SOMALIA -- TALKING POINTS FOR FEBRUARY 15

UNCLAS STATE 015620 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNSC PREL PHUM KCRM PBTS PHSA EWWT SO XA XW SUBJECT: SOMALIA -- TALKING POINTS FOR FEBRUARY 15 CONSULTATIONS ¶1. USUN is instructed to draw from the following talking points during their February 15 consultations on Somalia. Begin points: -- The United States continues to have the utmost concern over the ongoing crisis in Somalia. -- The United States is grateful to the AU Mission in Somalia for its vital role in trying to bring stability to Somalia. We support the extension of its mandate. -- The United States commends the 1800 Ugandan and 850 Burundi peacekeepers already on the ground in Somalia. We thank the Government of Uganda and President Museveni for his public commitment of an additional 1600 peacekeepers to bolster the mission. We urge all AU members who have made public commitments to the mission to fulfill their pledge and deploy as soon as possible. We encourage all AU members to consider contributing to this important African mission. Likewise, the United States urges all UN member states to provide financial resources, personnel, equipment and logistical support so these forces and future troop pledges can deploy as soon as possible. -- We would especially like to acknowledge the important work that the Ugandan forces have carried out in providing medical care for Somali citizens, even though it is not part of their mandate requirements. The medical team has helped hundreds of Somalis. -- The United States is disappointed that the Secretary General's report on Somalia was not available before AMISOM's mandate was set to expire. We look forward to receiving the report in March and are especially anxious to see in the report the development of contingency plans for a possible deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation to succeed AMISOM, including the assessment of the Technical Assessment Mission DPKO recently dispatched to Somalia. The USG will be disappointed if the Secretariat has not completed contingency planning as directed by the UNSC. -- The United States welcomes the appointment of a new Cabinet by Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein and the relocation of the Transitional Federal Government to Mogadishu. -- The United States also welcomes the commitment of Prime Minister Hussein and the new TFG administration to continue engaging in an inclusive process of political dialogue, and looks forward to the development of a road map for the remainder of the transitional process, including free and democratic elections in 2009 as set out in Somalia's Transitional Federal Charter. -- The United States remains concerned about the increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia. -- (deliver point only if the Somali Mission has delivered its request for assistance from the UNSC) We welcome the TFG's request for counterpiracy assistance and call on all members to answer this call. -- The United States has started consultations with interested member states on what can be done to address the issue of piracy in the Horn of Africa. We look forward to working with the Council to ensure that the international community has the tools it needs to combat acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia. -- The United States remains gravely concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation, especially in south-central Somalia. We welcome continued close coordination and cooperation with the UN Country Team and our donor partners in Nairobi to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those in need inside Somalia. end points RICE