VZCZCXRO5025
PP RUEHAG RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHBS #1724/01 3580950
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 240950Z DEC 09
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001724 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PBTS PINR PREF SMIG KAWC KPKO
CD, SU 
SUBJECT: SPECIAL ENVOY GRATION BRIEFS THE EU'S POLITICAL 
AND SECURITY COMMITTEE ON SUDAN 
 
Classified By: USEU DCM Christopher Murray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Briefing the EU Council Political and 
Security Committee (PSC) in Brussels on December 18, Special 
Envoy Scott Gration said that the U.S. seeks to end the 
conflict in Darfur, supports the North-South Sudan 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), and wants to keep Sudan 
from becoming a safehaven for terrorists.  Gration reported 
that the U.S. supports the Doha peace process, strengthening 
UNAMID, and working with NGOs.  To implement the 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Gration said that the U.S. is 
actively engaged with the parties in an effort to prepare for 
the post CPA period.  Gration identified four areas for U.S. 
and EU cooperation - security and stabilization, support of 
UNAMID and UNMIS peacekeeping operations, elections, and 
humanitarian assistance.  PSC Ambassadors welcomed Gration's 
overview and posed a range of questions about the 
implications of current developments.  End Summary. 
 
U.S. Efforts to Achieve Peace 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Special Envoy Gration briefed the EU Council 
Political and Security Committee (PSC) in Brussels December 
18 about U.S. objectives in Sudan, which are seeking an end 
to the conflict in Darfur, supporting the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement (CPA), and keeping Sudan from becoming a safehaven 
for terrorists.  In an effort to end the conflict, Gration 
reported that the U.S. supports the Doha peace process, 
strengthening UNAMID, and working with NGOs.  To further the 
CPA, Gration said that the U.S. is actively engaged with the 
parties in an effort to prepare for the post-referendum 
period. 
 
¶3.  (C) Gration identified four areas for U.S. and EU 
cooperation.  He highlighted security and stabilization as 
the first area, calling for mechanisms to enhance security 
for local populations.  Next, Gration suggested continued 
support of UNAMID and UNMIS peacekeeping operations and 
support for April 2010 elections.  Lastly, Gration identified 
humanitarian assistance, including support for local 
communities as IDPs transition out of camps in the future. 
 
EU Reactions and Concerns 
------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) European Commission representative to the PSC Richard 
Wright said that the EU will decide next month on an election 
monitoring mission for the April 2010 elections, a decision 
which High Representative Ashton will make, according to 
Wright.  Wright said that these would be the first elections 
in nearly 25 years, so an evaluation of electoral conditions 
would be necessary.  Wright asked Gration about the 
feasibility of credible elections, noting that political 
leaders in southern Sudan were following preparations closely. 
 
¶5.  (C) Danish Ambassador Faaborg-Anderson said that 
elections are key and noted some progress in setting up 
necessary legislation for them.  He was most interested in 
learning how Gration saw a post-2011 scenario and inquired as 
to whether the south will want to secede.  Dutch Ambassador 
De Kwaasteniet suggested that voter registration has gone 
smoothly and similarly shared concern about the potential for 
secession of the South, asking Gration for his views about 
next steps after the election. 
 
¶6.  (C) UK Ambassador Barrow noted some recent positives and 
asked Gration whether there was a link between elections and 
a referendum, and his views on the Mbeki report.  The 
Portuguese Ambassador said that he shared most of our views 
and asked what role the African Union could play. 
 
The View from the U.S. 
---------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Gration said that the U.S. is pleased with the level 
of participation in the voter registration process, adding 
that the SPLM may register up to two million persons.  Given 
the arrival of rains, Gration said that it was important to 
hold the elections on time.  Turning to the referendum 
registration process, Gration said that it will begin in July 
2010 and it must be transparent.  Gration said that the 
election is a dry run for the referendum as the processes are 
similar and that successful April 2010 elections will add 
legitimacy to the referendum results. 
 
¶8.  (C) Concerning scenarios for 2011, Gration reported that 
 
BRUSSELS 00001724  002 OF 002 
 
 
it was likely Southerners will vote to secede.  The CPA says 
we will work until 2011 to have unity and separation on equal 
footing.  Envisioning the south to declare independence on 
July 9, 2011, Gration said that increased government 
capacity, roads, and railway connections were vital and he 
stressed that return to civil war would be disastrous.  To 
help avert this, Gration said that we should strive for a 
soft border between North and South which would better enable 
resource sharing on issues such as grazing land, Nile waters, 
and petroleum, adding that the parties must agree on these 
elements.  He noted that Chatham House and the USIP have done 
good analytical work in this area, adding that on oil sharing 
both sides would need a solution seen as win-win. 
 
¶9.  (C) Gration said that there is a proxy war between Chad 
and Sudan playing out in Darfur, and that the role of the 
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels must be reduced. 
He suggested that the Dakar Agreement needed to be 
implemented and said that there was a role for the Mbeki Plan 
on accountability and justice.  Gration suggested merging 
this with the ICC, adding that there was less and les of a 
role for Doha on security and Chad-Sudanrelations. 
 
¶10.  (C) Greek Ambassador Demiris asked about elections, 
international monitors, and the relationship among Russia, 
Egypt, and UNAMID, while Polish Ambassador Peksa-Rawiec 
stressed cooperation.  German Ambassador Andreas Kindal asked 
about the working of the Defense Board.  Belgian Ambassador 
Walter Stevens suggested that links between Khartoum and the 
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) were contributing to violence in 
the South; and he asked about Bashir and the ICC.  Irish 
Ambassador Bean mentioned Chad-Sudan issues and Italian 
Deputy PSC Ambassador di Michele pointed to the role of China. 
 
¶11.  (C) Gration noted that Russia and China are part of the 
Envoy Six, or E6, group and have the same interests as Europe 
and the U.S. in a stable Sudan, though for different reasons. 
 UNAMID has suffered some losses, primarily among its Rwandan 
forces.  NGOs face a tough environment in Sudan.  Concerning 
relations between former South African president Mbeki, who 
headed the AU/UN High Level Panel on Darfur, and Djibril 
Bassole, the AU/UN Joint mediator, Gration suggested that 
both needed to have complementary relations, not competitive 
ones, adding that time was running out on the Doha process. 
As for DDR and the Defense Board, Gration said making the 
military more professional, with better capacity, should be 
the goal.  Concerning possible linkages between the National 
Congress Party and the LRA, Gration reported that the U.S. 
cannot find any and that there appear to be no arms going 
from Khartoum to the south.  EUSR Torben Brylle said that he 
hopes to have complementarity between the Doha process and 
Mbeki report. 
 
¶12.  (U) Special Envoy Gration has cleared on this cable. 
 
KENNARD 
.