HONDURAS UNDECIDED ON CLONING CONVENTION

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 002586 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR IO/T, WHA/PPC, AND WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL AORC KSCA TBIO TPHY HO UNGA SUBJECT: HONDURAS UNDECIDED ON CLONING CONVENTION REF: A. STATE 164566 ¶B. STATE 160115 PolCouns demarched MFA Director General of Foreign Policy Mario Fortin in August on the UN Convention to Ban Human Cloning (ref B). Fortin told PolCouns that the GOH also believed that there should be a total ban on cloning. PolOff delivered Spanish talking points (ref A) September 5 to Fortin who told PolOff September 11 that while cloning was a complicated issue, he believed that the UN would arrive at an accord. He also said that initially the GOH had supported the German and French approach that would ban only reproductive cloning, a statement that contradicted his earlier remarks. Fortin told PolOff that the MFA was studying the U.S. position and that he would leave instructions to the Honduran Mission to the UN before he left UNGA September 20. PIERCE