VATICAN URGES U.S. PRESENCE AT WCAR, PLEDGES TO

1. (C) SUMMARY: THE VATICAN IS STRONGLY URGING U.S.
PRESENCE AT WCAR, AT LEAST AT THE WORKING LEVEL.
ACKNOWLEDGING U.S. CONCERNS, DELEGATION DEPUTY AND AMCIT
MONSIGNOR FRANK DEWANE PLEDGED VATICAN WILLINGNESS TO WORK
FOR COMPROMISES IN THE FINAL WCAR DOCUMENT. NONETHELESS,
MSGR. DEWANE TOLD POLOFF THAT WCAR CANNOT IGNORE A PATTERN
OF WHAT HE TERMED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION WITHIN ISRAEL,
ACCENTUATED SINCE THE BREAKDOWN OF THE PEACE PROCESS. END
SUMMARY.



2. (C) POLOFF MET 8/27 WITH VATICAN WCAR DELEGATION DEPUTY
AND AMCIT MONSIGNOR FRANK DEWANE. MSGR. DEWANE
ACKNOWLEDGED U.S. SENSITIVITIES ABOUT THE DURBAN CONFERENCE
WHICH HAD LED TO THE DECISION AGAINST ATTENDANCE BY THE
SECRETARY. HOWEVER, MSGR. DEWANE URGED SOME FORM OF U.S.

SIPDIS
ATTENDANCE, AT LEAST AT THE WORKING LEVEL. APART FROM THE
NEED FOR U.S. INPUT, MSGR. DEWANE ARGUED THAT THE U.S.,
DESPITE EVIDENT SHORTCOMINGS, REPRESENTED AN OVERALL
SUCCESS STORY IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST RACISM THAT REMAINS A
GLOBAL MODEL. HE PLEDGED THAT IN DURBAN THE VATICAN WOULD
WORK WITH THE USG FOR COMPROMISES IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE
FINAL DOCUMENT.



3. (C) MSGR. DEWANE EXPRESSED UNDERSTANDING AND
APPRECIATION FOR THE STAUNCH U.S. DEFENSE AT WCAR OF
ISRAEL. HOWEVER, WCAR, HE INSISTED, COULD NOT IGNORE THE
FACT OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION WITHIN ISRAEL, ESPECIALLY
GIVEN THE VOLATILE AND VIOLENT CLIMATE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
THAT HAS FOLLOWED THE BREAKDOWN OF THE PEACE PROCESS. A
PALESTINIAN IN ISRAEL SIMPLY DID NOT HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS
AS AN ISRAELI, ACCORDING TO MSGR. DEWANE. MSGR. DEWANE
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PAGE 03 VATICA 04483 01 OF 02 281608Z
SINGLED OUT CURTAILED OF FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT FOR
PALESTINIANS, WHO ARE SUBJECT TO CHECKS AND CONTROLS THAT
HE LIKENED TO REPRESSIVE POLICE PRACTICES IN CHINA AND THE
ERSTWHILE SOVIET UNION. NONETHELESS, MSGR. DEWANE THOUGHT
IT WOULD BE TRAGIC IF WCAR BECAME A VEHICLE FOR ANTI-
SEMITIC PREJUDICE AND ATTACKS ON ZIONISM. THE VATICAN, HE
NOTED, HAD REITERATED ITS CONDEMNATION OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN
A PAMPHLET ON THE CHURCH AND RACISM, RE-RELEASED WITH A NEW
INTRODUCTION LAST WEEK IN ADVANCE OF WCAR.



4. (C) CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST HAD RADICALLY ALTERED THE
WCAR AGENDA, OFFERED MSGR. DEWANE. ORIGINALLY, THE VATICAN
ANTICIPATED ONLY A "DEEP APOLOGY" RATHER THAN "REPARATIONS"
FROM DEVELOPED WESTERN NATIONS FOR THE ILLS OF COLNIALISM.
MSGR. DEWANE COMMENTED THAT THE VATICANHAS LATELY
DISCOVERED THE DIPLOMATIC VALUE OF ANAPOLOGY. HOWEVER,
THE VATICAN NOW FAVORS SOME FRM OF COMPENSATION RATHER
THAN ONLY A COST-FREE EA CULPA. DEBT RELIEF, IN
PARTICULAR, REMAINED ACONSIDERABLE CHALLENGE, WITH WESTERN
NATIONS, DEPITE SOME PROGRESS, STILL LARGELY SHIRKING
THEIR MORAL RESPONSIBILITY.



