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