Home
| Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06BAKU1806 | 2006-12-11 15:12:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Baku |
Cable title:
DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL'S
how-toVZCZCXYZ0001 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHKB #1806 3451512 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 111512Z DEC 06 FM AMEMBASSY BAKU TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1952 INFO RUEHZJ/HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY 0001 RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 0044 RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH PRIORITY 0005 RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA SZ DEC 0241 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0204 |
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 001806 |
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1. (SBU) ADCM delivered ref demarche to Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev on December 11. Mammadguliyev said that, according to his information, the EU and Africa groups were consulting in Geneva today, December 11, and that Azerbaijan supported the two groups' efforts to find a compromise on the resolution. In Azerbaijan's view, the Human Rights Council (HRC) should adopt resolutions that will result in concrete, positive improvements to the specific human rights problem. As such, Mammadguliyev continued, the Human Rights Council should adopt resolutions that have the support of all parties to the problem, and are not one-sided. "How could a resolution on Sudan be effective if it does not have the support of the Government of Sudan?" Mammadguliyev asked. For this reason, Azerbaijan was working within the OIC to try to find a compromise between the EU and Africa groups. 2. (C) Noting that Azerbaijan had denied that atrocities were taking place in Darfur (reftel), ADCM pressed Mammadguliyev on Azerbaijan's purported even-handed approach. Mammadguliyev admitted that, although Azerbaijan strives to exert a moderating influence within the OIC, it does not always succeed. In the case of Azerbaijan's recent intervention at the Human Rights Council, Mammadguliyev said that the GOAJ had adopted the OIC's line. "We are the chair of the OIC Foreign Ministers Conference," Mammadguliyev said, "What do you expect us to do?" (UK and German colleagues who demarched Mammadguliyev earlier on the Sudan resolution told us that they received a far less diplomatic response; Mammadguliyev bluntly told them that Azerbaijan would vote with the OIC, without trying to argue that Azerbaijan was playing a moderating role within the OIC.) 3. (C) Drawing on reftel's Israel-specific points, ADCM noted that to date, the HRC has addressed only issues pertaining to Israel. If Azerbaijan truly seeks a balanced approach that ensures the support and cooperation of all parties to a conflict, how could Azerbaijan support the Human Rights Council's anti-Israeli resolutions? Mammadguliyev responded that Azerbaijan has good relations with Israel but has certain obligations as Chair of the OIC Foreign Ministers Conference. He said that although Azerbaijan seeks to play a moderating role within the OIC, it faces severe pressure from Iran and Pakistan, which promote a more aggressive tack on Israeli-Palestinian issues. Mammadguliyev said Azerbaijan recognizes that the resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict passed by the HRC will not be implemented, and these resolutions are not the "step-by-step, constructive approach" that Azerbaijan would prefer to see the HRC adopt. Nevertheless, Mammadguliyev repeated, Azerbaijan has certain obligations to the OIC and relies on the OIC for "big support" on issues related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. ADCM cautioned that if the HRC continued in this anti-Israeli vein, it will prove itself an ineffective, politicized body - exactly the opposite of Azerbaijan's stated goal for the new organization. She urged Azerbaijan to keep this in mind as it weighed the Sudan resolution. HYLAND |