SLOVAKIA WILL FOLLOW EU LEAD ON VENEZUELA HUMAN

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000965

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EUR AND WHA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM VE LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA WILL FOLLOW EU LEAD ON VENEZUELA HUMAN
RIGHTS ISSUES

REF: STATE 223273

Sensitive - please protect accordingly


1. (U) On October 20, Poloff delivered reftel points to
Deputy Director of the Human Rights Department Peter Bircak.
Bircak stated that the EU will discuss the issue of human
rights in Venezuela next week at the Human Rights and
Democracy Committee under the European Commission. He
offered to relay any relevant information about potential EU
statements after the meeting.


2. (SBU) Poloff pointed out that the Venezuelan NGO, SUMATE,
was facing criminal charges due to cooperation with the
National Endowment for Democracy (NED),which actively
supported Slovak NGOs throughout the 1990s and in the 2002
parliamentary election. Bircak responded that the Human
Rights Section of the Slovak MFA has traditionally focused
on individual rights, i.e. discrimination and minority
concerns, and has not played a large role in formulating EU
human rights statements for countries outside the OSCE
mandate. One area in which the MFA acknowledges it should
be more involved is election-related concerns worldwide.
There is increasing domestic interest in exporting Slovak
expertise in election observation and support for
democratization.

3. (SBU) Comment: Slovakia does not have an embassy in
Venezuela and does not have direct interests there. Unlike
human rights issues in Cuba -- where Slovakia has historical
ties, an embassy, and an active policy to promote human
rights (septel) -- Slovakia will follow the EU lead on what
to do about Venezuela.

THAYER


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