TALKING POINTS FOR AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD'S 6/24

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 066846 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPKO PGOV PREL SU SUBJECT: TALKING POINTS FOR AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD'S 6/24 BRIEFING In consultations on Tuesday, June 24, 2008, following the briefing by UN Special Envoy for Darfur Jan Eliasson and African Union Special Envoy for Darfur Salim Ahmed Salim, USUN may draw on the following points: The United States would like to extend its appreciation to both UN Special Envoy for Darfur Jan Eliasson and African Union Special Envoy for Darfur Salim Ahmed Salim for their presentations today as well as for their efforts to restart the political process in Darfur aimed at achieving a peaceful solution to the crisis in Darfur. With that in mind, I would like to make three points. First, we remain gravely concerned about the continuing violence in the region. We strongly condemn the May 10th attack on Omdurman, Sudan by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the June 11th attack by Chadian rebels in Eastern Chad. The Security Council should stand ready to consider consequences, including sanctions, for those who continue to threaten peace and stability in the region. In recent months, violent attacks by forces of the Government of Sudan and rebels operating in the area have resulted in significant civilian casualties and a large increase in the number of internally displaced persons. The United States continues to urge all parties to immediately cease hostilities and to refrain from preemptive and counter attacks that contribute to the disruption of the distribution of life-saving humanitarian assistance. Second, the United States is disappointed with the current impasse in the Darfur political process and the political dynamics that further complicate the prospects for peace in Darfur. We must continue to press the principal parties to the conflict to engage in a dialogue aimed toward a peaceful resolution. We stress the importance of improving the political climate in Sudan by easing tensions between Chad and Sudan and implementing the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement, especially the latest roadmap on Abyei. These actions would create conditions conducive to a successful political process. - IF THEY ANNOUNCE A MEDIATOR: The United States is very pleased that the chief mediator has been appointed and looks forward to collaborating with him or her closely for a relaunching of the Darfur peace negotiations. - IF UN/AU DOES NOT ANNOUNCE A MEDIATOR: The United States is disappointed that the appointment of a chief mediator has not yet been finalized and we strongly encourage the Secretary General to expedite this process. Concerned countries stand ready to assist the Secretary General in identifying appropriate candidates and supporting a chief mediator as that individual takes up his or her important duties. Third, through our efforts with the Friends of UNAMID group, we continue to wholeheartedly support and encourage the UN's efforts to reach its goal of having 80% of the UNAMID's authorized deployment completed by the end of 2008. Recent events have shown that the protection of civilians in the Darfur region remains disturbingly inadequate. As the protection of civilians is at the heart of UNAMID,s purpose, deployment of these forces will help create a more stable security environment conducive to new political talks. While we welcome the recent news that the contingent-owned equipment for the Chinese engineers in Nyala has reached its destination, allowing for the arrival of the main Chinese party by July 1, we are reminded by this single success of the multitude of other critical benchmarks that have yet to be met. Overall, we are concerned that the steps taken toward UNAMID deployment have been inadequate and insufficient to achieve the UN's year-end deployment goal. We remain convinced that the only way to make this ambition a reality is to confront the challenges that have made and are continuing to make deployment so difficult. The United States calls on the Department of Field Support to redouble its efforts to create the logistics infrastructure - especially new camps - so that UNAMID will more quickly absorb troops and improve its operational capabilities. The current pace and level of civilian support for UNAMID is also inadequate. The UN must dedicate its best leaders and support personnel to UNAMID in order to ensure its success. STATE 00066846 002 OF 002 The United States remains deeply troubled by the Government of Sudan,s continued efforts to obstruct UNAMID deployment and operations. The Security Council and key bilateral partners must continue to press the Government of Sudan to: -- Stop delaying customs clearances and visa processing; grant full airport access, freedom of movement and communications access; facilitate the acquisition of suitable land for camp construction and communications for UNAMID and its implementing partners; and -- End its opposition to non-African personnel in UNAMID, including Thai troops, Nepalese Police, and international headquarters and contract staff. The United States also recognizes the important role UN member states and troop contributing countries have to play, and calls on the international community to meet its responsibility by reinvigorating its efforts to source and deploy attack and utility helicopters, medium and heavy transport units, multi-role logistics and engineering units, and an aerial reconnaissance unit. For its part, the United States will continue to work with African UNAMID troop contributing countries on a bilateral basis, executing a $100 million project to provide nearly 6,000 personnel from six African troop contributing countries with the equipment and training necessary to deploy and operate successfully in Darfur. Conclusion -------------- The United States reiterates its strong belief that the situation in Darfur represents a humanitarian crisis that demands immediate attention and action from the international community. We remain firmly committed to the success of UNAMID as it seeks to bring about an end to the Darfur crisis and lead the way toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict. In order to achieve this success, the international community must act quickly and in concert in order to assure that the UN and humanitarian agencies currently in the region are able to operate to their fullest potential. RICE