US embassy cable - 05CAIRO2741

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 002741 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MOPS, PHUM, EG, SU 
SUBJECT: SUDAN:  EGYPT SUGGESTS DARFUR WAR CRIMINALS BE 
TRIED AT HOME 
 
Classified by ECPO Counselor John Desrocher for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.  (C) Following an April 6 meeting between President 
Mubarak and Sudanese Foreign Minister Ismail, Egyptian 
Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit told the press that "Sudanese 
war criminals need not go to the International Criminal Court 
(ICC) if the Sudanese judiciary held fair trials."  MFA 
contacts confirmed the press reports, arguing that ICC 
language provides for the precedence of domestic judicial 
proceedings and that Sudan's judiciary is capable of 
prosecuting Darfur war crimes.  Egypt is counseling Sudan to 
implement UNSCR 1593, but continues to argue that Khartoum is 
not alone in blame for the Darfur catastrophe.  Darfur and 
the war crimes trials are expected to feature prominently on 
the agenda of the African Union's Darfur Quintet summit April 
20, which will follow a heads-of-state meeting of the New 
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in Sharm El 
Sheikh.  End summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Sudanese Foreign Minister Visits Egypt 
-------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) Sudanese Foreign Minister Moustafa Othman Ismail 
stopped in Cairo for a six-hour visit April 6, en route to 
Tripoli and Rome (presumably to represent Sudan at the 
funeral of the Pope).  Ismail met with President Mubarak and 
with a number of legal experts in Egypt, according to Hesham 
Afifi (protect), African affairs expert on the personal staff 
of Aboul Gheit.  Afifi confirmed to poloff April 7 the 
accuracy of press reports regarding Aboul Gheit's remarks on 
Darfur war crimes and the International Criminal Court (ICC). 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Sudan's Judiciary Sufficient to Try Darfur Suspects 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
3.  (C) Commenting to reporters following the Mubarak-Ismail 
meeting, Aboul Gheit was quoted as saying that "the 
international court directs the charges;  however, there 
would not be a need for the international court if the 
internal judiciary in the concerned country did its job." 
Aboul Gheit added that the talks between Mubarak and Ismail 
touched upon the means of dealing with UN Security Council 
resolutions in a way that would lift the pressure from Sudan 
while meeting the demands of the international community. 
Asked if there had been complaints from any European or other 
embassies regarding the Egyptian position vis-a-vis the ICC, 
Afifi demurred, but noted that the French Ambassador had 
requested a meeting for next week with the Minister. 
 
4.  (C) Afifi pointed to language in the Rome Statute 
regarding "complementarity" of the Court's work with that of 
national judicial systems.  The ICC, he said, must allow the 
legal system of the country in question to address war crimes 
charges.  Only if the domestic judiciary fails to do its job, 
he continued, should the ICC and/or the Security Council step 
in.  Egypt, he noted, had convinced the GOS to talk with the 
ICC prosecutor to convince him that the Sudanese legal system 
could "do a better job" than the international court. 
 
5.  (C) Poloff asserted that the Government of Sudan could 
hardly be expected to prosecute senior members of its own 
government responsible for the situation in Darfur.  Afifi 
replied that the GOS had "no other choice" than to react to 
UNSCR 1593 by asserting its sovereignty and insisting that 
its own judiciary take up any war crimes charges, as the GOS 
claims the Rome Treaty permits.  He said that Sudan will take 
advantage of the language in UNSCR 1593 regarding prosecution 
of nationals from non-signatory states to the Rome Treaty. 
 
6.  (C) Afifi said that the Sudanese delegation included 
several legal experts who "had several meetings around town" 
April 6 during their six-hour stop in Cairo en route to 
Tripoli and Rome.  Asked the reason for the Libya stop, Afifi 
said that the Sudanese wished to benefit from Libya's 
experience in dealing with the UNSC regarding sanctions and 
similar legal matters. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Egypt to Host NEPAD, Darfur Quintet Meetings 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (C) Poloff asked if the ICC issue would be on the agenda 
of the AU's Darfur Quintet meeting scheduled for Sharm El 
Sheikh April 20.  Afifi declined to offer details on the 
agenda, but confirmed that Aboul Gheit has said Gabon might 
also be included in the meeting.  (Note.  Gabon, we 
understand, was present at the last AU Darfur meeting held in 
Libya.  End note). 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Egypt Sees Slow Progress on Darfur Talks 
---------------------------------------- 
 
8.  (C) Asked for Egyptian views on talks between the 
Sudanese government and Darfur rebels, Afifi said that Egypt 
continued to press both sides to resume peace talks begun in 
"the Abuja track."  The rebels, he said, have been waiting to 
see the results of the Security Council deliberations over 
its Sudan resolutions and now have "no more excuses for 
delaying."  Still, he continued, the rebels do not trust the 
Nigerians following the latter's proposal on an AU-led 
alternative to the ICC process and want the talks moved to 
Eritrea - a non-starter, he asserted.  The rebels, Afifi 
stated, want what Garang got from the GOS - power and control 
over resources.  In response to a question on Egypt's 
sponsoring of talks between the GOS and the National 
Democratic Alliance, Afifi said there were no new 
developments to share, but admitted that NDA leader Mirghani 
would meet with Aboul Gheit April 7. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
9.  (C) Egyptian diplomacy toward Sudan remains consistent. 
The GOE is trying to maintain effective working relations 
with the GOS while encouraging the Sudanese to accept UNSC 
resolutions and take the steps necessary to ensure their 
implementation.  While Egypt's position on the ICC, as 
spelled out by Aboul Gheit, is not helpful, it is neither 
unexpected nor inconsistent with previous Egyptian steps. 
The Egyptians continue to argue that the GOS is not entirely 
to blame for the situation in Darfur and that the rebels need 
to be pressured equally to come to the negotiating table and 
reach an agreement.  International involvement and UNSC 
actions, they contend, make it more difficult to convince the 
GOS to cooperate. 
 
10.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. 
 
GRAY