MFA VICE MINISTER REYES ON ARMS SALES TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 000766 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2016 TAGS: PREL MARR MASS PARM KUNR UN CO SUBJECT: MFA VICE MINISTER REYES ON ARMS SALES TO VENEZUELA, UN REFORM AND THE FUTURE OF THE ANDEAN COMMUNITY REF: A. 05 STATE 207628 ¶B. STATE 4745 ¶C. STATE 4746 Classified By: Political Counselor Jeffrey DeLaurentis; Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Polcouns met with MFA Vice Minister Camilo Reyes on January 20 to continue discussions on arms sales to Venezuela and UN reform. Reyes said the GOC shares U.S. concerns about sales of arms to Venezuela and has raised this at high levels with both Russia and Spain. Reyes said he would raise continued U.S. concern with Foreign Minister Barco. With respect to UN reform, Reyes took onboard U.S. goals for management reform. On the creation of the Human Rights Council (HRC),Reyes said the GOC hopes that agreement can be reached as soon as possible and that the last meeting of the Commission on Human Rights will be short and transitional only, leaving all substantive issues on the agenda to the new HRC. Reyes noted concern for the future of the Andean Community. He said the Community worked well from an economic perspective, but was in shambles politically as a result of tensions between Peruvian President Toledo and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Polcouns met with Vice Minister Reyes and Director Mauricio Gonzalez on January 20 to discuss arms sales to Venezuela and UN reform. Poloffs made earlier demarches in November and December. Drawing on Ref A and WHA press guidance from January 13 and 19, Polcouns urged the GOC to be more vocal about arms sales to Venezuela and to urge those contemplating sales to reconsider given the potentially destabilizing effect on the region. Reyes said the GOC shared U.S. concerns and had raised this issue with both Spain and Russia at recent meetings. He said the President had raised the issue with Spain and the Colombian Ambassador in Moscow had spoken to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Reyes said he would again bring U.S. concerns about arms sales to Venezuela to the attention of Foreign Minister Barco. ¶3. (C) Reyes, a former Colombian ambassador in Geneva, listened attentively to points on UN reform (Refs B and C). He noted that Colombia generally agreed with the US on the need for reform, but speculated that consensus on human rights issues, including the Human Rights Council, would take some time. He said Colombia welcomed an early conclusion to negotiations in New York on the HRC resolution. Should that happen, he underscored the GOC's strong preference for a truncated, transitional meeting of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, which would postpone substantive discussions of ongoing agenda items to the HRC's meeting. ¶4. (C) Noting that he had spent most of the morning dealing with the Andean Community on immigration issues, Reyes said the Community was in shambles as a result of tensions between President Toledo and President Chavez. The Community still functioned well economically but not politically. Given Chavez's new focus on Mercosur, Reyes feared for the future role of the Community on the economic side of the ledger as well. WOOD