MOZAMBIQUE: DEMARCHE ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS

UNCLAS MAPUTO 001617

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
DEPT FOR DRL:SCHECHTER, AF/RSA:HOUSTON, AND AF/S:TREGER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL MZ UN
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: DEMARCHE ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS
RESOLUTIONS IN PLENARY

REF: A) STATE 259878, B) STATE 248093

Sensitive but Unclassified - Handle Accordingly


1. (SBU) On December 15 Emboff delivered ref A demarche
urging the GRM to oppose any potential motions for non-
action in the UN plenary session on previously approved
resolutions critical of the human rights situation in
Iran and Turkmenistan. In the meeting, the MFA Director
for UN Affairs, Antonio Macheve, stated that Mozambique
would likely abstain from any such motion, but could not
give a definitive answer. Such an action would be
consistent with Mozambique's action on the original Iran
and Turkmenistan resolutions, in which Mozambique
abstained on each, he said.


2. (SBU) Mr. Macheve said his government believes that
UN human rights resolutions are random and overly
politicized in nature, and therefore has adopted a
default position to abstain from most human rights-
related UN resolutions. Mozambique would, however, vote
for or against a UN human rights resolution if a
"concrete case" were made. In the MFA's opinion, the
Sudan and Zimbabwe non-action resolutions earlier this
month met such criteria because each government is
ostensibly working to solve their problem within
regional institutions (such as the African Union) of
which Mozambique is a part. Therefore Mozambique voted
for the non-action motions of Sudan and Zimbabwe. He
added that such a "concrete case" for Iran and
Turkmenistan would be harder to make, but did mention
that the Organization of the Islamic Conference group
would likely approach Mozambique over Iran and
Turkmenistan.
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