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Readout of November 30 Security Council Discussions on Eritrea
UNCLASSIFIED U.S. Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No.
C05784125 Date: 02/13/2016
After lengthy Security Council discussions, Gabon -- the principal
sponsor of the new UNSCR to impose sanctions on Eritrea -- decided not
to call for a vote this evening, as originally planned, but rather to
delay adoption until Monday December 5. During morning Security
Council consultations on the draft UNSCR, several delegations said
that they needed more time to digest recent changes to the text.
Russia/China made clear that if the UNSCR were brought to a vote
today, they would veto it on "technical" procedural grounds (i.e.,
rather than for reasons of substance). South Africa further complained
that the Council had not adequately considered its amendments, which
South Africa had only given to Gabon the night before. In light of
these concerns and without withdrawing its request for a vote later
this evening, Gabon agreed to convene an experts meeting at noon to
review the South African amendments and other feedback. Gabon made
clear that they were unwilling to accept any substantive amendments to
the text "in blue", although they might accommodate cosmetic changes
to show good faith. As anticipated, South Africa, China and Russia
used the experts meeting to seek deletion of key provisions. Gabon,
supported by the P-3 and Germany, pushed back against these
amendments, but signaled an openness to a few cosmetic edits. The UK
also proposed a few purely technical changes to correct drafting
mistakes. After the experts' negotiation, the Council held afternoon
consultations to discuss the way forward. Gabon announced that they
would be willing to delay a vote until Monday December 5 -- but no
longer -- in the interests of goodwill and harmony and to give
delegations more time. Gabon further explained that they intended to
circulate a slightly modified text later this evening that reflected
only cosmetic changes from the experts' discussion. The Council then
had a long discussion on the timing and procedure for a vote, with
South Africa -- supported less robustly by Russia and China --
attempting to postpone a vote indefinitely. Gabon held firm and said
the vote would be held Monday. Gabon won sympathy from some other
delegations who were grateful for the extra time, making South Africa
appear even more isolated and inflexible. The Council agreed to the
Gabonese plan for a Monday vote. The Council also discussed Eritrean
President Isaias's repeated request to address the Council. Some
Council members argued that such a meeting (originally requested in
late October) should occur just before adoption of the UNSCR. Amb.
Rice reiterated our view that such a meeting would be redundant and
counterproductive, but added that in light of the overwhelming support
of Council members for such a meeting, the United States could not
block such a decision (a procedural matter to which the veto does not
apply) and would fulfill its host country obligations to grant Isaias
entry.The Council President said that he will therefore extend an
invitation to Isaias and other heads of state in the region (Ethiopia,
Uganda, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia) to meet with the Council at 10:00
a.m. on Monday December 5. A vote on the sanctions UNSCR will occur
after this meeting, no later than 3:00 p.m. Monday. USUN will
circulate the slightly edited text to Washington as soon as we receive
it. It will not contain any substantive changes.
Received on Wed Sep 14 2016 - 12:05:32 EDT