JUNE 13 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GENEVA 001456

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IO/RHS, DRL/MLA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM UNHRC
SUBJECT: JUNE 13 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS

REF: GENEVA 01428

GENEVA 00001456 001.2 OF 002


Summary
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1. Discussion during the June 13 informal consultations
focused on the second, more substantive week of the June
19-30 Human Rights Council inaugural session.
President-designate Luis Alfonso de Alba provided attendees
with a draft program of work (e-mailed to IO-RHS and
DRL-MLA-DL),which drew broad support for its inclusion of:
1) consideration of the five intergovernmental working
groups; 2) "pressing" human rights issues; 3) working groups
for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process and mandate
review; 4) a program of work for future HRC sessions; and 5)
interim measures on mechanisms and mandates. Many delegates,
including Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
countries, stressed, however, the need to identify specific
themes, like occupied Arab territories. Several members
suggested that migrant issues be considered as an urgent
matter. Informal consultations on the program of work for
the year will be held on June 15. End Summary.

Facing the Inevitable
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2. Strong support continued for consideration and possible
action on all five inter-governmental working groups --
including Enforced Disappearances and the UN Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples -- and on the occupied Arab
territories. We and a few others continued to insist on a
procedural-heavy first Council session, but our ranks were
noticeably smaller compared to those supporting consideration
of working groups (European Union and GRULAC) and the
Palestinian issue (OIC and African Group). In her statement,
U.S. Charge Cassel stressed the importance of building a
solid foundation for the Council through the establishment of
two working groups to review mandates and develop a Universal
Periodic Review process, extension of all mandates, and
continuation of country-specific resolutions as a last resort.

What's A "Pressing" Issue?
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3. Several members requested further clarification on
exactly which themes would be discussed under the agenda item
"pressing human rights issues" in de Alba's draft program of
work. OIC countries, particularly Syria and Pakistan,
considered it as a time to discuss what they consider to be
urgent issues -- i.e., Israeli-occupied Palestine and
religious tolerance. Chile, Mexico, and the Philippines said
they considered migrant issues to be a theme falling under
this category. A few members suggested discussion of the
entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention
Against Torture, which is expected to occur June 22.
Although in his overview of the agenda, de Alba said
discussion of pressing issues did not necessarily mean that a
decision would be taken. In the course of the debate he
noted that some issues may be ready for decision. It would
be up to the member states to decide, however, which issues
should be discussed and which were ready for action.


GENEVA 00001456 002.2 OF 002


Proposal For Two New Working Groups
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4. De Alba said that the UPR and mandate review working
groups or processes should both be inter-sessional to allow
members more flexibility. He suggested that they not be
formal working groups to avoid significant financial
implications. Many members agreed with his assertion that
the UPR working group should complete its work by the end of
this year to allow the Council to begin reviewing countries
by early 2007. Along these lines, Canada presented a
non-paper suggesting 10 days (i.e., 20 three-hour meetings)
of scheduled, open-ended, and fully-serviced meetings for the
yet-to-be-established working group to develop a new review
mechanism by the end of the year. Algeria urged the Council
to examine country review processes from the New Partnership
for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the African Union (AU)
instead of trying to start from scratch. Norway mentioned
the possibility of a third working group to deal with work
methods and rules of procedure, but several members,
including Brazil and the United Kingdom, said it would be
better to limit it to two since smaller delegations would not
have the capacity to deal with more.

Other Week Two Agenda Items
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5. Most members stressed the importance of completing a
program of work for future sessions with the understanding
that the first year was simply a transitional one which would
not necessarily set a precedent for subsequent years. The
Chilean Ambassador challenged members to come up with a
finalized agenda and program of work for the year by
Thursday, June 15. Discussion on the Sub-commission focused
on extending its mandate. However, several members,
including supporters, said Sub-commission elections should be
postponed for now. Members, including Cuba, also requested
that the High Commissioner for Human Rights release advance
copies of her report so they could prepare for the
interactive dialogue segment with her. The agenda item
"Dialogue and Cooperation on Human Rights: Human Rights
Education and Learning, Advisory Services, Technical
Assistance and Capacity-Building" drew little support, and
several members suggested allotting more time to higher
priority issues instead.


CASSEL