UN REFORM: AMB. TAHIR-KHELI'S FRANCE CONSULTATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 PARIS 004311

SIPDIS

FOR THE SECRETARY, U/S BURNS, AND LEGAL ADVISER BELLINGER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2015
TAGS: PREL KUNR AORC PGOV PHUM SENV FR UNGA UNSC
SUBJECT: UN REFORM: AMB. TAHIR-KHELI'S FRANCE CONSULTATIONS

REF: STATE 111657

Classified By: Charge Alex Wolff for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In June 15 consultations in Paris with senior
GoF officials, the Secretary's Senior Advisor on UN Reform,
Amb. Tahir-Kheli, reviewed U.S. and GoF positions on the UN
reform process. French priorities for reform include
development, environmental governance, peace and security
including support for the proposed Peacebuilding Commission,
counter-terrorism, human rights and the responsibility to
protect issue. On human rights the French were pleased that
the U.S. and French positions have come together in agreement
that the new Human Rights Council should be a subsidiary body
of the UNGA, at least for now. We also found broad agreement
on the need for management reform, use of force issues
(opposition to new "criteria" for UNSC action),
non-proliferation concerns and the need for positive language
on terrorism to be included in the outcome document for the
September event. The French also expressed concern that
debate on Security Council expansion not derail other reform
priorities. The French believe that action on the G-4
resolution to "get it out of the way" before September is the
best way to prevent such a derailment but the timing of
action on the resolution is up to the G-4. The French
stressed that they had "worked very hard" to get changes to
the text of the G-4 resolution that made it better for the
P-5. They will continue to represent P-5 interests in their
bilateral discussions with Germany and the other G-4
countries. Amb. Tahir-Kheli also was able to secure French
support for the establishment of the U.N. Democracy Fund
after assurances that it would not overlap with the
activities of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) MFA Political Director Stanislas de Laboulaye,
accompanied by IO Director Jean-Maurice Ripert and IO
staffers, welcomed the opportunity to discuss reform issues
with Amb. Tahir-Kheli, who was accompanied by Charge Wolff,
UN Reform Advisor Geran and poloff (notetaker). Other GoF
officials and PolMinCouns participated in a follow-on lunch
hosted by Ripert.

PEACE AND SECURITY


3. (C) Laboulaye said that the GoF favored the establishment
of a Peacebuilding Commission, which he acknowledged was an
ambitious goal, to ensure consistent international action to
help countries emerge from conflicts and to avoid new, or
follow-on crises. Amb. Tahir-Kheli said that the USG also
supported the creation of a Peacebuilding Commission but had
some concerns with the specifics of the proposed Commission.
It would be important, she said, to establish a clear link to
the UNSC, and for the UNSC to retain the prerogative to
initiate action. Ripert agreed that the Peacebuilding
Commission's actions should be controlled by the UNSC and
coordinated with other efforts inside and outside the UN
system. It was especially important, he said, that UNHCR and
UNDP be part of the Commission. Pascal Teixeira, Ripert's
deputy, noted that GA President Ping had envisioned
establishing the Commission at the HLE. However, as the HLE
had no authority to create the Commission, it should be
established by the UNSC, perhaps following a declaration at
the HLE. The French did not believe that the outcome
document should have any annexes but both sides agreed that
getting as much detail as possible on the modalities of the
Peacebuilding Commission in the document itself would be
helpful.


4. (C) MFA Strategic Affairs Director Carre said that France
was working on trying to ensure that international
commitments on WMD were upheld by strengthening the
safeguards protocol to address delivery systems. He also
said that he hoped that U.S. would become more engaged in
seeking acceptable language on non-proliferation in the Ping
document.

TERRORISM, HUMAN RIGHTS


5. (C) Noting the excellent GoF/USG cooperation on
counter-terrorism, Laboulaye expressed the view that the work
on the definition of terrorism was leading to a common view.
He expressed doubt, however, about the views of Arab
countries on this issue. Carre said that he was more
optimistic on getting progress on terrorism issues than on
WMD. He said it was inconceivable to hold the HLE without
addressing terrorism and making some positive progress on the
issue. France, he said, was engaged in an effort to bridge
ideological divides by working to expand the body of
international commitments on terrorism. However,
reservations by Arab countries that the definition of
terrorism should not apply to freedom fighters were a
concern. The GoF view, he said, was that there should be a
declaration that violence against non-combatants and
civilians could not be justified by political intentions.
Condemnations alone, he said, would change nothing on the
ground, but a universally-adopted definition could have real
impact. Carre said that work on expanding the prohibitions
on terrorism by states to non-state actors was progressing
well. Like the UK, France expressed concern that the word
"terrorism" was dropped from paragraph 55 of the draft
outcome document and has requested that Ping return to the
earlier draft for that paragraph.


