UNSC SOMALIA SANCTIONS COMMITTEE: MONITORING

UNCLAS STATE 108614 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN ETTC KTFN PREL PTER XW UNSC SUBJECT: UNSC SOMALIA SANCTIONS COMMITTEE: MONITORING GROUP INQUIRY REF: SAC.29/2009/MG/OC.27 ¶1. This is an action request. USUN is requested to send to the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia ("the Somalia Sanctions Committee" - www.un.org/sc/committees/751/index.shtml) the text found in para 3 below in response to the MG's inquiry of the United States' alleged involvement in a military operation in Somalia on 14 September 2009. The letter should also be sent to the Monitoring Group established pursuant to resolution 1519 (2003),whose mandate has been subsequently renewed, most recently by resolution 1853 (2008). -------------- STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE -------------- ¶2. The strategic objective is for the United States to cooperate with the Monitoring Group established by UNSCR 1519 (2003) to aid the Somalia Sanctions Committee and report on implementation of the measures adopted by the Security Council. -------------- LETTER -------------- ¶3. Thank you for your letter of 7 October 2009 S/AC.29/2009/MG/OC.27. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Somalia Sanctions Committee's Monitoring Group on behalf of the United States for the thorough and unbiased reporting and recommendations that have come from the Group's hard work. Sanctions are an important measure the Security Council can impose to counter threats to international peace and security. For the measures to be effective, Member States must have the domestic framework, and more importantly the political will, to implement the sanctions. We urge other Member States to fulfill their international obligations so these preventative measures might have the impact for which they were designed. The United States is aware of media reports regarding the 14 September 2009 killing of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and other terrorists involved in a series of terrorist attacks in East Africa. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on press reports of this kind. However, we can assure the Monitoring Group that the United States complies with its obligations regarding the arms embargo, including by following the procedures set out in the Security Council resolutions for seeking exemptions from the arms embargo as appropriate. Once again, the United States would like to thank the Monitoring Group for its diligence. END LETTER. CLINTON