SURINAME - UN THIRD COMMITTEE DEMARCHE

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000734 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL SN UNHRC SUBJECT: SURINAME - UN THIRD COMMITTEE DEMARCHE REF: STATE 204646 ¶1. (SBU) DCM delivered reftel demarche on November 8 to Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Frederick Boekstaaf, who was accompanied by a representative of the Americas desk. The ambassador promised to verify Suriname's position with his international organizations department, but the desk officer observed that he believed he had seen the outgoing instruction. Reflecting Suriname's decision to broach human rights issues with egregious violators, he believed that instruction was to vote against the no-action motions. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: While we are cheered that Suriname may have decided to vote to bring the country resolutions to formal discussion, we note that the GOS claimed to have issued similar instructions last year, and Foreign Ministry officials were clearly embarrassed when eventually confronted by the Ambassador on Turkmenistan with the actual action of the Surinamese delegate in New York. We will be fascinated to see if their communications channels have improved. BARNES NNNN