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DE RUCNDT #1153/01 3572029
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 232029Z DEC 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7907
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001153 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KPKO UNSC AF CG GV ER
SUBJECT: RICE AND KOUCHNER DISCUSS AFGHANISTAN, GUINEA, 
ERITREA AND DRC 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Susan Rice for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (S) SUMMARY. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told 
Ambassador Rice that France would not send additional troops 
to Afghanistan in the near term, but would take another look 
at its troop contributions following the outcome of the 
January 2010 London conference on Afghanistan.  Kouchner 
confirmed that President Sarkozy had spoken to Moroccan King 
Mohammed VI the previous day about allowing Guinean president 
Moussa Dadis Camara to remain in Morocco following a recent 
assassination attempt, so that Minister of Defense Sekouba 
Konata could take over as a caretaker leader to shepherd 
Guinea to elections.  Kouchner said he had also sought 
support from Burkina Faso President Compoare for Dadis 
staying in Morocco, as Carmara's return to Guinea could lead 
to civil war.  Ambassador Rice urged Kouchner to support 
efforts to sanction Eritrean officials who are hindering 
implementation of the Djibouti agreement and helping to 
destabilize Somalia by supporting the al-Shabaab armed group. 
 Kouchner said France would not object to sanctions, but 
wanted a brief delay due to a French hostage being held in 
Somalia.  Rice asked Kouchner to consider a 12 month mandate 
for UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of 
Congo (MONUC), in order to send the message to DRC leader 
Joseph Kabila that the international community is serious 
about MONUC's protection of civilians mandate and the need 
for security sector reform.  Kouchner questioned MONUC's 
effectiveness, and agreed with Rice's assessment that the 
entire mandate needed to be reviewed. Kouchner expressed some 
willingness to consider Rice's suggestion that the Security 
Council renew MONUC for four months to provide time for a 
strategic review, and at the same time clearly signal its 
intention to renew MONUC with a revised mandate for an 
additional 12 months at the end of the review but was 
non-committal.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------- 
AFGHANISTAN 
----------- 
 
¶2. (C) French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told 
Ambassador Rice during a December 7 meeting in New York, that 
France would deploy no more soldiers, "for the time being", 
but would reconsider its contributions again in March 2010, 
based on the outcome of a January 28, 2010 London 
international conference intended to assess progress on 
security, governance and development in Afghanistan. Kouchner 
said French troops and gendarmerie already on the ground in 
Afghanistan would not leave.  He thought the international 
community would need to be "very strict" with Afghan 
president Hamid Karzai, whom he believed would otherwise not 
deliver on promised reforms.  Kouchner also expressed doubt 
about a two-year timeline to begin U.S. troop withdrawal, 
though Ambassador Rice reminded him that the U.S. was goal 
was to start Afghanistan on a positive trajectory during the 
two years, not "change the world in Afghanistan." 
 
------ 
GUINEA 
------ 
 
¶3. (S) Kouchner told Rice that French President Nicolas 
Sarkozy had spoken to King Mohammed VI of Morocco about 
Guinea's Defense Minister Sekouba Konate taking over as a 
caretaker leader and shepherding Guinea to new elections. 
President Dadis Camara, who was shot in an assassination 
attempt on December 3, would need to remain in Morocco, where 
he was receiving medical treatment, as Kouchner thought 
Camara's return to Guinea "would lead to civil war."  Rice 
agreed that Camara should remain in Morocco and that Sekouba 
was best placed to serve as an interim leader.  She said 
Secretary Clinton had also intended to speak to King Mohammed 
about Camara remaining in Guinea.  Rice said she had spoken 
to UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, 
Haile Menkerios, who also believed Sekouba was the right 
person to take over as interim leader, but that Sekouba 
should not run in an election for a permanent replacement for 
Camara. 
 
----------------- 
ERITREA SANCTIONS 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Ambassador Rice urged Kouchner to support U.S. efforts 
to impose Security Council sanctions on Eritrean officials 
who are undermining the Djibouti agreement and giving active 
support to the al-Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia.  Rice 
pointed out that it had been a year since the Security 
 
USUN NEW Y 00001153  002 OF 002 
 
 
Council had threatened sanctions against Eritrean officials 
if they did not comply with their international obligations, 
and it was time for the Council to make good on its promise. 
Kouchner stated that Eritrea served as the only conduit to 
Somali extremists regarding the final humanitarian worker 
held hostage.  Rice said she understood that France did not 
want to drive the sanctions process. Somali rebels connected 
with al-Shabaab, but that Russia and China were hiding behind 
French reluctance to move ahead with sanctions.  African 
members of the Security Council wanted to get the sanctions 
in place during December, and had toned down the draft 
resolution considerably in order to attract wider support. 
Kouchner said he could join a consensus to impose sanctions, 
but "additional days" to work toward release of the French 
hostage "would help us so much." 
 
-------------------------------------- 
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC) 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Discussing the upcoming mandate renewal for the UN 
Organization Mission in DRC (MONUC), Rice sought support for 
a 12-month extension of the MONUC mandate.  Rice thought that 
DRC President Joseph Kabila was looking to signal the 
beginning of the end of MONUC during June 2010 celebrations 
of the 50th anniversary of the DRC, and would use the end of 
a six-month mandate to his own advantage.  A 12-month 
renewal, which would include an initial 4-month strategic 
mandate review, could make clear to the region that the 
Security Council is serious about MONUC, and would encourage 
Kabila to follow through on security sector and other 
reforms.  Rice said the MONUC mandate could be adjusted, if 
necessary, after the 4 month review.  Kouchner said he did 
not think it mattered whether the mandate would be six or 12 
months, since, in his view MONUC was not effective in 
fulfilling its mandate to protect civilians, and in 
particular in protecting women from sexual violence.  French 
Permrep Gerard Araud added that it would be difficult to 
convince the Security Council to create a 12-month mandate if 
Kabila was seeking a six-month extension, even though MONUC 
is a Chapter 7 mandate, which does not require consent of the 
host government. 
 
¶6. (C) Rice acknowledged that MONUC had failings, but 
believed it had made a difference in the protection of 
civilians.  A four-month strategic review would allow the 
Security Council to make the mandate more effective, 
including to address the real issues of how to continue to 
pressure the FDLR and how to transform the FARDC into a 
reliable partner.  As an alternative to a 12-month renewal, 
Rice floated the idea to extend MONUC for an initial 
four-month period to carry out the strategic review, while at 
the same time signaling its intention to renew MONUC for an 
additional 12 months with a revised mandate at the end of 
four months.  Kouchner expressed doubt that the international 
community would muster the resources to address the real 
problems in DRC, but expressed some willingness to consider 
the 4-month   12-month scenario but was non-committal on the 
timeline. 
RICE