Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DUBLIN94
2006-01-27 12:37:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dublin
Cable title:  

IRELAND MOSTLY AGREES WITH USG ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS

Tags:  PREL KUNR PHUM UNAUS ADCO EI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0009
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDL #0094/01 0271237
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 271237Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUBLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6431
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0119
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBLIN 000094 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015
TAGS: PREL KUNR PHUM UNAUS ADCO EI
SUBJECT: IRELAND MOSTLY AGREES WITH USG ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS
COUNCIL, MANDATE REVIEW

REF: A. STATE 4746


B. STATE 4745

Classified By: Political-Economic Counselor Mary E. Daly; Reasons 1.4 (
B) and (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBLIN 000094

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015
TAGS: PREL KUNR PHUM UNAUS ADCO EI
SUBJECT: IRELAND MOSTLY AGREES WITH USG ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS
COUNCIL, MANDATE REVIEW

REF: A. STATE 4746


B. STATE 4745

Classified By: Political-Economic Counselor Mary E. Daly; Reasons 1.4 (
B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary: Ireland agrees with ref A demarche points on
ensuring the prospective UN Human Rights Council's recourse
to country-specific resolutions and on completing the UN
management/mandate review, according to John Deady and Brian
Cahalane, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Director and
Deputy Director, respectively, for UN Affairs. The Irish
Government believes, however, that the U.S. proposal to keep
HRC membership to the 22-30 range is unrealistically low, as
it would leave relatively fewer seats to European countries
and preclude a more participatory approach to the promotion
of human rights. Ireland is also uneasy about U.S. support
for the P-5 Convention in regard to the Human Rights Council,
but recognizes the role that membership issues will play in
forging support for the Council in the U.S. Congress. Deady
committed to pass ref A points to the DFA's senior
leadership. End Summary.

The Human Rights Council
--------------


2. (C) In a January 20 discussion with Emboffs, Deady noted
that the GOI and the USG shared similar views on the Human
Rights Council (HRC) and country-specific resolutions. For
Ireland and EU Member States, he said, possible proposals to
eliminate HRC country-specific resolutions or to require a
two-thirds majority for their passage were non-starters.
Deady conveyed concern, however, that the proliferation of
country-specific proposals by the Commission for Human Rights
(CHR) in recent years had diminished their value and
intensified widespread dissatisfaction with the CHR. "If
every country is condemned, no one pays attention," he
observed. Deady related the GOI's hope that the HRC would
focus on the most egregious human rights situations in order
to give country-specific resolutions greater clout.


3. (C) The U.S. proposal to keep HRC membership to the 22-30
range was unrealistically low, said Deady. If membership
were apportioned by region, he observed, the U.S. proposal
would leave relatively fewer seats available for European
countries. A small HRC, moreover, would be seen as an
"us-against-them" club in dealing with human rights
violators. Deady argued that a more participatory approach
to HRC membership would make the body's actions on human
rights more effective and credible; Ireland and EU Member
States thus believed that the HRC should have roughly the
same number of members as the CHR. Ireland, he noted, agreed
with the U.S. view that HRC members should be individually
elected by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly, as
with non-permanent members of the UNSC. He added that
geographic distribution should be an important, though not
absolute, determinant of membership.


4. (C) Further on HRC membership, Deady remarked that U.S.
support for the P-5 Convention (per ref B, the custom of the
Security Council's permanent members being elected to a UN
body on which they want to be members, in return for
agreement not to chair the body) would create difficulties.
He explained that Ireland and other EU Member States had
shared the impression that the USG was content with a
rotational approach giving the United States a
more-than-equal role when serving as a member, but not the
right to be a member at all times. Deady recounted that it
had actually been Sweden, not Sudan, that had replaced the
United States on the CHR in 2001, a switch that had not had a
practical impact on the CRH's work, he believed. He
conceded, however, that Ireland was sensitive to the need to
build strong support for the new HRC within the U.S.
Congress, which was likely to focus heavily on the membership
issue.

Management/Mandate Reform
--------------


5. (C) Ireland and the United States were also like-minded
on the importance of UN management reform and mandate review,
said Deady. He remarked that Ireland and EU Member States
strongly supported the Secretary General's authority to
re-deploy resources and staff from ineffectual to proven UN
programs. Deady added that the UN's effectiveness, not
simple cost-cutting, should be the touchstone of this
exercise. Cahalane noted that the GOI expected the UNSYG to
submit a management report in late February and to complete
the mandate review by March/April. Cahalane also cautioned
that many mandates were of the pro-forma/dead-letter variety

and that their elimination might not have a major impact on
UN expenses.
KENNY