EMBLEM: GOI OFFICIAL REPORTS IFRC READY TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 001684

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR PRM:PDAS GREENE AND MCE; NEA:DAS DIBBLE AND IPA; L

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2010
TAGS: IS PREF PREL ISRAELI SOCIETY GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: EMBLEM: GOI OFFICIAL REPORTS IFRC READY TO
ANNOUNCE FALL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TO "PRESSURE THE
SWISS"

REF: A. GENEVA 719


B. BERN 423

C. STATE 47713

Classified By: Pol/C Norm Olsen for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

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IFRC Might Not Wait for the Swiss
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1. (C) MFA Deputy Director General for International
Organizations Roni Ya'ar told poloff late March 18 that he
had just learned during a visit to Geneva and Bern that IFRC
will shortly announce its intention to convene an
international conference, for late September or early
October, to amend the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement
statutes to adopt a new emblem. As reported ref (A),the
IFRC International Conference would have to follow a
Swiss-organized diplomatic conference to authorize a new
emblem, and precede the IFRC bi-annual conference in Seoul in
early November. Ya'ar's understanding of IFRC intentions
differed somewhat from the ref (A) account of movement
intentions, in which the chairman of the movement's Standing
Commission, Dr. Mohammed al-Hadid, indicated that he wanted
to await a Swiss statement of intent to hold the diplomatic
conference before he sends out a convening letter for the
subsequent international conference. Ya'ar said he
understood that the IFRC is ready to announce its intention
to convene the international conference as a means to
pressure the Swiss into convening the prerequisite diplomatic
conference.


2. (C) Ya'ar said he received from IFRC (no name given) the
following assessments of the positions of key Arab
governments and Iran on the emblem issue based on recent IFRC
consultations with those governments:

-- Jordan and Algeria: Favorable to resolving the issue of
Magen David Adom (MDA) membership in the movement.

-- Iran: Inclined to support steps that advance the
movement's humanitarian objectives, but wishes to avoid a
proliferation of emblems, given assurances about the
non-proliferation of emblems that it said it received when it
agreed to give up its own unique emblem.

-- Syria: Not in favor of an outcome that would admit MDA
into the movement, but unlikely to stand alone in opposition.

-- Saudi Arabia: Has no substantive objection to resolution
of the issue, but does have concerns about timing.

-- Egypt: The Egyptian ambassador in Geneva "is not an ally"
on the MDA issue. Ya'ar suggested that the USG and GOI
consider going around him in a direct appeal to his superiors
in Cairo.

-- Arab League: The Arab League ambassador in Geneva might
also be a "problem."

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Swiss Special MDA Coordinator Selected
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3. (C) Ya'ar reported having learned in Bern that Swiss
Foreign Minister Calmy-Rey selected a Swiss diplomat serving
abroad to serve as GOS coordinator for advancing the MDA
issue (ref B). Ya'ar did not know the name of the diplomat,
but said he understood that the diplomat had just been
informed o/a March 16 about his/her new assignment and
arrived in Bern March 18 for consultations. The diplomat is
reportedly not a serving ambassador, but Ya'ar said he
understands that the Swiss MFA is taking steps to give
him/her ambassadorial rank for the MDA assignment, news that
Ya'ar qualified as "excellent."

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