UN MISSION IN SUDAN: TALKING POINTS FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 074379 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPKO UNSC SU SUBJECT: UN MISSION IN SUDAN: TALKING POINTS FOR CONSULTATIONS ¶1. The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations on the Secretary-General's report on the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) on July 17. USUN may draw on the points in paragraph 2, as appropriate. ¶2. Begin Points: I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his report on the United Nations Mission in Sudan and Under-Secretary-General Le Roy for his briefing. Today I would like to make four points. First, as the report notes, the security situation in Abyei remains volatile, particularly given the expected July 22 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague on the Abyei boundary dispute. We will expect both parties to live up to their commitments to fully comply with the decision in a peaceful manner. Our Special Envoy, General Gration, will be in the region when the decision is issued and has encouraged the leadership of both parties to abide by their pledges of cooperation, and engage with local communities to prepare them for the PCA's decision. We welcome UNMIS' contingency planning measures and urge them to put them in place as soon as possible. We believe that an increased UNMIS presence in the weeks before and subsequent to the decision will have a deterrent effect. Second, we remain concerned that the National Elections Commission (NEC) has not yet finalized a viable operational plan and budget for elections, nor has the NEC developed a voter registration plan. We are also concerned about restrictions on civil liberties, including media freedom, during the pre-election period. Elections in Sudan are an important benchmark in Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) implementation and can lay the groundwork for the subsequent 2011 referendum. We continue to urge all relevant stakeholders to complete the necessary legislative and logistical tasks to enable credible elections to be conducted. The United States has already provided substantial elections assistance and will continue to do so, having budgeted $95 million in fiscal year 2008 funding to provide election administration assistance to the NEC, encourage civic participation in elections, and facilitate international observation of elections. We look forward to receiving the UN elections assessment report and hope that the report will help focus the attention of all parties in Sudan and the international community on the pressing issues that must be resolved for credible elections to take place. Third, we are deeply concerned by the recent outbreak of inter-tribal violence in Jonglei state. Escalating violence in Southern Sudan threatens the stability of Sudan as a whole. We welcome UNMIS' review of conflict mitigation activities in Jonglei and its plans for strengthened "surge capacity" of both military and non-military components for future potential conflict situations. We praise the efforts of UNMIS forces which have been deployed since May 10 to Temporary Operating Bases in Akobo and Pibor. This helped to stabilize the situation and prevent further clashes. We believe that maintaining this mobility and a willingness to establish temporary bases where they are most needed provides a good model for the future, as undoubtedly tensions will rise in the lead-up to elections. However, we note that UNMIS cannot bear the sole responsibility for reducing tribal tensions. The Government of Southern Sudan also must work to strengthen the capacity of local authorities and traditional leaders to deter inter-communal violence. Fourth, we are deeply concerned by the increased Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attacks in Western, Eastern, and Central Equatoria states, which have caused a sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation and displaced thousands of people. As President Chissano noted in his July 15 briefing to the Council, UNMIS and MONUC must increase their cooperative efforts to protect civilians. We continue to urge both UNMIS and MONUC to work together to counter the LRA threat to the region, to better protect local populations, and to ensure that adequate humanitarian assistance reaches those civilians harmed by LRA activity. At the recent CPA conference hosted by Special Envoy Gration, all agreed much work remains to be done to ensure the successful implementation of the CPA. Though our task is an enormous one, the results if we fail will be catastrophic. The parties to the CPA and the international community as guarantors to the peace process must urgently engage to STATE 00074379 002 OF 002 resolve the remaining outstanding CPA implementation issues. Thank you, Mr. President. CLINTON