ECUADOR WILL ABSTAIN ON BELARUS AND CUBA, BUT NOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000799 SIPDIS STATE FOR DRL/MLA, WHA/CCA, AND IO/SHA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2015 TAGS: PHUM BO CU EC SUBJECT: ECUADOR WILL ABSTAIN ON BELARUS AND CUBA, BUT NOT KOREA REF: SECSTATE 64376 Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney for Reason 1.4 (B&D) ¶1. (C) Summary: The GOE will vote against any no-action motion in Geneva, but will firmly abstain from voting on Belarus and Cuba resolutions, according to MFA officials. The only country-specific resolution the GOE will vote for relates to North Korea. End Summary. ¶2. (C) PolChief accompanied Dutch Ambassador (acting as EU president here in the absence of representation by Luxembourg) on April 12 to jointly deliver Belarus demarche outlined RefTel. MFA U/S for Human Rights Julio Prado told us that he had instructed Ecuador's mission in Geneva to vote against any no-action motion, on principle. That instruction applies to the Belarus resolution. ¶3. (C) Prado said that Ecuador would abstain on all country-specific resolutions except the EU's resolution on North Korea. By doing so, he said, Ecuador was applying the principle that country-specific resolutions were inappropriate except in cases where a pattern of flagrant and egregious abuses was apparent. PolChief and Dutch Ambassador used demarche talking points to argue that Belarus met that standard. Prado said the GOE position on abstention on both Belarus and Cuba were firm. ¶4. (C) PolChief noted that the Cuba vote is the USG's highest priority in Geneva, and inquired about the results of FM Zuquilanda's discussions with U.S. officials in Washington on the margins of the OAS meetings April 11. Prado said the FM was expected back in Quito later on the 12th, but that he had not heard of any change in the GOE position on the Cuba resolution. KENNEY