HONDURAN FOREIGN MINISTER TELLS AMBASSADOR GOH

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 000738

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CCA, WHA/CEN, AND WHA/PPC
STATE FOR DRL, DRL/MLA, IO, AND INR/AN/IAA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2014
TAGS: PHUM PREL PINR KDEM CU HO CHR
SUBJECT: HONDURAN FOREIGN MINISTER TELLS AMBASSADOR GOH
WILL BEGIN WORKING ON UNCHR CUBA RESOLUTION CO-SPONSORS 3/31

REF: A. GENEVA 885


B. ZUNIGA/SBILLA/KELLY/PIERCE E-MAIL 3/26 (NOTAL)

C. STATE 68031

D. STATE 65652

E. STATE 62815

F. TEGUCIGALPA 595 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Ambassador Larry Palmer;
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

AMB Talks to Foreign Minister
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1. (C) Ambassador spoke March 29 with Honduran Foreign
Minister Leonidas Rosa Bautista to discuss Honduran actions
to support their draft UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR)
resolution on Cuba (text in ref D). Ambassador emphasized
the need for the MFA to issue instructions to the Honduran
Mission to Geneva to (a) actively support the Cuba
resolution, and (b) seek the support of likely co-sponsors.
Ambassador suggested several countries that the USG believed
were likely co-sponsors (refs A, D and E). The FM said that
the MFA would issue instructions for its Geneva Mission, led
by PermRep Benjamin Zapata, to seek co-sponsors beginning
Wednesday, March 31.

Cuban Ambassador Talks to Press; MFA Silent
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2. (U) The Cuban Ambassador to Honduras, Alberto Polanco
Gonzalez, on March 27, urged the GOH not to support any UNCHR
resolution on Cuba. He announced the GOC's sharp criticism
of the proposed resolution in a press release March 28.
Polanco stepped up the criticism in comments March 29. The
MFA has made no comment on the resolution to the press, and
Zapata told reporters that he had not received any
instructions on the issue. Polanco said that the GOC would
be surprised if the GOH was the drafter of the resolution,
noting the two countries maintained good relations. The
press articles have noted the GOC's medical assistance to
Honduras, in the form of Cuban doctors and medical workers in
Honduras and Honduran students in Cuba.

First Lady's Trip to Cuba Appears to be Unrelated
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3. (C) The March 28 - April 1 visit of First Lady Aguas Ocana
de Maduro to Cuba appears unrelated to the GOH's UNCHR Cuba
resolution. As noted by USINT Havana (ref B),the First Lady
was invited by the Cuban Women's Federation (Federacion de
Mujeres Cubanas - FMC),a Communist Party mass organization.
According to Honduran press reports, her visit was to seek
assistance for centers for abused women and children. The
First Lady is active on women's issues and on behalf of
street children and works closely with the Honduran Institute
for Children and the Family (IHNFA).
PALMER