KENYA NON-COMMITTAL ON AFRICAN CANDIDATES FOR UN

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001715 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KUNR PHUM UNHCR KE SUBJECT: KENYA NON-COMMITTAL ON AFRICAN CANDIDATES FOR UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL REF: A. STATE 58498 ¶B. NAIROBI 1643 ¶C. NAIROBI 1547 ¶1. (SBU) Poloff delivered ref A demarche April 18 to Tom Amolo, Head of MFA's International Organizations and Conferences Division. While Amolo did not offer a Kenyan commitment to not support the UN Human Rights Council candidacies of serious human rights violators such as Sudan and Zimbabwe, he assured poloff that the African Union's (AU) approach to Sudan and Zimbabwe was to no longer accept "business as usual." Some member countries, Kenya in particular, he noted, were pressing Sudan to improve its human rights record. ¶2. (SBU) Amolo once again urged U.S. support of Kenya's candidacy for a seat on the UNHRC, explaining that even without explicit backing from the U.S., Kenya had been encouraged by A/S Frazer's March op-ed indicating Kenya had an increased leadership position in Africa on UN matters. Amolo later reiterated that even informal U.S. support would be helpful (ref. C). ¶3. (SBU) Poloff also followed up on the Secretary's letter to foreign Minister Raphael Tuju (ref. B). Amolo noted that the Ministry was working on a reply message to the U.S. request for a Kenyan pledge to support only candidates for the UNHRC which demonstrate a genuine commitment to human rights. BELLAMY