DEMARCHE ON ANTI-U.S. RESOLUTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 001277 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2016 TAGS: PUHM PREL BO IV SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON ANTI-U.S. RESOLUTIONS REF: A. STATE 187018 ¶B. ABIDJAN 1258 ¶C. STATE 182267 Classified By: Pol/Econ Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) POL/ECON Counselor delivered ref A demarche to Ambassador Bernard Tanoh Boutchoue,Director of the Office of United Nations and Specialized Institutions Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on November 16. We strongly urged Cote d'Ivoire to vote against the three anti-U.S. resolutions and to support the resolution on Belarus. Boutchoue promised to immediately convey our points to the Cote d'Ivoire delegation in New York. He was non-commital about how Cote d'Ivoire would vote. ¶2. (C) Comment. As reported ref B, Boutchoue told us candidly when we delivered ref C demarche on country-specific resolutions that on human rights issues Cote d'Ivoire generally votes in line with other Non-Aligned Movement countries, which he said tend to believe that Western powers use human rights as a political tool while those same Western powers are reluctant to view their own actions in such a critical light. End Comment. Hooks