DJIBOUTI-ERITREA: TALKING POINTS FOR SEPTEMBER 17

UNCLAS STATE 099175 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNSC PREL PHUM DJ ER XA XW SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI-ERITREA: TALKING POINTS FOR SEPTEMBER 17 UNSC BRIEFING ¶1. USUN is instructed to draw from the following talking points during their September 17 briefing on the Djibouti-Eritrea border situation. Begin points: -- The United States would like to thank Mr. Honwana for his briefing today and the members of the Djibouti-Eritrean Fact Finding Mission for their informative report. -- The report makes one point very clear: the extent to which Djiboutian authorities have gone and continue to go to find a peaceful solution to this crisis. Even after Eritrean Defense Forces occupied Djiboutian territory, Djibouti reached out at all levels to its Eritrean neighbors to understand the root cause of the incursion and to peacefully settle the situation. When these efforts were rebuffed, Djibouti reached out to the African Union; the League of Arab States; the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development; the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States; and the United Nations to help resolve the crisis. It also approached nations that have friendly relations with Eritrea to help facilitate a peaceful solution. -- When the UN Security Council in its Presidential Statement of June 12 called on both parties to "show maximum restraint and withdraw forces to the status quo ante," the Government of Djibouti complied and withdrew its military forces back four to five kilometers from the disputed area. -- Unfortunately, the Eritreans have met with contempt and disrespect all the efforts by the Djiboutian authorities and the international community to find a peaceful solution to this crisis. The Eritreans even refused to issue visas to those who only wanted to meet with them to understand their point of view. In fact, Eritrea refuses to acknowledge their illegal presence in Djiboutian territory or their sneak attack on June 10 on Djiboutian forces, while the Djiboutian soldiers were at their evening prayers, that resulted in the two day conflict that killed 44 Djiboutian soldiers and injured many more. -- The United States agrees with the Fact Finding Mission's recommendation that the Secretary-General should offer his good offices to defuse the tensions. However, Eritrea must be willing to engage with the UN on the issue. As the report so eloquently states, "if Eritrea alleges an invasion by Ethiopia or aggression by Djibouti, as it has done, then it has an international obligation and responsibility to cooperate with the UN to establish the facts." -- The United States sincerely hopes that Eritrea takes advantage of the SYG's offer, but we agree wholly with the report that Eritrea should be given a very finite amount of time to cooperate with the UN, and if the UN is again rebuffed by Eritrea, the matter should be referred to the Security Council for appropriate action. -- Eritrea must not be allowed to use its aggression against Djibouti to influence actions regarding other issues in the region. The way toward regional stability is for Eritrea to enter into direct dialogue on divisive issues. -- Djibouti has acted admirably to this point, but Eritrea hasn't left them with many options. The people and Government of Djibouti are looking to the UN and the international community to help them resolve the situation peacefully. The UN and especially the Security Council has an obligation to assist them in this goal. If we fail to do so, we risk yet another costly and tragic war in the Horn of Africa. RICE