US embassy cable - 04THEHAGUE2776

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 002776 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR AND AF 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, RW, CG, BY, NL, EUN 
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/EU/AFRICA: DUTCH SEEKING SUPPORT FOR 
GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE 
 
REF: NEWTON-BUCKNEBERG EMAIL 10/20/04 
 
Classified By: POL Counselor Andrew Schofer for reasons 1.4 (b/d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: The Dutch are fully invested in the November 
19-20 Great Lakes Conference (GLC), having contributed 
500,000 euros (and reportedly considering doubling that 
amount).  The Dutch will table by the end of December a draft 
EU strategy for the Great Lakes region, based on the 
long-term development strategy associated with the GLC, and 
will press for its adoption within the next 8 months.  The EU 
will discuss the status of preparations for the GLC and 
expected EU participation at next week's GAERC meeting.  The 
Dutch are also looking to garner additional international 
support and seek closer coordination with the U.S. in the 
region in general.  End Summary. 
 
Dutch Drafting EU Strategy for Great Lakes 
------------------------------------------ 
 
2. (C) At MFA's request, Poloff met on October 26 with Senior 
Policy Advisor for the Great Lakes Andre Dellevoet to discuss 
the latest preparations for the November 19-20 Great Lakes 
Conference.  Dellevoet had just returned from the Second GLC 
PrepCom and told poloff he believed the African delegations, 
along with the African Union and United Nations, are fully 
engaged and on board with the Great Lakes Conference.  He 
also revealed that the Dutch Presidency is currently drafting 
an EU strategy for the region, to include a long- term 
development perspective along the lines of the Great Lakes 
Conference, which will be tabled by the end of the Dutch 
Presidency in December.  Dellovoet said he expected this 
strategy to be adopted before the end of the Luxembourg 
Presidency next June. 
 
3. (C) Dellevoet shared with poloff the draft declarations to 
be agreed at the November GLC Summit (faxed to AF/C October 
27), and said the document had convinced him that "Dar Es 
Salaam will not be a failure."  Dellevoet explained that the 
Dutch foresee the draft declarations will provide the basis 
for action plans to be created prior to a second GLC Summit 
in June which, he hoped, would yield binding international 
protocols.  He acknowledged that to a certain extent it 
"remains to be seen" whether subsequent action plans and, 
eventually, implementation can all follow feasibly from the 
Conference.  He reiterated, however, that if the Conference 
can yield such concrete steps, the Dutch believe they can 
convince the EU to come on board fully with a GLC-based 
long-term strategy. 
 
4. (C) Separately, MFA Director of Political Affairs Jaap 
Werner told POLCOUNS October 26 that the Belgians have placed 
the Great Lakes on the agenda of the November 2 EU General 
Affairs and External Relations Committee (GAERC) under "all 
other business."  Dellevoet told Poloff October 28 he expects 
"no breathtaking new decisions" but that the GAERC will be 
updated on the status of Conference preparations and discuss 
the expected level of EU representation at the GLC. 
 
Dutch Believe Africans Seized With Wider View 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
5. (C) Drawing from ref points, poloff outlined to Dellevoet 
U.S. concerns about the unwieldy scope and expanding costs 
associated with the Conference.  While Dellevoet agreed that 
"certain issues and concerns remain" with regard to the 
Conference, he believed they were not insurmountable.  He 
emphasized that the AU and Africans were taking "greater 
ownership" of the Conference, which appears to hold the 
"conviction of the African delegations."  Dellevoet asked 
that the international community appreciate the "dynamism" of 
factors and personalities at play; as one example, he stated 
that the Zambian leader holds enormous respect among the 
African community and can easily bring the group to task, but 
that a more limited forum would not provide the same dynamic. 
 
 
6. (C) Dellevoet emphasized that "in the African view" the 
issues at stake in the region are much broader than strictly 
politics and security, and expressed concern that a narrow 
approach such as that of the tripartite talks depends solely 
on specific leaders who hold limited authority and 
legitimacy.  Resulting agreements, he said, might prove 
fragile over the longer term.  The more comprehensive 
approach embodied by the Great Lakes Conference had already 
won the buy-in of the African community -- which Dellevoet 
attributed to the fact that the GLC is "broad enough" to 
address the "complicated interlinkages" underlying the 
conflict such as natural resources, population and 
development.  He argued that these issues are also "crucial 
issues as Africans perceive them" and warned that such 
linkages could prove spoilers to political settlements 
reached separately.  Emphasizing the importance of finding a 
resolution process that is meaningful to Africans, he 
commented that "Nobody has to tell the Africans how serious 
this is." 
 
Dutch Seeking Further International Support 
------------------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) Dellevoet argued that without concerted international 
community support to move the situation along, the gains 
recently made would be lost.  Dellevoet stated that the 
"Group of Friends" is not sufficiently coherent to support 
the AU/UN effort.  He estimated that the EU was not quite 
ready to take a more active role, although he thought the 
European Commission itself would like to do so.  Dellevoet 
said the Dutch would be willing to come to Washington to 
discuss a common approach, acknowledging that they would also 
be requesting financial support for the Great Lakes 
Conference.  When poloff reminded him that the U.S. had 
already made clear (ref) that it would not provide voluntary 
funding, Dellevoet pressed on undeterred, describing the 
mutual benefits short of additional funding that could be 
gained in streamlining activities and identifying a joint 
political and/or development approach in the region. 
 
8. (C) Comment: The Dutch are quite literally invested in the 
success of the Great Lakes Conference, having contributed 
500,000 euros already and considering another 500,000 euro 
contribution to be decided by mid-November.  Dellevoet 
rightly noted that Dutch Development Minister Van Ardenne has 
staked her political reputation on the success of Dutch 
initiatives in the Sudan and the Great Lakes region, for 
which she has been the primary champion.  We should expect 
the Dutch to continue pressing in support of what they 
consider the best chance for long-term development success in 
the region. 
SOBEL