ARGENTINA SUPPORTS HRC SPECIAL SESSION ON LEBANON

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 001803 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2016 TAGS: PHUM PREL KPAO UNRCR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA SUPPORTS HRC SPECIAL SESSION ON LEBANON BUT SEEKS BALANCED LANGUAGE IN RESOLUTION REF: SECSTATE 130904 Classified By: Charge d'affaires Michael Matera for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Summary: PolCouns and PolOff met August 10 with Federico Villegas, MFA Director for Human Rights, to deliver reftel talking points. Villegas noted that the MFA is still looking at the text of the resolution but that Argentina had supported holding the special session of the Human Rights Council and disagreed with the USG's interpretation of Article 12 of the U.N. Charter. He stated, however, that the GOA would seek a more balanced resolution than the draft presented. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On August 10, PolCouns and PolOff met with MFA Director for Human Rights Federico Villegas, Deputy Director Maria Gabriela Quinteros and Secretary Cecilia Villagra to deliver reftel talking points. Villegas, in explaining the GOA's support for the HRC special session on Lebanon, said that the GOA does not see a conflict with the UNSC under Article 12, since the HCR is considering strictly the human rights situation in Southern Lebanon while the UNSC is dealing with the maintenance of peace and security. ¶3. (C) Villegas agreed that the draft resolution was one-sided and biased, and that the GOA would work to balance the text. He did not offer his views on what such a text might contain but did refer to (as an example of the GOA's balanced approach) the MFA's July 21 statement in which it "condemns the intensification of the missile launches by Hezbollah irregular forces against Israeli territory, which is causing the death of innocent civilians... but also expresses its strongest disapproval for the disproportionate use of force by Israel..." . He noted that the various MFA offices, including the Secretary of Foreign Relations (Deputy Foreign Minister),were still studying the text but he expected instructions to be sent to Geneva before the end of the day. MATERA