SOMALIA: TALKING POINTS FOR UNSC JULY 9 DEBATE

UNCLAS STATE 069816 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNSC PREL PHUM PHSA EWWT KCRM SO XA XW SUBJECT: SOMALIA: TALKING POINTS FOR UNSC JULY 9 DEBATE ¶1. USUN may draw from the talking points in paragraph 2 for the UN Security Council's July 9 debate on Somalia. ¶2. Begin talking points: -- The United States remains committed to: supporting Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in its battle against al-Shabaab and other violent extremists; bolstering the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM); assisting the TFG to establish itself as a stable government capable of providing services to its citizens; and partnering with the international community to alleviate the suffering of the people of Somalia and to battle the scourge of piracy off the Somali Coast. -- The United States condemns in the strongest terms the recent military offensives to topple the TFG launched by al-Shabaab, which the U.S. has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. These groups only wish to continue the nearly two-decade-long cycle of violence and poverty that has ravished Somalia. The international community must stand united in support of the TFG. If the extremists are successful, we risk losing another generation of Somalis to the tragedies of war, disease, and poverty. The people of Somalia have already suffered for too long. The international community must support their efforts to improve security, extend the reach of government and its institutions, and continue life-saving humanitarian assistance. Without our support, Somalia risks being exploited by extremists to train and provide safe haven to those plotting to carry out terrorist attacks around the world. -- The African Union Mission in Somalia is playing a tremendously important role in its efforts to stabilize the security situation on the ground. The bravery and dedication of the Ugandan and Burundian forces are particularly to be commended, but AMISOM needs the support of the UN and its member states to achieve its objectives. This is why the United States continues to support the provision of a UN support package to AMISOM as approved by the Council in resolution 1872. In addition, the U.S. has provided over $135 million worth of training, equipment and logistical support to AMISOM since its creation. Still, more needs to be done, and we call on AU states to consider sending peacekeepers to this vital mission and UN member states to be generous in their support of AMISOM'S activities. -- Not only must we support the TFG and AMISOM, we must bring immense pressure to bear on those that are working to subvert the TFG, the Djibouti Process, and efforts to stabilize Somalia. It is certainly no secret that al-Shabaab has been bolstered by al Qaeda operatives and hundreds of foreign fighters pouring into Somalia. We all must do a better job to stem this flow of extremists, weapons and financial support to Somalia. -- The United States is particularly concerned about the financial, military, logistics, and political support that the Government of Eritrea is offering to al-Shabaab and other extremists in Somalia. The United States and others have tried to engage with the Government of Eritrea leadership to convince them to stop this assistance, but to date the Eritreans have rebuffed all attempts to engage them. As a result, we believe the UN should seriously consider pursuing UN sanctions against the Eritrean leadership, as the African Union and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have requested. We look forward to working with the Council in the coming weeks on this important issue. -- Supporting the TFG, however, does not just mean providing it with money and weapons to defend itself. It means partnering with the TFG so that it can begin to bring others into the Djibouti Process as a means of stabilizing Somalia. This means supporting the creation of an environment where much needed services can begin to flow to the Somali people; particularly policing, medical support, education, sanitation, road repair, and clean water. These services are necessary to maintain the support of the Somali people in the Djibouti process. -- The United States is extremely concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia. To date, there have been nearly 500,000 Somali refugees who have fled the country and more than 1.5 million internally displaced persons. In January 2009, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported that 3.2 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance in Somalia, which represents roughly 43 percent of the total population. In Fiscal Year 2009, the U.S. Government has provided more than $149 million for humanitarian assistance programs in Somalia, including more than $9 million in USAID/OFDA funding to support agriculture and food security, economy and market systems, health, nutrition, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions. The security situation in Somalia tends to be the international community's number ONE focus, and perhaps it should be as the security situation exacerbates the humanitarian one. The international community, however, must redouble its efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. -- We are particularly concerned, as is the Government of Kenya, with the large influx of Somali refugees into Kenya. Given geography, Kenya, along with Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Yemen, will continue to be a primary destination for those fleeing Somalia. There is an urgent need to expand the refugee camp capacity in Kenya as the three primary camps near the border at Dadaab are terribly overcrowded with over 275,000 refugees in space designed for 90,000. The United States and other donors are supporting UNHCR efforts to acquire more land for additional camps and to address the impact on Kenyan communities of hosting so many refugees. -- Finally, I would like to say a word about piracy. We all know that piracy is only a symptom of the greater problems facing Somalia ashore. We will never eradicate piracy off the Somali coast unless we address the endemic instability, poverty, and impunity currently plaguing Somalia. However, we must continue to treat the symptoms, while we work on a cure for the disease. -- The international response and coordination on the military/operation side has been impressive. Still, significant legal, logistical, and political problems persist related to the prosecution of suspected pirates, a key component to an effective deterrence strategy. The U.S. Government believes those states victimized or affected by piracy, those who flag a ship, own the ship, or have crew members on the ship bear the primary responsibility to prosecute pirates. These states must step forward and shoulder their share of the prosecution burden. The United States is currently prosecuting in a domestic court in New York City the suspected pirate in the attack on a US flag ship earlier this year. We applaud other affected states, like France and the Netherlands, who have also made the decision to prosecute domestically. In the rare case where a victim state cannot prosecute, we applaud the willingness of regional states like Kenya to be considered as an alternative venue. In such cases, we believe it is the responsibility of the affected states to help defray the financial costs associated with prosecuting suspected pirates. This is why the U.S. supported the establishment of an international trust fund on Somalia piracy at the last meeting of the Contact Group for Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. -- Finally it is apparent to all that the payment of ransom is perpetuating acts of piracy. The position of the United States Government is to not offer concessions to those that take hostages, be it for political or financial reasons. We would encourage all states to adopt a similar position and would be interested in forming a group of "no concession" states to work together to slow the increase of piracy off the Somali coast. -- The United States looks forward to our continued cooperation with all UN member states to finally bring about a stable, secure, and more prosperous Somalia. End points. CLINTON