VZCZCXYZ0017
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #1610 2731253
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301233Z SEP 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHAE/AMEMBASSY ASMARA IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 101610 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID KPKO SO
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY CARSON,S PARTICIPATION IN THE 
CONTACT GROUP ON SOMALIA - SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 
 
 ¶1.  (U) September 23, 2009; 3:00 p.m.; New York, NY. 
 
¶2.  (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. 
 
AF Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson 
AF Deputy Assistant Secretary Karl Wycoff 
Acting Assistant Administrator at USAID Earl Gast 
Somalia Desk Officer Matthew Walsh (Notetaker) 
 
CONTACT GROUP COUNTRIES AND ORGANIZATIONS 
Burundi 
Ethiopia 
European Commission 
France 
Germany 
Italy 
Japan 
Kenya 
League of Arab States 
Norway 
Organization of the Islamic Conference 
Russian Federation 
Somalia 
Spain 
Uganda 
United Nations 
United Kingdom 
Yemen 
 
¶3.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  African Affairs Assistant Secretary (A/S) 
Johnnie Carson represented the United States at this brief 
meeting of the International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia 
on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). 
 Although many countries and organizations sent higher-level 
representation than at previous ICG meetings, the members did 
not agree to concrete next steps.  Instead, delegations 
delivered short interventions on the current situation in 
Somalia, the need for direct bilateral support for Somalia,s 
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the African Union 
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and the need to create a UN 
Somalia country team presence in Mogadishu.  Members 
unanimously condemned the September 17 suicide bombings in 
Mogadishu.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------- 
Opening Remarks 
--------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General 
(SRSG) for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdullah opened the meeting 
as chair and quickly asked UN Under Secretary-General (USYG) 
for the Department of Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe to speak. 
 Pascoe thanked those states that provided support to the TFG 
and/or AMISOM and opined that if the TFG fails, the whole 
world will suffer, not just Somalia.  He thanked Uganda and 
Burundi for their troop contributions to AMISOM and called on 
more countries to &shoulder the burden.8  Pascoe noted that 
while the TFG is Somalia,s best chance in almost twenty 
years for stability, Somalis and the international community 
have a lot of work to do. 
 
¶5.  (U) As former co-chairs of the ICG, the SRSG asked Norway 
and the U.S. to deliver brief opening remarks.  Norway 
Foreign Minister (ForMin) Jonas Gahr Store noted that the 
international community,s focus on Somalia must be a 
long-term engagement since the challenges on the ground "are 
enormous and unique."  A/S Carson underscored continued U.S. 
support for the TFG and AMISOM, encouraged other members to 
support both entities directly and urgently, and highlighted 
that the U.S. remains committed to addressing the dire 
humanitarian situation in Somalia. 
 
¶6.  (U) TFG ForMin Ali Jama Jangeli spoke for the first time 
in front of the ICG, having been appointed ForMin just last 
month.  Jangeli highlighted the TFG,s ongoing efforts in the 
area of political reconciliation, noting that the TFG 
continues to "seek and accommodate those with national 
political agendas, while those with other global agendas have 
no place" in the TFG.  Jangeli also asked members to focus on 
the implementation of the next steps listed in the communiqu 
from the ICG meeting held in Rome in June.  These include: 
strengthening and expanding the TFG,s security forces and 
AMISOM; responding to the humanitarian emergency; putting 
pressure on outside spoilers; and finding "better mechanisms 
for donor funding, as the current methods are not working." 
Jangeli also asked that the ICG explore how to move the UN 
Somalia country team from Nairobi to Mogadishu and look at 
the issue of impunity more seriously. 
 
¶7.  (U) Kenya and Italy delivered opening statements, as the 
SRSG held this ICG meeting at the two countries, urging. 
Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga expressed his support for 
the TFG and asked other countries to take-on a greater share 
of the burden resulting from Somalia,s troubles.  Odinga 
noted the security threat posed by Kenya,s close proximity 
to Somalia and Kenya,s hosting of hundreds-of-thousands of 
Somali refugees, and highlighted Kenya,s cooperation in 
taking dozens of suspected Somali pirates into its judicial 
system.  Italy ForMin Franco Fratinni underscored that if the 
world is going to take the ICG seriously, then ICG members 
need to disburse the funds they pledged at the April donors 
conference in Brussels promptly.  He also encouraged 
discussion of AMISOM,s mandate, highlighted the need for 
demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration programs, and 
announced that Italy is ready to disburse more funding to the 
TFG and/or AMISOM.  Fratinni did not provide any details on 
this potential funding. 
 
