UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - SWISS APPROACH TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BERN 001253

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2016
TAGS: PHUM UNHRC SZ
SUBJECT: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - SWISS APPROACH TO
SPECIAL SESSION

REF: A. DEPIRRO-URBAN EMAIL OF 7/6


B. LAGON-URBAN EMAIL OF 7/5

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Carol Urban, Reasons 1.4 b/d

1.(C) In view of USG concerns about Switzerland's role at the
UNHRC special session on the Gaza situation (refs A & B),
Poloff today called Swiss DFA Human Rights Coordinator
Wolfgang Bruelhart to urge Switzerland not to break with
Western Group consensus against the imbalanced OIC/Arab Group
resolution. Rather than joining the US, Canada, and much of
the EU in outright opposing the imbalanced resolution, Swiss
officials -- under the explicit instruction of Foreign
Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey -- have proposed several
amendments which, if adopted, would make the OIC/Arab Group
resolution only slightly more palatable, while possible
splitting the Western Group.

2.(C) Bruelhart defended the Swiss approach as an effort to
encourage consensus. The Swiss want to break from the
previous Human Rights Commission practice of naming and
shaming, without providing constructive follow-through. For
this reason, the Swiss were displeased by the condemnatory
resolution against Israel during last week's HRC session. In
the Special Session, Bern hoped to play a "bridge-building"
role within the new HRC. The Swiss amendments are designed to
call upon armed Palestinian groups to respect international
humanitarian law and avoid violence against civilians,
something the resolution demanded of the Israelis. Even at
that, he said, the amendments may not be adopted by the
OIC/Arab Group.

3.(C) Bruelhart shared concerns about the current draft's
call for the Special Rapporteur to visit the region. He
strongly believed that the High Commissioner should go.
Unfortunately, she had announced that she did not want to go
to the region, because she did not believe she could fulfill
her mission. Bruelhart hoped that the Western Group members
would join to convince her to fulfill her obligations.

4.(C) Returning to the resolution itself, Poloff stressed USG
concern that if the Swiss amendments were adopted, the
resulting resolution would still be imbalanced. This at the
cost of dividing the Western Group. Poloff asserted that an
HRC that focused its energy on Israel bashing and occasional
America bashing was going to deemed a failure by the American
people. Bruelhart agreed that the HRC could not degenerate
into that type of body. He held out hope, though, that by
the precedent of this Special Session, it will be easier for
Western Group members to call future special sessions on
areas of concern like Sudan. Poloff expressed his skepticism
that Non-Aligned Movement members would ever allow such
special sessions to achieve anything constructive.

Comment
--------------

5.(C) Swiss FM Calmy-Rey is almost certainly the driving
force behind the vigor of Swiss activity in Geneva -- the
Swiss bureaucracy is more conscious of the need to keep in
line with EU partners. That said, Swiss officials are quite
critical of the current Israel incursion into Gaza, even
while acknowledging Hamas' violent provocations. Embassy
offers the following observations as to Swiss motivations:

-- Having, in their own view, midwived the Human Rights
Council, the Swiss would now like to be the "grand mediator"
of the Council and play the role of bridge builder and
consensus achiever. Thus, they will tend to strive for
compromise positions, even with regard to differences that,
in our view, are irreconcilable and better left "unbridged."
In striving for this special role, they will resist appearing
subject to any group, even the Western Group.

-- As depositary state of the Geneva Conventions, the Swiss
are also receptive OIC/Arab pressure to expound on actions in
the "Occupied Territories." Poloff witnessed one resident
Arab ambassador at Embassy's July 4th reception haranguing
Swiss DFA Near East/Africa director Livia Leu for her
country's role in pushing Red Cross/Red Crescent adoption of
the Third Emblem, over OIC/Arab opposition, while not being
vocal enough on the Gaza situation.

-- The Swiss, like their European neighbors, tend to view the

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Israeli/Palestinian conflict through a paternal,
post-colonial lens, in which more is always demanded of the
Israelis than of the Palestinians.

6.(C) In sum, the Swiss view their own stance as a delicate
balance, even if we view things otherwise. We believe the
best way to influencing their approach would be to achieve
consensus with the EU, since Bern is generally not inclined
to isolate itself from its EU neighbors.
Urban