ARGENTINA LIKELY TO ABSTAIN ON UN INDIGENOUS

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002413 SIPDIS SIPDIS USUN PLEASE PASS TO EVELYN ASWAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL KTIA UN AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA LIKELY TO ABSTAIN ON UN INDIGENOUS RIGHTS DECLARATION REF: A) STATE 169257 B) STATE 78740 C) GOMEZ-ASWAD 10/24/06 E-MAIL ¶1. (SBU) Per reftel, Poloff, in conjunction with New Zealand First Secretary Mark Gibb, and Australian Third Secretary Lou-Ellen Martin delivered ref. A talking points and background paper to Monica Pinto, MFA Advisor on Human Rights and asked if the GOA intended to change its position on the declaration at the UNGA. Pinto indicated that Argentina will likely continue to abstain on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP) due to concerns with the Declaration's language on self-determination. She explained that the GOA supports the declaration in principle; however, Argentina's policy on self-determination issues is strictly defined due to its long-standing sovereignty claims over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands. She stated that the GOA had tried to amend the Declaration's text on self-determination at the Human Rights Council in June and again at the UNGA, so that it could vote in favor of the Declaration, but to no avail. As a result, the GOA will likely abstain. She added that Argentine Foreign Minister Taiana is personally interested in the DRIP, as he spearheaded a similar effort during his tenure as Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission in 1996-2001. MATERA