US embassy cable - 02ABUJA2565

UNCLAS ABUJA 002565 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF DAS PERRY; AF/W FOR ARIETTI 
FROM JETER 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2012 
TAGS: PREL, XY, LI, ECOWAS, UN 
SUBJECT: ECOWAS: LIBERIA CONTACT GROUP MEETING 
 
 
REF: Perry/ Arietti/ Jeter 8/30 Telecon 
 
 
Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter; Reasons 1.5(B) 
and (D) 
 
 
1.  (SBU) I managed to reach ECOWAS Executive Secretary 
Mohammed Chambas before he left Sweden on August 31. 
Chambas will be traveling in Europe for the rest of this 
week and returns to Abuja over the weekend. 
 
 
2. (SBU) The Executive Secretary confirms that ECOWAS is 
proposing a meeting of the Liberia Contact Group on 
September 17, at UN Headquarters in New York. (Chambas was 
not aware that Burkina Faso might also be calling for a 
meeting of the Contact Group). Presidents Wade and Obasanjo 
will both be in New York on September 16 for a meeting on 
NEPAD, and Chambas hopes that both will stay over for the 
CG meeting on the 17th.  Chambas said that the UN should 
call the meeting, and his hope is that the UNSYG will 
personally convene it. (Chambas said that he has spoken 
with A/SYG Turk, who is in favor of the idea). 
 
 
 
 
3. (SBU) Chambas has concluded that the Contact Group 
should be small. Compositions should include the UN, 
ECOWAS, Senegal, Nigeria, the African Union, the U.S., 
France, and the EU, represented by Special Representative 
Hans Dahlgren. 
 
 
4. (SBU) Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, was 
attending the same meeting in Sweden as Chambas.  The two 
discussed the proposed 9/17 Contact Group meeting, and the 
Foreign Secretary thought it was a useful idea.  Straw said 
that London would urge the Secretary General to convene the 
CG meeting. Chambas said that it would be very helpful if 
Washington would also indicate its support to the Office of 
the Secretary General. 
JETER