VZCZCXRO6638
OO RUEHIK
DE RUCNDT #0979/01 3062145
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 022145Z NOV 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7497
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000979 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO AU
SUBJECT: AU-UN: SECURITY COUNCIL DIVIDED ON UN ASSESSED 
CONTRIBUTIONS AS A FUNDING OPTION 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000979  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY.  In an October 26 open debate on support for 
African Union peacekeeping, Security Council members 
expressed divergent views on whether UN assessed 
contributions were a viable option to finance AU peacekeeping 
operations authorized by the Security Council.  Uganda, Libya 
and Burkina Faso urged the Council to use UN assessed 
contributions to fund such missions, since, they said, other 
modalities of financing African peacekeeping missions had 
proven inadequate.  The United States, Russia and Japan said 
they could not support the regular use of assessed 
contributions, though they acknowledged the previous use of 
such financing methods in the past in exceptional 
circumstances.  The United Kingdom, Austria, China, Croatia, 
Mexico and Turkey said that all modalities of support 
(including assessed contributions) should be considered. 
Several members, including Russia, France and the U.S. 
supported the use of multi-donor trust funds.  Former Italian 
Prime Minister Romano Prodi urged the Council to consider the 
use of assessed contributions, as did representatives of the 
AU, Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil, with the latter two 
suggesting that the Special Committee on Peacekeeping 
Operations ("C-34") and the Fifth Committee could take up the 
issue.  Council members broadly supported enhanced strategic 
cooperation between the AU Commission and the UN Secretariat, 
and between the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and 
Security Council.  Members also supported efforts to build 
the institutional capacity of the AU to plan, manage and 
carry-out peacekeeping operations. END SUMMARY. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2. On October 26, the Security Council held an open debate to 
review the Secretary-General's September 18 Report on 
"Support to African Union peacekeeping operations authorized 
by the United Nations" (S/2009/470).  The Council had 
requested the report in a March 18 Presidential Statement 
(PRST) following a debate on the recommendations of a 
high-level AU-UN panel led by former Italian Prime Minister 
Romano Prodi (the "Prodi panel"), which had been formed to 
examine the "modalities of support to African Union 
peacekeeping operations" (S/2008/813).  Three key Prodi panel 
recommendations analyzed in the September 18 SYG's report 
were: the need for an enhanced strategic partnership between 
the AU Commission and the UN Secretariat, and between the UN 
Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council; the 
need to build the institutional capacity of the African Union 
to plan, manage and carry out peacekeeping operations; and 
the need to improve the sustainability, predictability and 
feasibility of financial support for AU-led, UN-authorized 
peacekeeping operations through the use of UN assessed 
contributions, on a case-by-case basis, in cases where the 
Council intended to transition the AU mission to a UN 
mission. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Funding Modalities for AU Missions 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Alain LeRoy told 
the Council that several aspects of AU-UN cooperation 
required immediate action, including restructuring the UN 
presence in Addis Ababa, creating a joint AU-UN task force on 
peace and security to review immediate short and long-term 
strategic and operational issues, and engaging in 
institutional capacity building of the AU. LeRoy said that if 
the international community were to ask the AU to intervene 
in the initial stages of a crisis due to the AU's flexibility 
to act quickly, then the international community also needed 
to provide resources in a sustainable and predictable manner. 
 LeRoy reviewed the five different funding mechanisms that 
had been examined in the Secretary-General's report:  African 
Union assessed contributions; contributions through 
individual African Union troop contributing countries; 
voluntary contributions from international donors; UN support 
packages through assessed contribuions; and a combination of 
the above.  Though Leroy did not offer recommendations as to 
which funding option was the most viable, he said that 
experience with the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the 
AU-UN Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) had shown that 
existing funding mechanisms for AU missions had not proved 
adequate.  He noted that the Prodi panel had recommended the 
use of UN assessed funding for AU-led, UN-authorized 
peacekeeping missions, and that a multi-donor trust fund, as 
part of the African Union Peace Fund, would be one option to 
provide predictability and sustainability for mounting a 
peacekeeping operation. 
 
¶4. Uganda, Libya and Burkina Faso all offered explicit 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000979  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
support for the use of assessed contributions to fund AU 
peacekeeping operations.  The Ugandan representative said he 
had hoped the Council would make a "firm commitment" to 
support the Prodi-panel recommendation for the use of 
assessed contributions, since the Council had delayed action 
on the recommendation in March. He said that only a small 
portion of the confirmed pledges from donors had been 
disbursed for AMISOM, while forces were taking fire on the 
ground on behalf of the international community.  It was not 
enough for the Council to "undertake to keep all options 
under consideration", he said, referring to the language of a 
draft Presidential Statement that was set to be adopted at 
the end of the meeting. The Libyan representative echoed the 
Ugandan's sentiment, saying he "doubted" that voluntary 
contributions to the AU Peace Fund would provide sufficient 
resources for AU missions.  The UN spends "huge sums" for 
peacekeeping missions in areas of less threat than Somalia, 
he added.  He suggested that if the international community 
had spent the equivalent amount of money in Somalia as had 
been spent fighting piracy off the coast on Somalia, then 
"piracy would have disappeared." 
 
