ISRAEL/WEOG: DUTCH ANTICIPATE STATUS QUO

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 000507 SIPDIS IO/UNP E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2014 TAGS: PREL AORC IS EU NL UN SUBJECT: ISRAEL/WEOG: DUTCH ANTICIPATE STATUS QUO REF: SECSTATE 38273 Classified By: PolCouns Mary E. Daly Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) The GoNL favors renewing Israel's WEOG membership in New York; however, it is unlikely to agree to enhancing Israeli participation in other UN fora. PolOff met with Pieter Ramaer, head of the MFA's UN Political and Judicial Office, on February 27. Ramaer stated that neither the GoNL nor the EU has finalized a position on this issue. However, the Dutch believe that the current agreement limiting participation to New York is appropriate. Ramaer said that the EU is concerned that Israeli participation in other fora, particularly Geneva, would foster a difficult WEOG working environment. EU members are particularly worried about Israeli participation in consultative and information-sharing WEOG meetings at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). Ramaer also noted that some in Europe are worried about what they see as Israel's desire to become a full member of Europe. That anxiety, in connection with the state of the current Israeli political situation, will act against full Israeli participation in WEOG by some governments, he conjectured. The GoNL would eventually like to see Israel admitted as a full member of the Asia group. ¶2. (C) Ramaer did acknowledge that recent events in Nairobi (reftel) are problematic. He has asked his Embassy in Nairobi to obtain further information, and will discuss the issue further within EU meetings. SOBEL