VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0999/01 3102048
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 062048Z NOV 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7545
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR PRIORITY 0283
RUEHNA/DEA HQS WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000999 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DAKAR PLEASE PASS TO BISSAU WATCHER; IO PLEASE SHARE WITH 
PM/PPA FOR ACTION REQUEST, IF APPROPRIATE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNSC PHUM SNAR XY PU ZA
SUBJECT: GUINEA-BISSAU: SECURITY COUNCIL CONCERNED WITH 
SECURITY SECTOR, DRUGS, AND UN TRANSITION 
 
REF: STATE 1140261 
 
¶1. (SBU) This is an action request. Please see para 15. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: UN Peacebuilding Support Office in 
Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) Representative Joseph Mutaboba on 
November 5 told the Security Council in an open session that 
there has been progress on national reconcliation, especially 
since he has secured a dialogue between President Sanha and 
Prime Minister Junior.  He reiterated the "window of 
opportunity" for Guinea-Bissau, but warned that hegemonic 
politics and intra-party divisions threaten stability. 
Ambassador Rice during closed consultations said the U.S. 
remains deeply committed to helping Guinea-Bissau achieve a 
sustainable peace and pushed for progress on the Commission 
of Inquiry into the March and June political assassinations. 
 
¶3. (SBU) SUMMARY CONTINUED: UN Office on Drugs and Cime 
Executive Director Costa described a "disturbing" drug 
problem in both Guinea-Bissau and in West Africa, and Rice 
noted the U.S. concern with drug trafficking.  The transition 
from UNOGBIS to the integrated mission, UNIOGBIS, planned for 
January 1, 2010 is on track, although most of the staff for 
the mission probably will not be in Bissau until mid-January 
and beyond.  Mutaboba in a meeting with Ambassaodor DiCarlo 
on October 30 asked for U.S. assistance in obtaining a 
biometric passport reader for Guinea-Bissau, and asked the 
U.S. to deploy the PISCES program there.  Finally, Mutaboba 
asked to be put in touch with the Department's Coordinator 
for Counter Piracy so UNOGBIS (and UNIOGBIS) can play a role 
in that effort.  The Council following consultations adopted 
S/PRST/2009/29. END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
POLITICAL RECONCILIATION AND SSR ON TRACK...FOR NOW 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) During the open session, UNOGBIS Representative 
Mutaboba told the Council that there has been momentum in 
recent days on political reconciliation.  President Sanha had 
opened the legislature on November 3 and called for a 
National Stability Pact.  The Speaker of the Parliament also 
called on legislators to expedite security sector reform 
(SSR) laws.  Sanha's appointment of a new Prosecutor General 
for the Commission of Inquiry was a positive step, and the 
new defense leadership (including the swearing in of the 
Chief of General Staff on October 27) has been "legitimized." 
 Mutaboba reiterated the Secretary-General's sentiment that 
there is a "window of opportunity" in Guinea-Bissau, and told 
Council members that Guinea-Bissau still needs help. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Brazilian PermRep Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, as 
Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission's (PBC) configuration 
on Guinea-Bissau, addressed the Council and flagged 
insufficient infrastructure in the country as key to economic 
recovery.  African Union Acting Permanent Observer Tete 
Antonio worried that Guinea-Bissau's army was oversized 
compared to the general population; he also said that solving 
the problems with the pension fund for retired military was 
the key to success on SSR.  Guinea-Bissau PermRep Alfredo 
Lopes Cabral in unscripted remarks explained that the needs 
of his country still warrant the international community's 
confidence.  He also asked for international partners to help 
build prisons, explaining that the people of Guinea-Bissau 
need to have faith in their justice system. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In closed consultations following the open session, 
Mutaboba shared two "good news" items with Council members. 
First, he said he has been able to secure a dialogue between 
President Sanha and Prime Minister Junior.  Sanha, according 
to Mutaboba, expressed his appreciation to the UN for 
bringing the two officials together.  Mutaboba suggested this 
momentum could help with the national political dialogue and 
appealed for Council members to help bilaterally.  Second, 
Mutaboba has urged the Guinea-Bissau military to break away 
from partitions, and called this the "only way to end 
impunity."  He pleaded with the Council to help fight 
organized crime (including drugs, small arms and light 
weapons, and human trafficking), as well as to help secure 
and monitor Guinea-Bissau's borders. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Ambassador Rice noted that the U.S. remains deeply 
committed to helping Guinea-Bissau achieve a sustainable 
peace, and we are encouraged by the June and July elections 
in Guinea-Bissau.  She also informed Council members that the 
U.S. planned to re-open a Mission in Bissau in the near 
 
