DEMARCHE DELIVERED: DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 010740 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2016 TAGS: PHUM PREL UN PK SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES REF: A. STATE 78740 ¶B. STATE 91509 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter W. Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) On June 7, 2006, poloff joined Australian Deputy High Commissioner Jason Robertson in delivering demarche points and non-papers (Ref A) on the Chair's text of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to MFA Director General (UN) Tasneem Aslam. (Note: Both the Australian High Commission and the Embassy had pressed the MFA for an appointment for several weeks, but the two senior officials in the UN Directorate were away from Islamabad on official travel for much of that time. End note.) Aslam thanked Robertson and poloff for the presentation, noting that the Government of Pakistan shares the concerns raised by Australia and the United States. Pakistan understands that there must be a balance between individual and collective rights, otherwise chaos would prevail. Aslam said that member states must have an opportunity for normal discussion and debate of the Chair's text, as it is important that the final document is fair and balanced. The GOP will not support any document that erodes the authority of the state. She agreed that the text must clearly define what groups can claim status as "indigenous people." In its present form, Aslam observed, the Chair's text would cause member states more problems than it would solve. Pledging that the GOP will take a closer look at the text, Aslam stressed that the GOP wants the new Human Rights Commission (HRC) to operate by consensus; there is no point in moving forward with a text that does not enjoy the support of many member states, particularly those with indigenous populations. ¶2. (C) Aslam said that she believed that the first two weeks following the opening of the HRC session on June 19 would focus on high-level meetings and procedural issues. She indicated that she would ask the Pakistani delegations in Geneva and in New York to be alert for any effort to move the Chair's text forward in either of those venues. BODDE