INSTRUCTIONS FOR COSTA RICA DRAFT PRST ON ICC

UNCLAS STATE 059717 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KJUS UNSC SU SUBJECT: INSTRUCTIONS FOR COSTA RICA DRAFT PRST ON ICC Sensitive but Unclassified - treat accordingly. ¶1. ACTION REQUEST - Costa Rica has circulated the draft text of a Presidential Statement (PRST) in connection with the ICC Prosecutor's report pursuant to UNSCR 1593 on Darfur. USUN should explore with the Costa Ricans and others the option of returning to the text put forward by UKUN last December (in the form set forth below in para 4) as a basis for any PRST in connection with this report. If that is not feasible, USUN is instructed to raise concerns noted in para 2 during expert-level meetings and suggest changes (in brackets) in the text at para 3 below. End Action Request. ¶2. The Department is concerned that the Costa Rican draft is unfocused, risks needless and counter-productive debate, and would be difficult for the Council to adopt. Two possible options for dealing with the situation would be to return to the text of the PRST circulated by UKUN last December (but eventually withdrawn because of resistance from some Council members) as a far more realistic basis or discussions now; or, failing that, to adopt the changes set out in para 3 below. USUN should submit any texts developed by experts to the Department for inter-agency clearance. ¶3. Costa Rican draft text with suggested emendations: Para 1. The Security Council welcomes the seventh report of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (the Court) on June 5, 2008, pursuant to its resolution 1593 (2005). Para 2 should be deleted. If that is not feasible, we could accept the following: The Security Council (add: stresses the importance of ending impunity for serious violations of international humanitarian law as part of a comprehensive approach to seeking sustainable peace) (delete: recognizes that ending impunity is an essential component of a solution in Darfur in all its aspects - political, security, humanitarian and judicial). Para 3. The Security Council recalls resolution 1593 (2005),in which, acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, it decided, inter alia, that the Government of Sudan and all other parties of the conflict in Darfur shall cooperate fully with and provide any necessary information to the International Criminal Court and the Prosecutor (add: pursuant to that resolution). (Note: This would mirror the language in OP-2 of UNSCR ¶1593. The PRST needs to be clear that the obligation to cooperate we are talking about is the obligation under that resolution, and not any other obligation.) Para 4, (This paragraph, which is fundamentally off-message, should be deleted: The Security Council continues to encourage the Court, as appropriate and in accordance with the Rome Statute. to support international cooperation with domestic efforts to promote the rule of law, protect human rights and combat impunity in Darfur)(Note: We do not want this PRST to be suggesting that we are looking to Sudanese courts as a realistic alternative for dealing with the main problems of accountability for the atrocities in Darfur. We are not realistically looking to Sudanese courts.) Para 5. (Delete this paragraph: The Security Council recognizes that the continued commission of crimes is a concrete obstacle facing all actors engaged in helping the people of Darfur and notes that impunity fuels violence, and in turn hampers security and humanitarian efforts The Security ouncili underlines that enforcing the law can contribute to the creation of genuine conditions for peace and security.)(Note: If necessary, we would utilize the fallback language for paragraph 2 as a way to deal generally with this point.) Par