HONDURAS UNWILLING TO TAKE LEAD IN DRAFTING UNCHR

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 000365 SIPDIS STATE FOR INR/AN/IAA, IO, AND USUN STATE FOR WHA/CCA, WHA/CEN, AND WHA/PPC STATE FOR DRL AND DRL/MLA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2014 TAGS: PHUM PINR PREL KDEM CU HO CHR SUBJECT: HONDURAS UNWILLING TO TAKE LEAD IN DRAFTING UNCHR CUBA RESOLUTION; LIKELY TO REPLACE CURRENT CHARGE IN HAVANA REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 307 ¶B. STATE 20401 ¶C. STATE 13279 ¶D. 03 STATE 313469 ¶E. 03 TEGUCIGALPA 2866 Classified By: Political Counselor Francisco Palmieri; reasons 1.5(B) and (D). ¶1. (U) Deputy Chief of Mission and Political Counselor met with Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Anibel Quinones and Senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Foreign Policy Advisor Policarpo Callejas on February 18 to further discuss GOH willingness to draft this year's Cuba human right resolution at the UN Commission on Human Rights session (Ref B.) Quinones repeated earlier MFA position that Honduras was not ready to take the lead in drafting the resolution but left open the door to the possibility of co-sponsoring a resolution drafted by fellow Latin Americans. He stated that Honduras was prepared to press Cuba at the UNCHR on its human rights record. He also made clear that the GOH felt no pressure from Cuba over the issue of the two countries' pending bilateral maritime treaty. However, he demurred when pressed to become one of the principal drafters of a resolution. ¶2. (C) Quinones asked for Washington's view on his earlier proposal to strengthen Honduran diplomatic representation in Havana without upgrading its relations (Ref E.) When we passed guidance in Ref D, Quinones indicated that the MFA may move soon (no specific timetable was outlined) to name a senior career Honduran diplomat to the Charge post in Havana. He added that the current Honduran Charge was simply not producing enough information about the situation in Cuba. He repeated earlier comments that the GOH is concerned about the more than 700 Honduran nationals who are studying there. ¶3. (C) Quinones confirmed Foreign Minister (FM) Leonidas Rosa Bautista's desire to visit Washington during March 5 through 8 timeframe after the FM's March 1-5 trip to Madrid with President Maduro (Ref A.) DCM told Quinones that the Cuba UNCHR resolution would figure prominently on the agenda of any visit to Washington by the FM. Quinones took the point. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: DCM pressed Quinones on need for GOH to draft this year's resolution. However, while Quinones is generally very pro-U.S. and friendly to U.S. interests (he played a key role in moving the ICC Article 98 agreement through the GOH bureaucracy),he did not move much on the issue. Quinones also quipped that Rosa Bautista would need to be accompanied to DC, if the Cuba issue was to be raised, suggesting that Rosa Bautista would need more seasoned MFA advice on how to deal with the issue. END COMMENT. PALMER