FINLAND: BROAD SUPORT FOR UN REFORM

UNCLAS HELSINKI 000091

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR IO, EUR/NB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ADCO
SUBJECT: FINLAND: BROAD SUPORT FOR UN REFORM

REF: SECSTATE 4746


1. (U) Charge delivered reftel demarche to Foreign Minister
Erkki Tuomioja on January 25. She underscored the importance
the U.S. attaches to UN reform by emphasizing our
instructions to deliver the demarche at the
ministerial-level. Tuomioja welcomed the initiative and
indicated broad agreement with the U.S. on our shared UN
reform agenda. The Foreign Minister-- a committed
multilateralist with a deep interest in advancing global
human rights-- indicated that sound reforms in NY and Geneva
were a top priority for the GoF. Finland was
"half-satisfied" with the September agreements coming out of
the World Summit, and with subsequent progress in some areas,
especially the Peacebuilding Commission; however, management
reform, the Human Rights Council, and the Security Council
remained thorny and complicated issues.


2. (U) MGMT Reform: Finland strongly supports the Outcome
Document and agrees that improved ethics and oversight are
needed to ensure effective use of UN resources. Redundant
resources should be redirected to different initiatives. The
top management reform priority should be giving the UNSYG the
needed tools to do his or her job. The GoF supports
increased UNSYG authority over resource redeployment and
hopes to work closely with the U.S. to achieve this.


3. (SBU) Human Rights Council: The Charge emphasized the
importance of this initiative, citing the lack of credibility
of the Commission for Human Rights after electing Libya as
its chair and failing to sanction major human rights abusers
like Cuba and Sudan. Tuomioja agreed with the need for
reform; however, he took issue with the efficacy and
credibility of the Commission, opining that there were some
solid achievements to its credit despite the obvious
shortcomings. The Foreign Minister said the successor Human
Rights Council had to be at least as effective as the
Commission, which meant NGO participation, effective global
human rights definitions and guidelines, and appropriate use
of country-specific resolutions. The composition of the
Council was problematic. The GoF favors a larger Council to
maximize Finland's opportunity for membership; a figure close
to the size of the Security Council was too small. On
excluding egregious human rights offenders, Tuomioja said
using sanctions as a litmus test was a possibility, but that
this had its drawbacks too, and he was not fully convinced it
was a good idea. Ongoing intra-EU debate on these issues was
complicated and compromises would be necessary.


4. (SBU) Security Council: Tuomioja said that even if an
agreement could not be reached at this stage, it was
important to keep the dialogue moving. Finland supports the
"G-4 Resolution," and officially supports German and Japanese
permanent membership. Finland opposes new veto powers for
any new members, and, "in a perfect world," would support the
elimination of all vetoes. Finally, even if no ideal
solution could be found, Tuomioja hoped that the Security
Council could at least be made more representative of the
international community.
HYATT