GUIDANCE FOR UNSC DEBATE ON UNAMA MANDATE

UNCLAS STATE 026180

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNGA UNSC PREL PGOV UN
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE FOR UNSC DEBATE ON UNAMA MANDATE
RENEWAL


1. The Department instructs USUN to draw on the following
points below for its participation in the March 19 UNSC
debate on the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).


2. Begin points:

-- The United States supports the renewal of UNAMA's
mandate in Afghanistan for 12 months beginning on / about
March 20, 2009. The United States strongly endorses
continuation of the imperative described in UNSC 1806 to
support UNAMA's leadership to improve aid effectiveness.
We welcome UNAMA's leadership in coordinating
international assistance efforts and improving
collaboration between civilian and military operations.

-- The UN, NATO, and other contributors have an important
role in increasing security, helping build the Afghan
government's capacities, expanding economic opportunity,
and strengthening the justice system.

-- The United States welcomes the UN General Assembly's
approval of the 2009 budget for UNAMA of $168 million,
and the authority to hire 437 new staff and expand the
mission to four new offices this year. These resources
are critical if UNAMA is to fulfill its mandate and
coordinating role. The United States urges the UN to
expedite funding to UNAMA, and encourages member States
to provide appropriately qualified staff to help fill the
new staff positions. The U.S. will work closely with the
Special Representative to the Secretary-General (SRSG)
Kai Eide and his staff to assist implementation of the
UNAMA mandate.

-- The Secretary-General's report on Afghanistan: The
United States thanks the Secretary-General for his report
on Afghanistan. We offer comments on several items
discussed in the report. We also look forward to future
reporting that describes progress against agreed
benchmarks.

-- Civilian assistance is critical to success in
Afghanistan: The United States agrees with the report's
assessment that we cannot solve the problem of the
Taliban and the spread of extremism in the region solely
through military means. We are encouraged by the
formation of the Integrated Approach Working Group and
look forward to receiving further reports of its progress
in completing needs assessments and delivering
assistance.

-- Upcoming elections, the key strategic event in
Afghanistan in 2009: We support an open and fair election
in which the people of Afghanistan choose their own
leader, free of intimidation. We appreciate the efforts
by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan,
the United Nations, international donors, and Afghan and
international security forces to confront difficult
challenges in preparing for these elections. The United
States supports the IEC's decision to hold elections on
August 20 to maximize the election's universality,
fairness, and transparency, and calls upon Afghanistan's
leaders to find a solution within the Constitutional
framework for ensuring the continuity, legitimacy and
stability of government through completion of the
election process. Funding for these elections needs to
be urgently addressed. The IEC presented a budget of
$224 million to resource the electoral process properly.
Donors need to follow-through on their pledges with
actual donations to the United Nations as soon as
possible.

-- Good governance and anti-corruption: There will be no
sustained progress in Afghanistan, no matter how many
troops are sent and how much money is spent, if there is
no substantial progress on Afghan capacity for
governance. This will come first and foremost from the
government and the people of Afghanistan, with our
continued support. Corruption is a major challenge to
better governance in Afghanistan and one of the main
concerns of the Afghan population. Corruption undermines
our efforts to help build an impartial and fair
government that delivers services to all citizens equally
and without regard for their wealth or access. We need
to see progress from the Afghan government in fighting
corruption, expanding the reach of central government and
strengthening local governance while creating economic
opportunities.

-- Human rights: We share the concerns outlined in the
report regarding the deteriorating human rights
situation. We note with particular concern the impact
that discriminatory laws and practices are having on
women and children. We are encouraged by the steps the
Afghan government has taken to implement the National
Action Plan for Women, but we are in full agreement that
much more needs to be done. The United States has
trained over 3,000 women teachers in the last year, and
supports higher education for women at the University of
Kabul. We are also training over 22,000 women to
support the conduct of elections. The United States
welcomes the SRSG's views on how UNAMA and the
international community might better cooperate with the
Afghan government to meet the needs of women and girls
with regard to education, health care, economic
opportunity, justice and leadership.

-- Civilian casualties: The United States, NATO Allies
and coalition partners deeply regret any loss of civilian
lives. International forces take extraordinary steps to
avoid civilian casualties. This is in sharp contrast to
the Taliban who deliberately attack and endanger
civilians. The International Security Assistance Force
issued a directive in December 2008 specifically aimed at
reducing the number of civilian casualties resulting from
Operations. As a result, cooperation has improved
between the Afghan government and international forces.
When incidents occur that may involve civilian
casualties, joint Afghan and international teams quickly
investigate and compensate victims when appropriate.

-- Counter-narcotics efforts: We are encouraged by the
forecast of the 2009 Afghanistan UN Office of Drug
Control (UNODC) Opium Winter Rapid Assessment, which
projects a possible further decrease in opium cultivation
in 2009 (as high as 30 percent according to UN
estimates). However, the drug threat in Afghanistan
remains unacceptably high and will require a long term
commitment by both the Government of Afghanistan and the
international community. We are particularly concerned by
the deteriorating security conditions in the south, where
the insurgency dominates and where 98 percent of
Afghanistan's poppy is now grown.

-- March 31st conference on Afghanistan: We appreciate
the UN's role in co-chairing, along with the Netherlands
and the Government of Afghanistan, the March 31
International Conference on Afghanistan. We look forward
to re-confirming broad international consensus on
supporting Afghanistan, as embodied in the Afghanistan
Compact of 2006. We particularly look forward to a
dialogue on improving aid effectiveness to achieve
Government of Afghanistan priorities for improved
security, governance and economic growth.

End Points.
CLINTON