5. (C) COMMENTING ON THE PREPCOM MEETINGS IN GENEVA, MSGR.
DEWAYNE EXPRESSED FRUSTRATION AT THE TACTICS OF CERTAIN
DELEGATIONS, WHO EXPLOITED WCAR TO DEFLECT ATTENTION FROM
THEIR OWN DOMESTIC ABUSES AND HAD USED THE DELIBERATIONS TO
TO WEAKEN OTHER U.N. DOCUMENTS, SUCH AS THE CONVENTION ON
THE CHILD. MSGR. DEWANE REPEATEDLY FINGERED THE PAKISTANI
DELEGATION AS UNCOOPERATIVE, NONETHELESS CONCEDING ITS
EFFECTIVENESS IN DIVERTING WCAR FROM THE MALTREATMENT OF
CHRISTIANS IN PAKISTAN. THE VATICAN, MSGR. DEWANE NOTED,
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PAGE 04 VATICA 04483 01 OF 02 281608Z
HAD SUCCESSFULLY RETAINED LANGUAGE IN THE PREPCOM DOCUMENTS
TO PROTECT RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AGAINST DISCRIMINATION,
DESPITE INITIAL OPPOSITION FROM EU NEGOTIATORS AS WELL AS
THE PRC DELEGATION.



6. (C) COMMENT: MSGR. DEWANE LEFT A STRONG IMPRESSION OF
VATICAN DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE OUTCOME OF WCAR. WHILE
VATICAN SYMPATHIES LIE STRONGLY WITH THE PALESTINIAN
POPULATION WITHIN ISRAEL, THE HUE AND CRY AT WCAR OVER
ZIONISM AS RACISM REPRESENTS A LOST OPPORTUNITY FOR THE
VATICAN TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE PLIGHT OF CHRISTIAN
MINORITIES ELSEWHERE, WHO OFTEN ARE ALSO ETHNIC/RACIAL
MINORITIES. VATICAN AMBIVALENCE, HOWEVER, DOES NOT
TRANSLATE INTO ALIGNMENT WITH U.S. INTERESTS. YET THERE IS
REASON TO BELIEVE THE VATICAN WOULD LIKE WCAR TO LOOK
BEYOND THE HORIZONS OF CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST.



7. (C) COMMENT C'TD: VATICAN AMCIT MSGR. DEWANE,
UNDERSECRETARY-EQUIVALENT AT THE CONGREGATION ON JUSTICE

CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9848

PAGE 01 VATICA 04483 02 OF 02 281608Z
ACTION EUR-00

INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AF-00 AID-00 AMAD-00 CIAE-00 DODE-00
SRPP-00 EAP-00 EB-00 ED-01 OIGO-00 VC-00 HHS-01
H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01
NEA-00 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OIC-02 OPIC-01 PRS-00 ACE-00
P-00 SCT-00 SP-00 SSO-00 SS-00 STR-00 TRSE-00
USIE-00 SA-00 SNIS-00 NISC-00 PRM-01 DRL-02 G-00
SAS-00 SWCI-00 /010W


--------------------------

17D738 281618Z /38
O 281537Z AUG 01
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO USMISSION GENEVA
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
AMEMBASSY ROME
AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
AMEMBASSY BEIJING
AMCONSUL JERUSALEM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 VATICAN 004483

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/WE (MENNUTI)

FROM EMBASSY VATICAN/MESSAGE NO. 140/001

E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/28/11
TAGS: PHUM KIRF SOCI IS CH PK XF SF PHUM KIRF SOCI IS CH PK XF SF VT WCAR UNHCR VTWCAR UNHCR
SUBJECT: VATICAN URGES U.S. PRESENCE AT WCAR, PLEDGES TO
WORK FOR COMPROMISES.

AND PEACE, IS A VETERAN OF MULTILATERAL ASSEMBLIES,
INCLUDING CAIRO AND BEIJING. ARCHBISHOP DIARMUID MARTIN,
CONFIDENTIAL

PAGE 02 VATICA 04483 02 OF 02 281608Z
PREVIOUSLY AT THE CONGREGATION ON JUSTICE AND PEACE AND
CURRENTLY VATICAN REPRESENTATIVE TO THE U.N. IN GENEVA,
WILL HEAD THE DELEGATION. BOTH HAVE BEEN UNUSUALLY
RECEPTIVE TO USG VISITORS AND MISSION PERSONNEL.
MERANTE

CONFIDENTIAL

>


2001VATICA04483 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL