VZCZCXRO4287
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0575/01 1601528
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091528Z JUN 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6696
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000575 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SU AF
SUBJECT: ICC PROSECUTOR MORENO-OCAMPO BRIEFS UNSC 
 
REF: SECSTATE 57905 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  In his June 5 briefing to the Security 
Council, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis 
Moreno-Ocampo stressed that the Government of Sudan (GoS) had 
not cooperated with the ICC, in contravention of its 
obligations under UNSC resolution 1593.  Ocampo said he would 
not open a new investigation in the next six months.  He also 
discussed his efforts to build cooperation with regional 
organizations including the African Union (AU) and Arab 
League.  The Council divided along predictable lines 
regarding Article 16 deferral of the Bashir case.  Council 
members called for the GoS to cooperate with the ICC and 
expressed continued concern for the effects of the GoS 
expulsion of 13 humanitarian NGOs.  Libya criticized 
resolution 1593 as having been adopted in haste and Ocampo as 
preferring threats to cooperation.  End Summary. 
 
Ocampo Highlights 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis 
Moreno-Ocampo began his June 5 Security Council briefing with 
a chronology of the three investigations conducted pursuant 
to UNSCR 1593, and indicated that with respect to the first 
two investigations, the GOS had not cooperated with the ICC. 
Ocampo asserted that the Government of National Unity (GNU) 
had a responsibility to arrest President Bashir, and that the 
legal obligation to do so stemmed from the UN Charter and 
UNSC resolution 1593.  He also said that the GoS designation 
of ICC indictee Ahmed Harun as Governor of South Kordofan 
contravened Council resolutions.  Ocampo urged the Council 
and individual Member States of the UN to press consistently 
the GoS in bilateral and multilateral meetings to cooperate 
with the ICC.  He reiterated that States Parties to the Rome 
Statute had an obligation to arrest any indictee traveling in 
their territory. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Ocampo conveyed that while he would not open a new 
investigation in the next six months, he would continue 
reviewing information about ongoing crimes in three areas-- 
any decision affecting displaced persons, spillover of 
violence from Darfur into Chad, and the use of child 
soldiers.  Ocampo also discussed ICC consultations with 
regional organizations-- naming the African Union (AU) and 
Arab League-- and referenced his trip to Doha in late May and 
support for the AU/UN mediation efforts.  Ocampo stated that 
he had consulted several times with former South African 
President Mbeki, who chairs the AU High-Level Panel, and met 
with AU Peace and Security Council Chair Jean Ping on June 3, 
noting plans to meet Ping again in Addis Ababa. 
 
Council Debate 
-------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Ambassador Rice said that the GoS had clearly 
failed to meet its obligation to cooperate with the ICC. 
Rice stated that actions such as promoting Harun to Governor 
of South Kordofan were an affront to the Council.  She called 
attention to statements by Sudan's foreign minister that 
Sudan "had managed to ignore all UNSC resolutions with little 
repercussion" and that these resolutions "amounted to nothing 
but ink on paper."  She challenged the Council to demonstrate 
that its resolutions were more than ink on paper.  Ambassador 
Rice reiterated that the U.S. saw no reason to consider 
Article 16 deferral in this context. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, Costa Rica, 
Austria, France, and Croatia expressed grave concern with the 
GoS failure to cooperate with the ICC and reiterated that 
Article 16 deferral of the case against Bashir was not 
warranted.  These countries also expressed continuing concern 
with the humanitarian situation in Sudan resulting from 
expulsion of 13 humanitarian NGOS. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In a strident, thirty-minute intervention, Libya 
asserted that two-thirds of UN member states are opposed to 
the ICC indictment of President Bashir.  Libya quoted from 
statements by the Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, UN/AU 
Joint Mediator Bassole, and SRSG Adada, that the indictment 
of Bashir undermined conflict resolution efforts.  Libya said 
resolution 1593 was adopted in haste and has remained 
controversial.  Libya was very critical of Ocampo, alleging 
that he seemed to believe that cooperation can be achieved by 
threats rather than calm dialogue. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Uganda and Burkina Faso reiterated support for the 
AU position on deferral, and Vietnam and Russia observed that 
issuance of the arrest warrant against Bashir had adversely 
impacted the peace process.  Neither China nor Turkey 
referred to Article 16. 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000575  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
A Moderate Statement from China 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) China focused on positive developments in the peace 
process, referencing the meeting of the P-5 and EU Special 
Envoys recently in Darfur as a constructive exchange of 
views.  China observed an increasing level of support and 
recognition for the Doha process, led by joint UN/AU Mediator 
Bassole, and stressed the importance of the AU High Level 
Group in resolving the Darfur conflict.  China highlighted 
the GoS cooperation that allowed UNAMID deployment to 
progress and noted that despite the humanitarian expulsions, 
the situation was improving and crisis had been averted 
"thanks to the restraint of the Sudanese government." 
RICE