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DE RUEHC #9175 2602208
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O P 162201Z SEP 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 3077
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS STATE 099175 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNSC PREL PHUM DJ ER XA XW
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI-ERITREA: TALKING POINTS FOR SEPTEMBER 17 
UNSC BRIEFING 
 
¶1.  USUN is instructed to draw from the following talking 
points during their September 17 briefing on the 
Djibouti-Eritrea border situation. 
 
Begin points: 
 
-- The United States would like to thank Mr. Honwana for his 
briefing today and the members of 
the Djibouti-Eritrean Fact Finding Mission for their 
informative report. 
 
-- The report makes one point very clear: the extent to which 
Djiboutian authorities have gone and continue to go to find a 
peaceful solution to this crisis.  Even after Eritrean 
Defense Forces occupied Djiboutian territory, Djibouti 
reached out at all levels to its Eritrean neighbors to 
understand the root cause of the incursion and to peacefully 
settle the situation.  When these efforts were rebuffed, 
Djibouti reached out to the African Union; the League of Arab 
States; the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development; the 
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States; and the 
United Nations to help resolve the crisis.  It also 
approached nations that have friendly relations with Eritrea 
to help facilitate a peaceful solution. 
 
-- When the UN Security Council in its Presidential Statement 
of June 12 called on both parties to "show maximum restraint 
and withdraw forces to the status quo ante," the Government 
of Djibouti complied and withdrew its military forces back 
four to five kilometers from the disputed area. 
 
-- Unfortunately, the Eritreans have met with contempt and 
disrespect all the efforts by the Djiboutian authorities and 
the international community to find a peaceful solution to 
this crisis. The Eritreans even refused to issue visas to 
those who only wanted to meet with them to understand their 
point of view.  In fact, Eritrea refuses to acknowledge their 
illegal presence in Djiboutian territory or their sneak 
attack on June 10 on Djiboutian forces, while the Djiboutian 
soldiers were at their evening prayers, that resulted in the 
two day conflict that killed 44 Djiboutian soldiers and 
injured many more. 
 
-- The United States agrees with the Fact Finding Mission's 
recommendation that the Secretary-General should 
offer his good offices to defuse the tensions.  However, 
Eritrea must be willing to engage with the UN on the issue. 
As the report so eloquently states, "if Eritrea alleges an 
invasion by Ethiopia or aggression by Djibouti, as it has 
done, then it has an international obligation and 
responsibility to cooperate with the UN to establish the 
facts." 
 
-- The United States sincerely hopes that Eritrea takes 
advantage of the SYG's offer, but we agree wholly with the 
report that Eritrea should be given a very finite amount of 
time to cooperate with the UN, and if the UN is again 
rebuffed by Eritrea, the matter should be referred to the 
Security Council for appropriate action. 
 
-- Eritrea must not be allowed to use its aggression against 
Djibouti to influence actions regarding other 
issues in the region.  The way toward regional stability is 
for Eritrea to enter into direct dialogue on divisive 
issues. 
 
-- Djibouti has acted admirably to this point, but Eritrea 
hasn't left them with many options.  The people and 
Government of Djibouti are looking to the UN and the 
international community to help them resolve the situation 
peacefully.  The UN and especially the Security Council has 
an obligation to assist them in this goal.  If we fail 
to do so, we risk yet another costly and tragic war in the 
Horn of Africa. 
RICE