GUIDANCE: CONSULTATIONS ON UNSCR 1559, OCT 27

UNCLAS STATE 110414 SENSITIVE SIPDIS USUN PLEASE PASS GERMAIN SCHEDLBAUER MASILKO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC LE IS SY SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: CONSULTATIONS ON UNSCR 1559, OCT 27 ¶1. (U) This is an action message. Please see Paragraph 3. ¶2. (U) Mission may draw on the building blocks at paragraph three for the October 27 Security Council consultation on the tenth semi-annual report of the Secretary General on the implementation of UNSC resolution 1559 (2004). ¶3. (SBU) Begin Building Blocks: -- We welcome the Secretary General's tenth and most recent report on UNSCR 1559. Our discussion takes place during a period of both promise and peril for Lebanon -- promise, as we look forward to Lebanon's presence as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, a recognition not only of Lebanon's prominence in the Middle East, but also of its role in shaping the potential for a just and lasting peace in the region - and peril, because, as the Secretary General has noted in his most recent report, "the existence and activities of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias . . . continue to pose a threat to the stability of the country and challenge the need for the Government of Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces to exercise the monopoly on the use of force throughout Lebanon." -- As we are all aware and as the Secretary General describes, the presence of these militias threatens Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy as well as peace and security in the region. Indeed, the Secretary General speaks in detail of Hizballah's "substantial para-military capacity and infrastructure separate from the State" while noting its "arsenal is a direct challenge to (State) sovereignty." It is deplorable that Hizballah's dangerous and illegal armed presence is so well-established it takes the efforts of the Secretary General or significant events such as the explosions at Khirbet Selim and Tayr Falsayh to pique our collective interest in the militia issue, to say nothing of the spate of violent attacks, both thwarted and successful, in Tripoli. -- I would like to briefly discuss four ideas on how we, the international community, can unstick the stalled implementation of resolution 1559 to best achieve its goals. -- First, there must be meaningful engagement with Lebanon's government. -- We join the Secretary General in commending the re-establishment of full diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria and likewise join with him in strongly encouraging Syria and Lebanon to begin the process of delineating their porous joint border, a process that cannot commence until Syria takes the critical step of naming its delegates to the joint border commission. We think that Syrian-Jordanian cooperation on border issues, recently extolled by Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Al-Utri in Damascus, is a clear demonstration that bilateral border commissions can and do work in the region, and, as the Prime Minister pointed out on October 19, bilateral cooperation on border issues can have an important regional dimension. -- Second, the restrictions on arms importation required by resolution 1701 must be fully honored as a necessary step toward militia disarmament as required by resolution 1701. With regard to this, we look forward to seeing in the upcoming 1701 report a much fuller account of the incident at Tayr Falsayh than is provided in this report, and we would appreciate any further details about that incident that Mr. Larsen can give us today. -- Delineation of the border and closure of Palestinian militant bases along it are critical steps toward stopping smuggling. As the Secretary General suggests, honoring the "arms embargo" is "a key factor for stability in Lebanon and the region." -- Even beyond Hizballah's vast arsenal, the September 11 rocket attacks launched against Israel and the wave of attacks in Tripoli, demonstrate the availability of arms to militia groups facilitates and perpetuates unacceptable and potentially destabilizing violence. Moreover, as noted by the Secretary General, "(i)t creates an atmosphere of intimidation incompatible with the conduct of the normal democratic process in a State." Resolution 1559 call for the disarming of all militias, and we reiterate that call for all militias - Lebanese and non-Lebanese - to disarm and disband. -- Third, external political and material support for armed groups within Lebanon must cease. We remain particularly disturbed by the presence of PFLP-GC and Fatah al-Intifada militias along the Lebanese-Syrian border and note that, while Lebanon has committed to dismantling and disarming Palestinian groups outside the refugee camps, State-sponsors of militia groups such as Syria and Iran have the obligation to refrain from interference in Lebanese affairs, just as the wider international community must permit the Lebanese people to select its own government free from outside influence. As these groups are headquartered in Damascus, Syria bears a particular obligation to assist in the closure of these bases. -- Finally, support for Lebanese state institutions, including the Lebanese Armed Forces, must be provided so that the State can act effectively as the sole guarantor of security for the Lebanese people. At the same time, we expect the Lebanese Armed Forces and Lebanese government to take the necessary steps to implement their charge under resolutions 1559 and 1701, especially with regard to the weapons-free zone in the south. Continued inaction in the face of blatant violations of these resolutions risks undermining international support for the army and other Lebanese state institutions. -- The United States remains fully committed to the dual and interlocking causes of Lebanese sovereignty and independence and a fair, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East. We recognize the unbreakable linkage between these two issues. We would note that the full implementation of resolution 1559 is called for repeatedly in resolution 1701, which calls upon Lebanon and Israel to support "a permanent cease-fire" and emphasizes "the importance of the extension of the control of the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory." CLINTON