¶5. The United States, Russia and Japan all underscored that 
AU peacekeeping missions should be fully resourced, but said 
they could not support the use of assessed contributions on a 
regular basis.  Ambassador Rice said the United States would 
continue to be a major bilateral contributor to African peace 
operations, and would continue to support training and 
equiping initiatives.  She also offered U.S. support for the 
use of a multi-donor trust fund.  Rice explained that the 
U.S. had supported assessed contributions for AMISOM on an 
exceptional basis, but was "unable to make any broad 
commitment to support such arrangements in future 
operations."  The Russian representative also said that the 
AMISOM logistical support package was a "one-off," and that 
it would be premature to "make it more regular."  He said 
that the burden of funding AU missions should lie "first and 
foremost" with AU member states, but he welcomed the use of a 
multi-donor trust fund as part of the AU Peace Fund.  The 
Japanese representative said AU-led, UN authorized 
peacekeeping missions should be funded through the AU budget 
and voluntary contributions.  He added that UN assessed 
contributions for AU peacekeeping operations did not conform 
to the established rules of UN procedure as provided for 
under the UN charter. 
 
¶6. The United Kingdom, Austria, Croatia, Turkey, China and 
Mexico emphasized that all of the modalities of support for 
AU peacekeeping outlined by the SYG, including assessed 
contributions, should be considered for future operations. 
Costa Rica and Vietnam acknowledged the need for AU 
peacekeeping to be fully resourced, but did not make specific 
mention of assessed contibutions.  France emphasized its 
preference to support AU peacekeeping operations through a 
multi-donor trust fund. France also said that the practice of 
assessed contributions could lead to serious political, legal 
and financial problems, though it did not specifically oppose 
this option.  COMMENT. In negotiations over the PRST, France 
made clear that it strongly opposed the use of assessed 
contributions; France may not have specificlaly ruled out the 
option in its public statement, due to the agreed EU position 
that no option should be ruled out.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶7. Sweden, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said 
that the EU was committed to seeking pragmatic and effective 
ways by partners could support the development of the AU 
peace and security architecture. The EU, he said, would not 
rule out any option currently being studied, but recognized 
that every "modality of support" must be accompanied by 
appropriate accountability mechanisms.  The Swedish 
representative also noted the contributions of EU members to 
the African Peace Facility, which serves as an important 
funding tool for African peacekeeping. 
 
¶8. South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria and Tunisia supported the 
use of assessed contributions and the creation of a 
multi-donor trust fund.  South Africa suggested that the 
General Assembly should review the Secretary-General's 
recommendations for funding mechanisms, just as the Security 
Council was doing.  The Brazil representative also said he 
expected the question of support for AU peacekeeping to be 
raised in the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations 
(C-34) and in the Fifth (Budgetary) Committee. 
 
¶9. Mr. Prodi urged the Council to consider the use of 
assessed contributions to fund AU peacekeeping, saying it was 
"unrealistic to continue to deal with Africa in a bilateral 
way."  The existing strengths of the AU were not sufficient, 
he said, to tackle its current problems, and the 
international community needed to give the AU resources to 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000979  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
develop over the long-term. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
AU Capacity Building and AU-UN Strategic Cooperation 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶10. In contrast to the differing views on the modalities of 
financial support for AU peacekeeping, Council members 
broadly supported enhanced strategic cooperation between the 
AU Commission and the UN Secretariat, and between the UN 
Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council as 
outlined in the SYG's report.  Several members welcomed the 
intention of the Secretary-General to set up a joint AU-UN 
task force on peace and security to review immediate and 
long-term strategic and operational issues.  Other members 
welcomed efforts by the Secretary-General to recalibrate the 
UN presence in Addis Ababa. 
 
¶11. Council members also overwhelmingly supported efforts to 
build the institutional capacity of the AU to plan, manage 
and carry-out peacekeeping operations.  Ambassador Rice 
welcomed the intention of the African Union to develop a 
long-term capacity building roadmap, and emphasized the need 
to build capacity not only for peacekeeping, but for 
mediation, crisis management, post-conflict reconstruction, 
civil institutions and civil society.  France, Russia, Japan, 
Turkey and the United States highlighted their bilateral 
efforts to build African capacity in peacekeeping through 
training programs. 
 
¶12. A full transcript of the open debate can be found on the 
Security Council website: www.un.org/docs/sc 
Rice