US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS3926

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 003926 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SA/FO FOR MQUINN, EUR/ERA FOR KVOLKER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PK, AF, IR, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: EU AFGHAN ELECTION SUPPORT MISSION PLANS VISITS TO 
IRAN AND PAKISTAN 
 
REF: STATE 195819 
 
Classified By: USEU Political Military Officer Jeremy Brenner for reaso 
ns 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: The EU Democratic Election Support Mission 
(DESM) in Afghanistan will send small teams to Pakistan and 
Iran to assess out-of-country registration procedures for 
Afghan refugees. This is not intended as a formal diplomatic 
monitoring mission.  The preregistration visit to Islamabad 
is scheduled for September 19-21.  End summary. 
 
2. (C) We raised reftel points on out-of-country registration 
September 15 with Jonathan Hatwell, EU Commission Afghanistan 
desk officer.  He specified that the EU is not planning a 
formal diplomatic monitoring mission in Pakistan or Iran, but 
rather the election support team now in Afghanistan will make 
a series of visits to examine provisions for out-of-country 
registration of Afghan refugees. 
 
3. (C) Hatwell told us that the EU Democratic Election 
Support Mission (DESM) in Afghanistan consisting of 
approximately 25 people will send a team of two to four 
experts to make two visits -- one preregistration and one 
during the registration process -- to Islamabad. The 
preregistration visit, scheduled for September 19-21 will 
look at the processes put in place for registration, and the 
team will share its views of the state of preparations.  They 
will visit again October 1-3 to examine the registration 
process in action. The DESM teams will return to Afghanistan 
for election day. 
 
4. (C)  DESM plans one pre-voting visit to Teheran, where 
they will receive logistical support from the Netherlands 
embassy.  There is an existing registration program in place 
in Iran, so the assessment process is expected to be quicker. 
 
5. (C)  According to Hatwell, visa problems encountered 
earlier by IOM monitors have largely been resolved, although 
he suggested that there remain some question marks concerning 
the team's entry to Iran.  DESM has already made application 
for entry visas to Pakistan, and there is no immediate 
indication of a problem. 
 
Schnabel