------------------------------ 
Support for the TFG and AMISOM 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (U) UN USYG for the Department of Field Support (DFS) 
Susana Malcorra spoke about DFS,s efforts, through the UN 
Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA), to bring AMISOM up to UN 
peacekeeping operation standards.  According to Malcorra, 
&AMISOM is almost at 100 percent.8  She highlighted that 
UNSOA is now providing full food rations to AMISOM, a medical 
evacuation system is in place, UNSOA sent three shipments of 
equipment to Mogadishu, and in two weeks UNSOA will begin 
providing fuel for AMISOM.  Malcorra said DFS priorities 
moving forward are to secure the supply line from Mombasa, 
Kenya, to Mogadishu, and to enable UNSOA to oversee more UN 
personnel and resources in Mogadishu so the UN can begin 
planning for the construction of a headquarters (HQ) for 
Somalia in Mogadishu. 
 
¶9.  (U) At numerous times throughout the meeting, SRSG 
Ould-Abdullah called on members to support the TFG with 
direct, bilateral contributions, vice contributions to the 
TFG or AMISOM trust funds set up under UN auspices.  Various 
delegations echoed this call, including the U.S. and Italy, 
but the ICG made no new concrete pledges.  Germany did 
announce that its long-talked-about effort to fund the 
Government of Ethiopia to train 1,000 TFG police officers in 
Ethiopia will start on October 1.  France announced that 150 
TFG troops it is training in Djibouti will be ready to return 
to Mogadishu &in a matter of weeks.8 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
UN Somalia Country Team Presence in Mogadishu 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) SRSG Ould-Abdullah, USYGs Pascoe and Malcorra, 
Norway and Italy all called for the UN to establish some 
level of permanent representation in Mogadishu.  These 
statements ranged from Norway asking for the establishment of 
a UNHQ in Mogadishu and the movement of the UN Political 
Office for Somalia (UNPOS) from Nairobi to Mogadishu; to USYG 
Malcorra noting the need for a UNHQ in Mogadishu; to USYG 
Pascoe noting the need for &UN presence8 in Mogadishu. 
Beyond these brief mentions, the issue did not generate any 
debate, nor did it result in any next steps. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Condemnation of the September 17 Suicide Bombings 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶11.  (U) Starting with USYG Pascoe, almost every speaker at 
the meeting condemned the September 17 suicide bombings in 
Mogadishu that killed 21 AMISOM peacekeepers and Somalis. 
A/S Carson stated, &The United States joins our 
international partners in our condemnation*in the strongest 
possible terms*of the terrorist attacks in Mogadishu on 
September 17.  We pay tribute to the brave soldiers who lost 
their lives in that attack by continuing our pursuit of peace 
in Somalia.  We recognize the incredible work the African 
Union is doing through AMISOM(The brave Ugandan and 
Burundian personnel in AMISOM deserve our support and praise 
for their immeasurable contribution.8 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) While this meeting of the ICG on Somalia did draw 
some welcome high-level attention from Italy, Kenya and 
Yemen, the discussion did not produce any concrete steps for 
moving forward or generate any significant pledges of support 
for the TFG or AMISOM.  The creation of a forum that would 
bring together current donors to Somalia, as well as 
realistic potential donors, seems even more pressing if we 
hope to discuss international coordination and assistance for 
the TFG and AMISOM productively.  Yemen ForMin Dr. Abu Bakr 
Al-Qirbi summarized this thought very succinctly at the 
meeting when he commented that Yemen,s representatives at 
previous ICG meetings always reported, "The meeting went very 
well."  However, in reality, the ForMin noted, the ICG 
meetings are not producing much in the way of concrete 
results that advance the Djibouti Peace Process.  END COMMENT. 
CLINTON