 
future.  She suggested that the national defense reform plan 
adopted by the National Popular Assembly in 2007 serve as the 
basis for SSR in Guinea-Bissau. The United Kingdom agreed 
that SSR, as well as counter-narcotics, were the "immediate 
priorities" for Guinea-Bissau. Most Council members mentioned 
elements of SSR in their statements.  Mutaboba while 
answering wrap-up questions at the end of consultations asked 
Council members to be more proactive in their SSR assistance, 
and not wait for the Government of Guinea-Bissau to sign off 
on a whole strategy.  He said he would repeat this message 
when he met with the European Union in Brussels on November 
¶9. COMMENT: During negotiations prior to November 5, the 
French and UK experts mentioned holding off on SSR until the 
Government had a better idea of what it wanted to do.  France 
took a hard line on protecting European Union equities in the 
PRST, which noted the EU's role in SSR. END COMMENT. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ambassador Rice also asked for an update on the 
Commission of Inquiry into the political assassinations of 
March and June, including what could be done to protect 
witnesses associated with its work.  She flagged the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) technical assistance to the 
Commission and asked partner countries to do what they can to 
assist; Russia specifically thanked the U.S. for the FBI's 
work in this area.  During Mutaboba's rebuttal, he did not 
answer the questions posed about the Commission, deferring 
judgment until after the anticipated "progress" the new 
Prosecutor General would kick-start. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
SOBERING MESSAGE ON DRUGS IN WEST, AND EAST, AFRICA 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) In both the open meeting and closed consultations, 
UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director 
Antonio Maria Costa alerted Council members to what is 
becoming a distrubring drug problem in Guinea-Bissau.  He 
expressed concern that the international community had 
"wasted time" since he first alerted members five years ago 
about the West Africa drug problem.  He also made a link 
between the country's rising drug trade and its poor judicial 
system, uncontrolled sea and air space, and open land 
borders.  In closed consultations, Costa highlighted the 
intercontinental drug problem, in which drugs originating 
from Afghanistan and Pakistan are transiting through East 
Africa and converging in the Sahel area with those from West 
Africa.  He also explained that West Africa is becoming a hub 
for drug consumption, not just transit.  He posited that 
chemical precursors do not originate in West Africa, so are 
obviously coming from somewhere (he suggested Asia, coming 
through the Democratic Republic of Congo, and then to Mexico 
and West Africa). 
 
¶9. (SBU) Ambassador Rice said that the U.S. is extremely 
concerned about drug trafficking in West Africa, and 
suggested the Economic Community of West African States 
should be encouraged and supported to take the lead on a 
coordinated, regional approach to fight drugs.  She also 
encouraged the UN Office for West Africa to do its part in 
the effort.  All Council members agreed with Rice, with most 
calling for more funding for counter-narcotics efforts. 
France asked for regular UNODC briefings on Africa-related 
trafficking; Costa in response said he would welcome the 
opportunity.  Libya said that the drug problem in West Africa 
is not only a regional issue, highlighting the role North 
Africa plays in fueling the trafficking. 
 
