US embassy cable - 04MADRID3600

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 003600 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2014 
TAGS: PREL, SP, UNSC, UN 
SUBJECT: A MID-TERM LOOK AT SPAIN'S SECURITY COUNCIL 
PRESIDENCY 
 
 
Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Robert J. Riley for reasons 1 
.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C)  SUMMARY.  Poloff discussed Spain's Security Council 
September presidency with Juan Manuel Gonzalez de Linares, 
MFA Deputy Director of United Nations Affairs, and Enrique de 
Yturriaga Saldanha, MFA head of UNSC Issues.  Both stressed 
that Spain has tried to be an "honest broker" as the head of 
the UNSC, where Spain's advocacy of issues has been toned 
down.  Spain's priorities during their presidency include: a 
discussion among UNSC foreign ministers on the "civilian 
aspects of conflict management and peace building;" the 
crises in Sudan and Congo; the ongoing stability and 
reconstruction efforts in Iraq; peacekeeping efforts in Haiti 
and Afghanistan; counter-terrorism; UNSC mandates and reports 
in Ethiopia and Eritrea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cyprus; and 
continued instability in the Middle East.  Spain is 
interested in structural reform of the UN to include UNSC 
enlargement, but not an expansion of permanent members, and 
there is currently a debate within the MFA over how to 
proceed with the reform.  END SUMMARY 
 
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SESSION 
 
2.  (U)  Spain would like to take advantage of the presence 
of many foreign ministers in New York on September 22 to 
discuss what the GOS is terming the "civilian aspects of 
conflict management and peace building."  Spain has 
distributed a discussion document to members of the UNSC and 
looks forward to making this discussion the highlight of its 
presidency. 
 
CRISES IN SUDAN AND CONGO 
 
3.  (C)  The crises in Sudan and Congo continue to be high 
priorities.  Spain has been involved in trying to achieve 
acceptable language for an additional UNSC resolution on the 
Darfur crisis in Sudan.  Spain favored many elements of a US 
draft resolution on Darfur, but placed greater emphasis on 
the role of the African Union and the construction of 
international commissions to review human rights abuses. 
Spain favors MONUC troop expansion in the Congo.  Spain has 
been working with other UNSC members on proposals to expand 
MONUC into new regions and add a rapid force that would help 
maintain the arms embargo and assist in the Congolese 
electoral process. 
 
IRAQ 
 
4.  (U)  On Iraq, Spain was eager to see the results of 
reports on the Multinational Force from the U.S. and the 
Secretary General's office.  The GOS views these reports as 
 
SIPDIS 
important because they are the first reports since 
sovereignty was transferred to the Iraqis from the Coalition 
Provisional Authority.  UNSG Special Representative for Iraq 
Ashraf Qazi briefed the UNSC on the situation in Iraq 
September 14.  His briefing noted that the "vicious cycle of 
violence" is undermining UN efforts to rebuild Iraq. 
 
HAITI AND AFGHANISTAN 
 
5.  (U)  UN missions in Haiti and Afghanistan continue to be 
important to Spain because of the deployment of Spanish 
troops in peacekeeping operations in those countries.  The 
Spanish Council of Ministers authorized the sending of 200 
Spanish troops to Haiti as part of a joint Moroccan-Spanish 
battalion on September 10, and the Ministry of Defense has 
said Spanish troops will be operational in Afghanistan by 
September 27.  There will be a report by the UNSG on the 
current situation in Haiti on September 26. 
 
COUNTER-TERRORISM 
 
6.  (C)  Gonzalez de Linares stressed that Spain would like 
to make UNSC efforts more efficient and dynamic.  Former 
Spanish ambassador to the U.S. Javier Ruperez is now the 
Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive 
Directorate at the Assistant Secretary-General level, and 
Spain would like to build on his experience with the issue. 
Yturriaga stressed that the issue of counter-terrorism was 
very important to Spain, but that Spain would likely work 
through committees to promote the issue and that there 
probably would not be UNSC action during their Presidency. 
 
ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA 
 
7.  (U)  The UNSC unanimously adopted UNSCR 1560 to extend 
the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) on September 
14.  Spain along with other UNSC members is concerned about 
the lack of progress in the border demarcation between 
Ethiopia and Eritrea. 
 
OTHER MANDATES 
 
8.  (U)  The UNSC will review mandates in Liberia and Sierra 
Leone before the end of the month.  The UNSG will also 
introduce a report by the end of the month on the next steps 
in Cyprus, and there should also be an update on the UN's 
peacekeeping mission in Bougainville. 
 
THE MIDDLE EAST 
 
9.  (C)  Spain will continue to welcome proposals that 
enhance security and stability in the region.  Spain is 
following developments very closely in the recent UNSC 
resolution pressuring Syria to respect Lebanese sovereignty. 
Both Linares de Gonzalez and Yturriaga agreed that 
unanticipated issues concerning the Middle East were likely 
to come before the UNSC during Spain's presidency. 
 
SECURITY COUNCIL STRUCTURAL REFORM 
 
10.  (C)  Both Gonzalez de Linares and Yturriaga said that 
Spain supports any UNSC reform that would serve the interests 
of all member states and improve the efficiency of the UNSC. 
Spain does not favor more permanent members of the UNSC, but 
additional nonpermanent members could provide a more 
representative UNSC.  Spain would like to see more 
cooperation between the UNSC, UNGA, and ECOSOC. 
 
11.  (C)  Yturriaga told Poloff that there are differing 
views in the MFA on the issue.  Some members of the MFA want 
permanent UNSC members to only have veto power over issues in 
Chapter 7 of the UN charter; they would like to require at 
least two vetoes by permanent members for all other issues. 
 
12.  (C)  There will be a panel report on UN structural 
reform before December that will include UNSC structural 
reform ideas.  The report likely will fuel discussion on 
possible changes in the UNSC.  Spain does not have an 
official positions on many of the likely reform ideas, but 
there is clearly a lively debate within the MFA over what a 
more representative UNSC would look like. 
ARGYROS