6. (C) Laboulaye noted the importance UNSYG Annan had
attached to human rights issues. He said that while the U.S.
had favored creation of a human rights body with limited
membership, France had preferred a more universal body,
believing that greater membership would confer legitimacy.
He expressed satisfaction that the U.S. and French positions
were now coming to agreement on having the new Human Rights
Council (HRC) be a subsidiary of the UNGA, rather than
ECOSOC, and noted his belief that this was the only way to
gain the acceptance of less developed countries. Amb.
Tahir-Kheli welcomed USG/GoF cooperation on human rights
issues, noting that French traditions made France a natural
supporter of civil liberties and human rights at the UN. The
USG, she said, had taken into account French concerns on the
Human Rights Council and was pleased that our positions now
agreed. The new HRC, she said, would need strong members and
good working practices. As ECOSOC was not working, it will
be better to have elections by the GA. The USG, she said,
still preferred a smaller body, and was focused on
strengthening its mandate and modalities for elections. Both
sides agreed that election by two-thirds of the members was a
tricky issue as this may not exclude human rights violators
but could exclude countries with strong human rights records
such as France and the U.S. The French were skeptical about
the U.S. desire to have the HRC focus only on the most
serious human rights situations while the third committee
handles thematic resolutions since they believe that one of
the most important activities of the Commission on Human
Rights has been setting international standards and norms on
human rights practices.

RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT


7. (C) Laboulaye said that the Ping report's formulation on
the responsibility to protect was not currently satisfactory,
in that it envisioned UNSC action only as a last resort when
all other recourses were exhausted. This, he said, was
inconsistent with the UN Charter. When national authorities
failed in their primary responsibility to protect civilians,
the UNSC should be in a position to take action of whatever
sort it deemed necessary, particularly in cases of massive
human rights violations or genocide. Ripert said that the
current proposals limited the use of force to the end of the
process, thus limiting the capacity of the UNSC to intervene
as it saw fit. Amb. Tahir-Kheli noted that the GoF had
promised a paper on this issue. Ripert said he would provide
more details shortly but one of France's papers given to the
Ambassador included proposed language on this issue. Amb.
Tahir-Kheli said that this was an issue which had resonated
in the U.S., particularly with regard to Darfur. However, a
blanket responsibility to protect could be interpreted as an
obligation for the USG to act in every crisis, due to U.S.
financial and military capacity. As such, the U.S. would
have to review language on this issue very carefully she
hoped we could work toward a common position.

USE OF FORCE


8. (C) Ripert said the GoF was uncomfortable with
establishing criteria for the use of force, but could accept
some reference to general principles that could be
considered. Establishing criteria, he said, was something
the British were more interested in, but France would not
want to see these criteria imposed on the UNSC. As an aside,
he noted with disapproval remarks by the SYG's Africa Special
Advisor, Under Secretary Ibrahim Gambari, to the effect that
the UNSC should not be charged with peacekeeping in Africa,
asserting that this was a matter for the AU. Ripert said
that while France (and the U.S.) had advocated African
solutions for African problems, it was never envisioned that
the UNSC should not retain global authority on matters of
peace and security.

DEMOCRACY FUND


9. (C) Ripert said that the GoF had no difficulty in
principle with the establishment of a UN Democracy Fund, and
that he even had set aside money in his budget for a
contribution. However, given scarce resources, he expressed
concern that the Fund not compete with other UN democracy
activities and our mutual desire to strengthen the capacity
of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR). He said that it would be necessary to establish
links between the Fund and other UN agencies. Amb.
Tahir-Kheli stressed the President's commitment to democracy
and human rights and his call for creation of the Fund last
September. The Fund, she said, as a targeted quick response
mechanism, would be different from other UN democracy
activities. It also would serve as a focal point for
aspiring democracies to solicit support and for democracies
with fewer financial resources to be able to contribute
expertise and technical services. The Fund would not create
a large bureaucracy, but would include representation from
UNDP and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights. After receiving these assurances, Ripert committed
France's support for the quick establishment of the Fund.

UN MANAGEMENT


10. (C) Amb Tahir-Kheli reminded Laboulaye that UNSYG Annan
had called for management reform. As the largest contributor
to the UN, the U.S. could not continue without
rationalization and improved accountability, oversight and
transparency. Different parts of the UN were not working,
she said, citing the Secretary's view that it did not matter
what we put into the UN if it was not working. Ripert said
that there was agreement among the Geneva group to improve UN
management within the existing mandate. While he agreed with
most of our management reform proposals, he added that there
could "of course" be no change to the existing language
regime. Ripert's deputy said that while France favored
strengthening OIOS, the GoF had reservations about extending
OIOS authority to smaller UN agencies and he thought they
should be required to create their own internal oversight
systems. Geran noted that just as there was need for
standardization and better enforcement of staff regulations
throughout the UN system, there was need for more consistent
oversight. Strengthening the independence of OIOS and
extending its mandate to other agencies could help meet this
need.

