VZCZCXRO0059
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0784/01 2362237
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 242237Z AUG 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7096
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000784 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SU AF
SUBJECT: A/SYG MULET BRIEFS COUNCIL ON SUDAN ELECTIONS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  In his August 20 briefing to the Council 
on Sudan elections, A/SYG Mulet discussed remaining 
challenges towards holding credible elections in April 2010: 
ensuring freedom of press, speech and assembly; reaching an 
agreement on census results; developing an operational plan 
and budget; and clarifying voter registration requirements. 
Mulet also discussed the Secretary-General's request for 
extra-budgetary resources to support elections.  While 
welcoming the parties' commitment to hold elections, Security 
Council members agreed that substantial challenges remain, 
including security issues, the failure of Darfur rebels to 
engage in the peace process, and the risk that some voters 
could be disenfranchised.  Some members questioned the UN's 
need for extrabudgetary resources to support elections and 
requested additional information.  Ambassador Rice briefed 
Council members on the August 19 agreement between parties to 
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) facilitated by SE 
Gration. End Summary. 
 
Mulet's Briefing 
---------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On August 20, Assistant Secretary General for the 
Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) Edmond Mulet 
briefed the Council on the Secretary General's Report on 
Elections in Sudan and its addendum requesting extrabudgetary 
resources to support elections.  Mulet noted that the Darfuri 
movements and prominent political leaders from Southern Sudan 
have indicated that they will boycott elections if laws 
restricting freedom of speech, press and assembly are not 
amended by October.  Mulet also discussed the Sudan People's 
Liberation Movement (SPLM) rejection of census results, 
noting that the census results reduce the number of 
legislative seats the SPLM would have from one-third to only 
one-fifth of the seats in the National Assembly.  Mulet 
suggested that holding only Presidential elections could 
obviate the need to reach agreement on the census, but 
questioned whether this would be a sufficient step towards 
democratization. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Mulet stressed that many technical requirements for 
elections remain outstanding.  He noted that the NEC still 
needs to develop voter registration policies, in addition to 
an operational plan and budget.  Mulet stressed that the UN 
Development Program (UNDP) would not be able to provide 
assistance without timely planning.  He said that UNDP had 
revised its basket fund budget to 81 million dollars, an 
increase of 38 million over the initial projection.  Mulet 
said that the fund had received 10 million, with 21 million 
pledged and 55 million outstanding. 
 
UN Request for Extrabudgetary Resources 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Mulet discussed the UN's two phase approach, 
detailed in the SYG report.  Phase One would include hiring 
127 additional civilian personnel within current UN resources 
so that the UN can provide the same level of technical 
assistance to the north as it provided to the south.  Mulet 
said that the second phase of assistance would require 
Security Council authorization.  Under Phase Two, the UN 
would hire 100 additional UN police officers to conduct 
elections security training in the south, and the UN would 
obtain air assets to assist with transporting registration 
and electoral material.  Mulet urged the Council to authorize 
this additional expenditure (estimated at 46 million USD) 
quickly so that the UN could begin to enter into necessary 
contractual relations. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Mulet underlined that the UN's request for 
additional resources was conditional.  Only if three 
conditions were met, he said, would the UN need the 
additional funding.  These conditions include (1) an enabling 
environment for free and fair elections; (2) developing an 
operational plan and budget; and (3) addressing registration 
concerns to prevent disenfranchisement of significant numbers 
of potential voters.  Mulet stated that the Secretary General 
would notify the Council when these conditions had been met 
before releasing funds. 
 
