FINLAND: VIEWS ON UN THIRD COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS

UNCLAS HELSINKI 001216 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR IO, EUR/NB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL FI UNHRC SUBJECT: FINLAND: VIEWS ON UN THIRD COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS REF: SECSTATE 204646 ¶1. (SBU) Finland shares USG concerns about possible no-action motions on important Third Committee resolutions. Johanna Suurpaa, MFA Director for Human Rights, told Poloff that the GoF was increasingly pessimistic about the Uzbekistan and Burma resolutions. The Burmese regime has been emboldened by the slew of no-action motions this year and is pushing Asian countries to support a similar motion. At the least, even if a no-action motion is defeated, the Burmese resolution might not be a consensus resolution as it has been in the past. Suurpaa said that the situation may be better for the Iran and Turkmenistan resolutions given last year's healthy passage margins, but the vote will still be close. Finland is playing a leading role in lobbying hard against no-action motions, but has less proactive support than it would like. Suurpaa said that the GoF was encouraged by U.S. lobbying efforts and hopes such efforts continue right up until votes are taken. The successful passage of the North Korea resolution validated this approach. HYATT