR NL CA EU CD UK
SUBJECT: SUDAN: CONTACT GROUP WELCOMES SE GRATION'S 
APPROACH AT MAY 29 MEETING IN LONDON 
 
REF: STATE 55655 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Sudan Contact Group delegations welcomed 
Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration's approach to supporting 
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the Darfur peace 
process at a May 29 meeting in London.  Assessment and 
Evaluation Commission (AEC) Chair Sir Derek Plumbly told 
Contact Group members there needs to be a renewed focus on 
South-South problems and the more difficult points of CPA 
implementation, as the census results, Abyei arbitration 
decision, elections, and referendum approach.  On Darfur, the 
Contact Group applaud the USG's efforts in helping "turn the 
corner" on the humanitarian situation and acknowledged the 
work of Joint Mediator Bassole and the Qataris on the peace 
process.  The Chadian Government's recent victory over the 
Chadian rebels demonstrated the Government's advantage over 
the rebels, but more needs to be done to improve relations 
between Chad and Sudan.  Full list of Contact Group attendees 
in para 8.  End summary. 
 
AEC and Its Work 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Welcoming greater USG engagement as "a breath of 
fresh air," Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) Chair 
Sir Derek Plumbly told Contact Group members there needs to 
be a renewed focus on South-South problems.  He said his 
objectives are ensuring no return to conflict, proper conduct 
of the referendum and elections, and peace with or without 
the South's succession.  He described the CPA's most 
immediate challenges: getting both parties to accept the 
census results; preparing for the elections; unblocking 
delimitation and demarcation of the border; managing the 
potential fall out from the Permanent Court of Arbitration's 
(PCA) ruling on Abyei; building trust and communication 
between the parties; and, resolving issues related to passage 
of the referendum law.  Discussing the larger role of the 
AEC, Plumbly said the AEC will continue to monitor the 
situation on the ground and will feed into the international 
community's larger discussions on CPA implementation.  He 
said the AEC was complimentary to the work of the Contact 
Group and others, and the AEC welcomed a broader 
international community discussion about the AEC's support to 
CPA implementation at the June 23 CPA Forum (reftel A). 
 
¶3. (SBU) EU Special Representative Torben Brylle, Dutch head 
of delegation Koen Davidse, and Norwegian head of delegation 
Hans Jacob Frydenlund all noted the seriousness of the 
financial crisis in the South, the importance of helping the 
parties break the deadlock on important legislative issues 
like the referendum law, the positive role the international 
community could play in ensuring a "soft landing" after the 
PCA's Abyei ruling, and the AEC's useful contributions in 
support of CPA implementation.  Plumbly reiterated the 
importance of the international community as "an animating 
force" on difficult CPA issues and recalled the CPA's 
"critically short timeline" for implementation. 
 
Update on Darfur 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) On the Darfur peace process, Davidse noted Joint 
Mediator Bassole's work in conjunction with the Qataris as 
moving the Doha talks in the right direction.  He said the 
international community needed to examine more closely how to 
integrate incentives and pressure into the process. 
Applauding the USG's role in breaking the stalemate, Davidse 
said "the humanitarian situation had turned the corner." 
While there are still concerns about longer term health and 
protection issues, the situation is more or less manageable. 
On UNAMID, he called for renewed non-African engagement with 
the peacekeeping force, as it is "also a UN force, not just 
an AU one."  SE Gration noted that it was important to engage 
international NGOs in the international community's 
strategies and to continue reaching out to them as important 
players in Darfur.  The Dutch and Canadian delegations agreed 
to discuss with OCHA the possibility of a follow-up briefing 
in New York. 
 
¶5. (SBU) SE Gration noted that the second round of talks in 
Doha was going to be difficult, and it is still unclear if 
they will succeed.  It may be necessary to open another venue 
for talks, one more suitable to Fur leaders, and then blend 
the two efforts together.   Gration indicated that all 
previous agreements should remain, as they provide a good 
framework for discussions. 
 
Chad-Sudan Relations 
-------------------- 
 
 
LONDON 00001318  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) French head of delegation Thierry Caboche said the 
recent Chadian rebels' offensive against the Chadian 
Government had demonstrated that the Government had the clear 
advantage over the rebels and that Chad was no longer 
reluctant to pursue rebels into Sudanese territory.  He 
indicated that the rebels are still poised to conduct another 
attack against the Chadian Government, which irritates 
Chadian President Deby, who has made it clear that military 
options remain on the table for dealing with the rebels. 
Reviewing Chad's political situation more generally, Caboche 
said it appears Chad and Sudan will not have direct clashes. 
Libya has suggested deployment of border monitors, and Qatar 
has offered to support this effort, which Chad appears to 
accept.  On internal Chadian politics, the political process 
from the August 12, 2007 accord with the non-armed opposition 
appears to be going well, with elections on track for 2010. 
With the armed opposition, the situation is less clear, and 
Libya has recently offered to mediate.  Caboche said France's 
messages to the Chadian Government remain the same: 
supporting restraint and non-provocative actions; helping 
democratization efforts and implementation of the agreements 
reached; and, encouraging Deby to engage with Sudan. 
 
ICC 
--- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Referencing Sudanese President Bashir's ICC 
indictment, UK Special Representative Michael O'Neill noted 
that justice issues do provide a complication, but are a 
symptom not a cause of the conflict.  He noted that former 
South African President Thabo Mbeki's work under the auspices 
of the AU appear to be a "serious effort" and may be worth 
engaging at some point.  Davidse noted that an Article 16 
resolution is a postponement not an absolution. 
 
Attendees 
--------- 
 
¶8. (U) The following individuals attended the May 28 Contact 
Group in London: 
 
UK 
-- 
Michael O'Neill, Special Representative for Sudan, FCO/DFID 
Jane Haycock, Senior Advisor, Sudan Unit, FCO/DFID 
Tom Meek, North/South Team Leader, Sudan Unit, FCO/DFID 
Mark Richardson, South Sudan Desk Officer, Sudan Unit, 
FCO/DFID 
Angus McKee, Sudan Research Analyst, FCO 
 
Assessment and Evaluation Commission 
------------------------------------ 
Sir Derek Plumbly, Chair 
 
Norway 
------ 
Hans Jacob Frydenlund, Norwegian Envoy to the Horn of Africa, 
MFA 
Svein Sevje, Norwegian Ambassador to Sudan 
Endre Stiansen, Senior Advisor, MFA 
Anders Hannevik, Norwegian Oil Advisor (based in Sudan) 
 
France 
------ 
Thierry Caboche, Desk Officer for Somalia and Sudan, MFA 
Nicolas Croizer, French Embassy London 
 
The Netherlands 
--------------- 
Koen Davidse, Director of Peace-Building and Stabilization, 
MFA 
Lissette den Breems, Deputy Sudan Coordinator, MFA 
Birgitta Tazelaar, Dutch Embassy London 
 
Canada 
------ 
Bryan Burton, Peace Process Coordinator, Sudan Task Force, MFA 
Jeremy Bryan, Multilateral Affairs Office, Sudan Task Force, 
MFa 
Laura Atar, Canadian High Commission London 
 
EU 
-- 
Torben Brylle, EU Special Representative for Sudan 
 
US 
-- 
Scott Gration, Special Envoy 
Cameron Hudson, Director of Planning and Operations, Special 
Envoy's Office 
 
LONDON 00001318  003 OF 003 
 
 
Africa Watcher, Embassy London 
 
 
Visit London's Classified Website: 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_Kingdom 
 
LeBaron