UN REFORM: PRIORITIES RAISED WITH DJIBOUTI

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 000601 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF AND IO E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2015 TAGS: KUNR PREL PGOV AORC DJ UNSC SUBJECT: UN REFORM: PRIORITIES RAISED WITH DJIBOUTI REF: A. STATE 111657 ¶B. STATE 111637 Classified By: AMBASSADOR MARGUERITA D. RAGSDALE. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Ambassador conveyed contents of reftels (A) and (B) June 22 to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mahmoud Ali Yousuf. Yousuf had already seen a number of documents over the internet conveying the U.S. position. He said the U.S. had made its position quite clear on these issues in other fora as well. He did not commit on behalf of his government to a parallel stance on specific U.S. priorities, but welcomed Ambassador's brief and said his government would review the non-paper she left with him. ¶2. (C) Yousuf queried the Ambassador whether, in the U.S. view, the meeting planned for September (high-level event) could bring about a consensus on reform. While acknowledging that the period of time is short between June and September, Ambassador said the U.S. was optimistic that such an event could achieve success. ¶3. (C) Yousuf also asked if the U.S. had decided to eliminate from consideration for support specific countries lobbying for Security Council membership, such as Egypt, South Africa or Nigeria. Ambassador replied that no country was "off the table" in U.S. considerations for membership in the Security Council but that issues such as human rights and progress in democratization are certain to weigh heavily in a U.S. decision on nations whose membership quest it would support. RAGSDALE