------------------ 
A HARD FOUGHT PRST 
------------------ 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Council following consultations adopted a 
Burkinabe-drafted PRST (S/PRST/2009/29) after last-minute 
revisions from Russia.  In negotiations on the PRST on 
November 4, Russia was fine with wording on "shared 
responsibility" in paragraph six, but overnight had received 
instructions from Moscow that the wording was not okay. 
Intense side negotiations during consultations between 
Burkina Faso, Mexico (who insisted on inclusion of the 
wording), and Russia--as well as the U.S. and France--helped 
work out differences. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
TRANSITION TO UNIOGBIS ON TRACK FOR JANUARY 1, 2010 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Mutaboba told the Council in general terms that the 
integrated follow-on mission, UNIOGBIS, would be ready to go 
on January 1.  He said that UNIOGBIS had been given an 
"ambitious" mandate and offered no details on other aspects. 
In a meeting with USUN staff on November 2, UN Department of 
Political Affairs (DPA) Integrated Peacebuilding Missions 
Unit staffer, Vina Najibullah (protect), gave blunt details 
about the transition from UNOGBIS to UNIOGBIS.  Overall, she 
(who is in charge at UN headquarters of all hiring and 
administrative aspects of these DPA missions), like Mutaboba, 
believes UNIOGBIS will be up and running on January 1, but 
full staffing will take a number of months.  She said that 
DPA was "not good at field work," but has learned lessons 
from the integrated peacebuilding mission in Sierra Leone 
(the first such integrated mission).  DPA has requested $19 
million for UNIOGBIS with 119 staff, which includes 35 safety 
and security staff and 32 support staff.  She said that DPA 
has completed 80 percent of the interviews for staff 
positions, but the new UN hiring pratices are slowing down 
the process. 
 
¶12. (SBU) The DPA staffer asked for U.S. assistance in 
ensuring the ACABQ adopts the proposed budget for UNIOGBIS, 
adding that Under-Secretary-General Lynn Pascoe often says 
that "we should not continue anemic (peacebuilding) missions; 
we need to invest for five years instead of continuing to 
trickle a small amount of money in."  She also said that 
Department of Field Support (DFS) Assistant-Secretary-General 
Anthony Banbury (U.S.) was a "breath of fresh air," and 
personally spearheads a group in DFS to help with 
peacebuilding transition missions.  COMMENT: Mutaboba during 
his myriad meetings in NY offered no staffing details. 
Similarly, the Secretary-General's recent report (S/2009/552) 
on Guinea-Bissau lacked adequate information on plans for 
UNIOGBIS.  Post found out more in the meeting with the DPA 
staffer than we had in any other meeting. END COMMENT. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
MUTABOBA ASKS FOR U.S. HELP ON CRIME, DRUGS, AND 
COUNTER-PIRACY 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶13. (SBU) In a meeting with Ambassador DiCarlo on October 30, 
Mutaboba asked explicitly for U.S. assistance to curb 
transnational crime and drugs.  He expressed frustration that 
Guinea-Bissau now has biometric passports, but they do not 
have the necessary machine to read them.  He also explained 
that he had personally visited the airport in Bissau and had 
taken a trip to the Senegalese border in an effort to expose 
the key problem: lax security associated with having a 
diplomatic passport; Bissau authorities do not check a 
diplomatic passport holder's bags at all, making drug 
trafficking easy. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Mutaboba also asked for the U.S. to deploy PISCES 
(Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation 
System) in Guinea-Bissau.  In this regard, he commented that 
INTERPOL's presence in Bissau is essentially an incompetent 
staff and other assistance is needed to make any difference. 
He lamented that Guinea-Bissau's police are "close to 
nothing," and UNOGBIS has only been able to help with 
sporadic training.  Separately, Mutaboba took time to thank 
the FBI for its work on the Commission of Inquiry. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Mutaboba asked to be put in touch with the 
Department's Coordinator for Counter Piracy, Robert Maggi, to 
discuss counter piracy and Guinea-Bissau's role.  Ambassador 
DiCarlo agreed such a meeting was a good idea.  COMMENT: 
Mutaboba seemed anxious to carve out a role for himself in 
counter piracy, including by working with other UN missions 
in West Africa.  END COMMENT.  Post reqests Department 
assistance to arrange such a meeting or telephone call.  Post 
also requests Department's position on Mutaboba's two 
requests above (paras 13 and 14), and whether Post should 
seek more information from the UN on these requests. 
Rice