Rice's Intervention 
------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Noting that elections are a key benchmark in 
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), 
Ambassador Rice briefed the Council on the August 19 Juba 
agreement between the parties facilitated by Special Envoy 
Gration.  Rice said that Gration had mediated discussions 
between the two parties to the CPA -- the National Congress 
Party (NCP) and the SPLM -- for the last three months, 
beginning with the conference the U.S. hosted in Washington 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000784  002 OF 003 
 
 
in June.  Rice said that the parties had initialed an 
agreement that would be forwarded to the Presidency for 
signature.  The agreement, Rice explained, advanced key 
aspects of CPA implementation, with timed benchmarks for 
issues such as wealth-sharing and Abyei border demarcation. 
Rice noted that the parties could not reach agreement on 
census data and that Gration would return to Juba September 7 
for an additional round of negotiations on this issue. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Rice also discussed critical elements for 
successful elections, emphasizing that the NEC must prevent 
voters from being disenfranchised by narrow registration 
requirements. Rice also said that political rights must be 
real, and the people of Sudan must believe in freedom of 
speech, assembly and press, both by law and in practice.  She 
reinforced that the NEC must develop an operational plan and 
budget to secure funding from the international community. 
With regard to the extrabudgetary request, Rice said that, in 
principle, the U.S. supports ensuring adequate funding for 
elections and looks forward to further dialogue with DPKO. 
Rice reiterated that before funds would be released, the 
pre-conditions discussed by Mulet would have to be met. 
 
P-5 Interventions 
----------------- 
 
¶8.   (SBU) France welcomed the Juba agreement brokered by 
Gration and noted that delays in election preparation were 
not only technical, but also political -- including 
legislative framework issues, the census dispute, and Darfur 
participation.  France also said the people of Sudan must 
take ownership of elections, and the NEC must set forth its 
budget.  France indicated that it would look closely at the 
UN request for extrabudgetary resources, as duplication of 
resources should be avoided.  The UK said that in order for 
free and fair elections to take place, hostilities in Darfur 
must cease so that Darfuris can participate in elections. 
Regarding the request for extrabudgetary resources, the UK 
noted that PKO resources are already stretched and indicated 
that police training should be funded within UNMIS' existing 
budget. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) China characterized elections as a test for 
political parties in Sudan, and noted that security 
challenges created by the Darfur rebels and ethnic conflict 
in Southern Sudan must be addressed by political parties in 
Sudan and the international community. Russia focused on the 
2011 referendum and said that not enough has been done to 
make unity attractive.  Russia stressed that the 
international community should not create the impression that 
referendum results have been predetermined. 
 
Other Interventions 
------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Libya expressed concern about pressing the NCP to 
implement timeframes for reaching benchmarks.  Libya said 
that elections should not be held if this would cause 
confrontation or spread instability, and expressed fear that 
Sudan could be plunged into catastrophe.  Regarding the 2011 
referendum, Libya said that the atmosphere for a true 
referendum must be set, such that the South is aware of the 
consequences of its decision.  Uganda highlighted concern 
with intercommunal violence in Southern Sudan. Turkey 
cautioned against the negative dynamic between the Government 
of Sudan and the political opposition, which has threatened 
to boycott elections, and also said that Darfur rebel 
movements lose the opportunity to establish their relevance 
by failing to engage in the peace process. 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Japan raised the tension between Chad and Sudan as 
complicating efforts to ensure elections security and 
requested additional information from the Secretariat 
regarding the extrabudgetary request.  Mexico expressed 
support for the SYG's two phase approach to elections, 
including the extrabudgetary request. 
 
Mulet's Response 
---------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Mulet clarified that the census had been conducted 
without technical problems and the difficulties now were 
entirely political and related to the SPLM's concerns about 
diminished political influence.  Mulet also said that the 
census results should not be interpreted in a way that would 
disenfranchise Darfur and Eastern Sudan. With regard to 
election timelines, Mulet expressed concern if elections get 
postponed further because this would result in elections 
being held too close to the 2011 referenda.  Mulet noted that 
both parties need time and space to prepare for the 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000784  003 OF 003 
 
 
referenda.  Mulet also said that the Secretariat would be 
happy to discuss further with member states its 
extrabudgetary request. 
RICE