FRANCE ON VARIOUS UN/HR/CHR ISSUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 002039

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2015
TAGS: PHUM PREL FR UNCHR
SUBJECT: FRANCE ON VARIOUS UN/HR/CHR ISSUES

REF: A. STATE 42847

B. PARIS 1721

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: Poloff met March 23 with Beatrice le
Fraper du Hellen, DAS-equivalent for Human Rights in the
MFA's United Nations and International Organizations bureau,
to discuss several UN, human rights, and CHR-related issues.
End Summary.

Cuba
--------------

2. (C) In discussing the proposed Cuba resolution, Fraper du
Hellen noted that she understood the necessity of the modest
language in order to ensure passage. France would support
the text, but, Fraper du Hellen said the GOF would prefer to
see a provision encouraging Cuba to cooperate with the
Personal Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights on Cuba, believing it would be acceptable to Latin
American countries. She also thought that Belgium might
co-sponsor the resolution this year. While on the subject,
Fraper du Hellen wanted to inform the USG that it was
possible that Christine Chanet, the French magistrate serving
as the Personal Representative of the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights on Cuba, might have to resign her post after
the 61st Commission due to her recent and unexpected election
to the chair of the UN Human Rights Committee. The new
position was a big job and it would be difficult to hold both
positions, Fraper du Hellen continued, but Chanet might be
open to discussion.

No Action/GTMO/Arbitrary Detention
--------------

3. (C) Fraper du Hellen reiterated that the French agreed
with us about avoiding no action motions, but asked whether
we would honor the principle should a Guantanamo
(GTMO)-related resolution be introduced (which she had heard
was a possibility). The French felt they were addressing
their concerns through a thematic resolution on arbitrary
detention rather than a specific one and would not support a
resolution on GTMO; however, they had been approached by
Egypt about doing so.

Forced Disappearances
--------------

4. (C) Fraper du Hellen underlined that the French
resolution on forced disappearances was not pointed at the
U.S. Rather, it was drafted with the political
disappearances in Algeria and Latin America in mind and was
an attempt to improve relations with those countries.

Extreme Poverty
--------------

5. (C) France's resolution on extreme poverty was
misunderstood, according to Fraper du Hellen. The
resolution's goal was to point out that extreme poverty
existed in all countries and that those suffering from it are
often denied other human rights. Fraper du Hellen believed
that some developing countries were bothered by the
resolution, preferring to corner the market on poverty
themselves.

PA Rep/EU Res on Israeli Settlements
--------------

6. (C) Fraper du Hellen confided that the GOF had intervened
directly, as friends and at the highest levels, with the
Palestinian Authority in the territories and in Algiers to
express their exasperation with the PA representative in
Geneva. His attitude, she continued, did not reflect the
positive actions on the ground and at Sharm el-Sheikh. The
PA responded that they "understood" French concerns. The EU
planned to put forth a resolution on Israeli settlements that
would be balanced with a mention of terror attacks. Arab
states were preparing a "terrible" resolution with no such
mention, which, Fraper du Hellen noted, was one of the
reasons the French had approached the PA at a high level.
Fraper du Hellen dismissed a draft Lebanese resolution on
detainees in Israel as not relevant to the problem.

Community of Democracies
--------------

7. (C) In principle, Fraper du Hellen noted, France would
like to work through the UN as much as possible, and this
extended to the Community of Democracies. When it came to
defining democracies, she stated, the U.S. tended to use free
elections as the benchmark. The French saw free elections as
an important element of a democracy, but went further,
including human rights and adherence to international rights
and conventions. She pointed specifically to Afghanistan,
where free elections were a good start, but further work was
necessary in areas like women's rights. Fraper du Hellen
remarked that the U.S. had a tendency to always work through
UNDP, which was a good organization, but one lacking a
complete understanding of international conventions. She
encouraged the inclusion of the Office of the High
Commissioner on Human Rights. Finally, she noted that France
had worked well with Chile on the Community of Democracies
and was currently doing so with Mali.

UN Reform
--------------

8. (C) Fraper du Hellen commented that France supported
enlargement of the Security Council and the addition of
"real" new members -- specifically mentioning Germany and
Japan, though France supports Brazil and India as well.
Concerning the CHR, Paris had concerns about its
transformation into a smaller and more restrictive body, and
Fraper du Hellen encouraged expansion rather than
contraction. She noted that France did not see the logic in
changing the format, and stated that restricting the number
of countries seemed counterintuitive. Dictatorships
typically tried harder than democracies to get on the
commission, she continued, and a smaller commission gave
their voices more weight. She also voiced concerns that
proposed restrictions would limit NGO access.
Wolff