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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #7899 1552259
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 042238Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 057899 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNSC PHUM PREL MOPS CE
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE FOR 6/5 UNSC BRIEFING ON SRI LANKA 
 
¶1. The Department Requests that USUN  draw on the following 
points for use during the June 5 informal briefing to the UN 
Secrity Council on Sri Lanka by the Secretary-General. 
 
¶2. Begin points: 
 
Mr. President: 
 
-- We would like to thank the Secretary General (and Under 
Secretary Holmes) for his (their) briefings.  The United 
States commends the Secretary General, senior UN leadership, 
including Under Secretary Holmes and Mr. Kaelin, and all of 
the UN staff working tirelessly in Sri Lanka for their 
efforts on behalf of Sri Lankans impacted by the conflict 
between the Government and the LTTE.  We particularly commend 
the Secretary General for his personal commitment to 
addressing the humanitarian needs and human rights of all of 
the people of Sri Lanka. 
 
-- The end of the fighting in Sri Lanka is a welcome and 
long-awaited development, freeing hundreds of thousands of 
civilians trapped in the conflict zone by the LTTE, and 
freeing all those involved from the horror of combat.  The 
end of the fighting now allows the Government of Sri Lanka to 
consolidate the peace it has achieved on the battlefield and 
to embark on a process of national reconciliation that will 
guarantee the rights of all of its citizens. 
 
-- While recognizing that still more needs to be done, we are 
encouraged that the Sri Lankan government has reaffirmed its 
commitment to uphold international humanitarian law, to 
facilitate the provision of international relief, to work to 
resettle IDPs, and to begin a process of national 
reconciliation.  The Sri Lankan Government publicly 
acknowledged these commitments on the occasion of the visit 
of Indian Foreign Minister Menon on May 21, at the conclusion 
of the Secretary General's visit on May 24, and during the 
Human Rights Council's special session on  May 26.  We 
particularly welcome the Government 's commitment to allow 
the international community access to those who currently 
need humanitarian assistance, to safely resettle the bulk of 
IDPs within six months, and to devote particular attention to 
the disarmament, rehabilitation, and reintegration of child 
soldiers.  These commitments were given to the Secretary 
General himself, and we believe that the joint statement 
issued by him and the Government at the conclusion of the 
Secretary-General's May 24 trip sets out helpful steps for 
the Government of Sri Lanka to take in order to help secure 
peace and stability going forward. 
 
-- We have noted some positive steps undertaken by the 
Government of Sri Lanka to allow for  provision of food, 
water, and basic medical supplies to IDPs.  We welcome 
initial steps taken by the Government to replace military 
oversight of IDP camps with civilian management, and the 
incremental improvements in cooperation between the 
Government and humanitarian workers on the ground. 
 
-- We remain gravely concerned, however, that the Government 
of Sri Lanka has not fully met its commitments to uphold 
international humanitarian standards, particularly with 
regard to providing humanitarian workers full access to IDPs 
and to the camps that house them.  We again urge the 
Government to facilitate immediate, full, safe, and 
unhindered access of humanitarian assistance workers to all 
persons in need throughout the country.  We call on the 
Government to work hand-in-hand with the UN, ICRC, and 
non-governmental organizations to ensure that the rights of 
all IDPs are respected and that they receive assistance, 
care, and fair treatment in accordance with international law 
and other international standards.  We urge the Government to 
completely hand over management of the IDP camps to civilian 
authorities quickly and to allow IDPs freedom of movement as 
it works toward their permanent resettlement.  We urge the 
Government to make all possible efforts to combat 
discrimination against persons belonging to ethnic minorities 
and to ensure equal access for all to education, health, 
housing, water, and food. 
 
-- We believe that continued engagement of the Secretary 
General with the Government of Sri Lanka remains critical to 
ensuring that the Government meets its stated commitments and 
that international assistance supports the goals of 
addressing humanitarian needs, and fostering peace, 
reconstruction, reconciliation, and stability.  We urge UN 
leaders to continue to monitor the situation closely, to 
apprise Security Council Members of progress in achieving the 
goals the Secretary-General has identified, and to continue 
to brief the Members as appropriate. 
CLINTON