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Cablegate: Talking Points for February 5 Syg Briefing On His

Published: Mon 4 Feb 2008 11:49 PM
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHC #1495 0352351
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O P 042349Z FEB 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0457
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS STATE 011495
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNSC PREL PHUM CG KE SO SU XA XW ZF
SUBJECT: TALKING POINTS FOR FEBRUARY 5 SYG BRIEFING ON HIS
AFRICA TRIP
1. USUN is instructed to draw from the following points for
the Security Council's February 5 briefing from Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon on his recent trip to the AU Summit and
Kenya
Begin points:
-- The United States thanks the Secretary-General for his
very informative briefing on his visit to the AU Summit in
Addis Ababa and his trip to Kenya. Africa continues to be of
the highest priority for the United States, and we greatly
appreciate the Secretary-General's hands-on leadership on
these issues.
-- The U.S. is committed to security, democracy, human
rights, and development for the people of Africa - working
through both bi-lateral relations and through regional and
sub-regional organizations. With that in mind, today I would
like to focus on the situations in Chad, Sudan, Kenya, and
Somalia.
-- The United States joins the African Union (AU) in
condemning the attempt by armed rebels, entering from outside
the country, to seize power in Chad.
-- We are also extremely disturbed by numerous reports of
Sudanese support for the rebel forces. We call on the
Sudanese government to adhere to its international
commitments and to end any support it may be providing to the
rebels. We urge all parties to stop fighting, protect
non-combatants, and to pursue peaceful means of resolving
their differences.
(IF THE SECRETARY GENERAL BRIEFS ON NEW AGREEMENT BY
GOVERNMENT OF SUDAN AND BASHIR)
-- Turning to Sudan, we welcome the agreement on UNAMID
deployment by President Bashir and the Government of Sudan
with troop contributing countries, and we hope that it will
be implemented as soon as possible. Action is what counts.
(End point if SYG briefs on new agreement.)
-- The United States remains deeply concerned by the slow
deployment of UNAMID. We strongly deplore all threats
against and attacks on UNAMID by any party. An attack on
UNAMID, such as that by the Sudanese Armed Forces on 7
January, must not be repeated. The Government of Sudan must
agree formally to the full UN/AU list of troop contributing
countries for UNAMID, agree to a Status of Forces Agreement
with the UN and AU, grant night flight clearances, allow
access to necessary land and water, and grant timely visas to
UNAMID and its personnel.
-- The Security Council must continue to pressure the
Government of Sudan to refrain from impeding UNAMID's
deployment. We call on all members to abide by the existing
arms embargo. We also call on the UN and AU to name a joint
Senior Negotiator who can assist all of the parties to reach
a negotiated settlement of their conflict. Darfur peace
talks must be re-energized because only negotiations can
bring about a peaceful solution.
-- On Kenya, the United States was pleased that the Secretary
General visited Nairobi to meet with President Kibaki and
opposition leader Raila Odinga to express the UN's full
support of former Secretary General Kofi Annan's efforts to
broker a political agreement between the two. The United
States deplores the violence that continues to grip Kenya.
We call on both sides to urge restraint among their
supporters. We are pleased the parties have agreed on an
agenda to begin national reconciliation.
-- On Somalia, we welcome the recent deployment of a brigade
of peacekeepers from Burundi to the African Union Mission
there. We call on all AU missions that have promised to
deploy peacekeepers to do so immediately and we urge the
donor community to give generously to this worthy mission.
-- We look forward to our continued cooperation with the UN,
the AU, the many sub-regional organizations and NGOs, and the
international community for continued progress in Africa.
end points.
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