Cablegate: Canada Willing to Consider Training, Equipping Formed Police

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/26
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI MCAP ASEC MARR KJUS KPKO EFIN HA CA
SUBJECT: Canada Willing To Consider Training, Equipping Formed Police
Units for Haiti

REF: STATE 17308

CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Bellard, Political Minister Counselor, Ottawa,
POL; REASON: 1.4(B), (D)

1. (C/NF) In a discussion with Deputy Pol/C on February 25, Michael
Kaduck, Director of Peace Operations and Fragile States at the
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT),
dismissed the idea of contributing a Canadian formed police unit
(FPU) for Haiti. He noted that Canada had encountered significant
difficulties in finding the 60 extra recently pledged civilian
police officers, the list of whom Canada recently had forwarded to
the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations. He elaborated
further that DFAIT "would not recommend under any circumstances"
providing Canadian FPUs for MINUSTAH because it would be an
"egregious misuse of resources." Kaduck emphasized that FPUs tend
to "spend a lot of time in the barracks" until some public order
situation arises and that is not a "rational use" of "fantastically
expensive" and "highly skilled" Canadian police officers. Kaduck
was adamant that if he had an extra 140 Canadian police--which he
stressed he does not--he would use them as CIVPOL mentors and
trainers, rather than as garrison-based FPUs.

2 (C/NF) Kaduck underscored that DFAIT was much more inclined to
discuss how Canada might train and equip third countries to stand
up their own FPUs for service in Haiti. He observed that Canada
has already trained and equipped three francophone African-nation
FPUs for assignment with UNAMID in Darfur, and they might be
willing to explore that option with MINUSTAH. He cautioned that he
does not "know the upper limit of how many potential FPUs are
actually out there to deploy to Haiti." He noted that deploying 20
FPUs would "actually require 60-20 in the field, 20 preparing to
go, and 20 just returning." Kaduck shared that any new Canadian
initiative of this magnitude would require a ministerial
initiative, perhaps even the Prime Minister, to go forward. He
suggested that it would likely require a "high level ask" by
"senior U.S. counterparts."
JACOBSON

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