Cablegate: Guidance: Consultations On Unscr 1559, Oct 27

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TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC LE IS SY
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: CONSULTATIONS ON UNSCR 1559, OCT 27

1. (U) This is an action message. Please see Paragraph 3.

2. (U) Mission may draw on the building blocks at paragraph
three for the October 27 Security Council consultation on the
tenth semi-annual report of the Secretary General on the
implementation of UNSC resolution 1559 (2004).

3. (SBU) Begin Building Blocks:

-- We welcome the Secretary General's tenth and most recent
report on UNSCR 1559. Our discussion takes place during a
period of both promise and peril for Lebanon -- promise, as
we look forward to Lebanon's presence as a non-permanent
member of the UN Security Council, a recognition not only of
Lebanon's prominence in the Middle East, but also of its role
in shaping the potential for a just and lasting peace in the
region - and peril, because, as the Secretary General has
noted in his most recent report, "the existence and
activities of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias . . .
continue to pose a threat to the stability of the country and
challenge the need for the Government of Lebanon and the
Lebanese Armed Forces to exercise the monopoly on the use of
force throughout Lebanon."

-- As we are all aware and as the Secretary General
describes, the presence of these militias threatens Lebanon's
sovereignty and democracy as well as peace and security in
the region. Indeed, the Secretary General speaks in detail of
Hizballah's "substantial para-military capacity and
infrastructure separate from the State" while noting its
"arsenal is a direct challenge to (State) sovereignty." It is
deplorable that Hizballah's dangerous and illegal armed
presence is so well-established it takes the efforts of the
Secretary General or significant events such as the
explosions at Khirbet Selim and Tayr Falsayh to pique our
collective interest in the militia issue, to say nothing of
the spate of violent attacks, both thwarted and successful,
in Tripoli.

-- I would like to briefly discuss four ideas on how we, the
international community, can unstick the stalled
implementation of resolution 1559 to best achieve its goals.

-- First, there must be meaningful engagement with Lebanon's
government.

-- We join the Secretary General in commending the
re-establishment of full diplomatic relations between Lebanon
and Syria and likewise join with him in strongly encouraging
Syria and Lebanon to begin the process of delineating their
porous joint border, a process that cannot commence until
Syria takes the critical step of naming its delegates to the
joint border commission. We think that Syrian-Jordanian
cooperation on border issues, recently extolled by Prime
Minister Mohammad Naji Al-Utri in Damascus, is a clear
demonstration that bilateral border commissions can and do
work in the region, and, as the Prime Minister pointed out on
October 19, bilateral cooperation on border issues can have
an important regional dimension.

-- Second, the restrictions on arms importation required by
resolution 1701 must be fully honored as a necessary step
toward militia disarmament as required by resolution 1701.
With regard to this, we look forward to seeing in the
upcoming 1701 report a much fuller account of the incident at
Tayr Falsayh than is provided in this report, and we would
appreciate any further details about that incident that Mr.
Larsen can give us today.

-- Delineation of the border and closure of Palestinian
militant bases along it are critical steps toward stopping
smuggling. As the Secretary General suggests, honoring the
"arms embargo" is "a key factor for stability in Lebanon and
the region."

-- Even beyond Hizballah's vast arsenal, the September 11
rocket attacks launched against Israel and the wave of
attacks in Tripoli, demonstrate the availability of arms to
militia groups facilitates and perpetuates unacceptable and
potentially destabilizing violence. Moreover, as noted by
the Secretary General, "(i)t creates an atmosphere of
intimidation incompatible with the conduct of the normal
democratic process in a State." Resolution 1559 call for the
disarming of all militias, and we reiterate that call for all
militias - Lebanese and non-Lebanese - to disarm and disband.

-- Third, external political and material support for armed
groups within Lebanon must cease. We remain particularly
disturbed by the presence of PFLP-GC and Fatah al-Intifada
militias along the Lebanese-Syrian border and note that,
while Lebanon has committed to dismantling and disarming
Palestinian groups outside the refugee camps, State-sponsors
of militia groups such as Syria and Iran have the obligation
to refrain from interference in Lebanese affairs, just as the
wider international community must permit the Lebanese people
to select its own government free from outside influence. As
these groups are headquartered in Damascus, Syria bears a
particular obligation to assist in the closure of these bases.

-- Finally, support for Lebanese state institutions,
including the Lebanese Armed Forces, must be provided so that
the State can act effectively as the sole guarantor of
security for the Lebanese people. At the same time, we
expect the Lebanese Armed Forces and Lebanese government to
take the necessary steps to implement their charge under
resolutions 1559 and 1701, especially with regard to the
weapons-free zone in the south. Continued inaction in the
face of blatant violations of these resolutions risks
undermining international support for the army and other
Lebanese state institutions.

-- The United States remains fully committed to the dual and
interlocking causes of Lebanese sovereignty and independence
and a fair, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East. We
recognize the unbreakable linkage between these two issues.
We would note that the full implementation of resolution 1559
is called for repeatedly in resolution 1701, which calls upon
Lebanon and Israel to support "a permanent cease-fire" and
emphasizes "the importance of the extension of the control of
the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory."
CLINTON

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