VZCZCXRO9612
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHC #4379/01 1972359
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 162343Z JUL 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 6888
INFO DARFUR COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

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