UNSC REFORM


11. (C) Laboulaye cautioned the need for care on UNSC
expansion as the issue was highly political and "had its own
calendar." The issue of UNSC reform, he said, should not be
allowed to derail other reform efforts. He said that France
would co-sponsor the G-4 text, which they now believed was
well-balanced. He said that France had worked very hard with
Germany to make the text acceptable to the P-5, particularly
on the veto issue. He said that the GoF had diluted the
proposals for a review conference to establish a review
process which was "a very different thing." A review process
could be anything (or nothing) and therefore protected P-5
interests. Laboulaye said it was up to the G-4 to decide
when to table the text, adding that Japan and Germany had
both hesitated to do so prior to the AU summit. The French
believed that the G-4 may table the resolution before the AU
summit but then delay voting until afterwards, thus giving
the Africans a chance to consider the text and propose
changes if necessary. They believed that the G-4 have
stopped seeking co-sponsors of their text because no African
country would be willing to co-sponsor before the summit.


12. (C) Amb. Tahir-Kheli said that the USG saw UNSC reform as
part of the larger reform effort, but that the USG did not
see this as a priority. The USG strongly supported Japan's
push for a permanent seat, but models A and B were neither
ruled in, nor ruled out. The USG, she said, was studying the
various plans and had no plan of its own. In response to
Laboulaye's question on the timetable, Amb. Tahir-Kheli
expressed the view that seeking to resolve the issue before
the HLE in September created an artificial deadline, and also
risked destroying the momentum on other reform issues.
Laboulaye also expressed concern that debate on UNSC
expansion not derail other reform efforts. However, he noted
that it would be better to have action on the G-4 resolution
before September in order to "get it out of the way" and
allow focus to return to the broader reform efforts.
Laboulaye conceded that the GoF had not expected the
forcefulness of China's lobbying (against Japan) on UNSC
reform, but asserted that there were not more than 15-20
countries opposed to the G-4 proposal. Ripert offered that
there was no scenario in which Japan alone could gain the
necessary votes for a permanent seat if separated from the
G-4 proposal. African countries, in particular, would not
accept the addition of just one country to the UNSC.
DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT, GOVERNANCE

13. (C) Laboulaye reaffirmed the GoF's support for the
Millennium Development Goals and particularly the 0.7 per
cent of GNP for ODA. France was pleased with the progress
made and with pilot projects, particularly on health issues,
as included in UNGA President Ping's draft report. Laboulaye
said that France, working with EU partners, had hoped to
launch a process in September to establish a new UN umbrella
agency for environmental issues which would replace UNEP to
consolidate and rationalize the UN's work on environmental
issues. This new organization, he said, should be assured of
stable financial contributions. Ripert said that the new
body would have universal membership along the lines of the
World Intellectual Property Organization. Currently, he
said, there were about 500 environmental conventions, half of
which had created their own secretariats. He argued that a
new agency that would add coherence and streamline such
activities seemed in keeping with the U.S. desire to
rationalize UN programs and activities across the board.
Amb. Tahir-Kheli responded that the USG had an honorable
record on development, and that we were not defensive on this
issue. Targets for ODA without progress on governance and
the rule of law would not lead to development.


14. (C) Ambassador Denis Bauchard, the GoF coordinator for
the HLE, acknowledged disappointment with the portion of the
SYG's report dealing with governance issues. The GoF, he
said, favored the creation of an Economic Council along the
lines of the Security Council. Amb. Tahir-Kheli replied that
the USG was not enthusiastic about this idea. It would
create an additional layer of bureaucracy by establishing a
Deputy Secretary General. Ripert opined that it might be
easier to reform ECOSOC. Ripert stressed that ECOSOC in some
form had to be preserved as it was the only forum available
to the less-developed countries to be heard. ECOSOC, he
said, could be given a role in following up on the Millennium
Development Goals. Amb. Tahir-Kheli and Geran expressed
reservations on giving ECOSOC this role, noting that the USG
and other key member states were not always involved in
ECOSOC discussions and that ECOSOC would need both direction
and more transparency. In response to Bauchard's reference
to the priority of Africa reflected in the SYG and Sachs
reports, Amb. Tahir-Kheli noted the President's commitment to
Africa as reflected in the funding for HIV/AIDS and the
Millennium Challenge Account. Amb. Tahir-Kheli and Ripert
agreed that African countries should be encouraged to be more
active in ECOSOC and that reform of ECOSOC was important.
Ripert noted that France was doubling its contribution to the
Global Fund for AIDS from 150 to 300 million euros.


15. (C) Bauchard said that other means to finance development
needed to be found. In addition to debt cancellation, France
was looking at a "solidarity tax" (on air tickets). Amb.
Tahir Kheli replied that this was a non-starter for the USG.
She expressed satisfaction that the latest version of the
Ping report had referred to the Monterrey consensus, but
noted that the Ping report focused too heavily on the
responsibilities of donors, and not enough on the
responsibilities of recipient countries. Ripert replied that
a balance between the two was necessary.


16. (U) Ambassador Tahir-Kheli cleared this message.
WOLFF