FRANCE WANTS HRC ACTION ON ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 004128 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM UNGA FR SUBJECT: FRANCE WANTS HRC ACTION ON ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES CONVENTION REF: A. STATE 94561 B. PARIS 2358 C. 6/16 RICCI-EUR/WE FAX D. PARIS 3368 E. PARIS 4011 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah B. Rosenblatt. Reasons 1.4b,d ¶1. (C) Summary: MFA IO DAS-Equivalent for Human Rights Beatrice Le Fraper du Hellen concurred with the U.S. view that the first session of the Human Rights Council should avoid country-specific resolutions. However, she said the MFA was puzzled by the U.S. call for the HRC to avoid "action on any substantive proposals" at the initial session. Le Fraper warned that France could not back the U.S. on delaying action in Working Groups should that hinder adoption of the draft Convention on Enforced Disappearances, which she described as a key deliverable for the French Government. Le Fraper said France supported the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples but would not rush adoption. She acknowledged the draft's "judicial difficulties" and underscored that France was considering a "robust" national declaration upon adoption that would set out French reservations regarding notions of collective rights or a tribal right of secession. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) MFA IO DAS-Equivalent for Human Rights Beatrice Le Fraper du Hellen, in a June 14 meeting with poloff and intern to discuss reftel demarche, reaffirmed that the MFA shared U.S. concerns on the need for the Human Rights Council (HRC) to steer clear of country-specific resolutions in the opening session, specifically any OIC initiative to focus attention on disputed territories in the Middle East (Ref A). Nonetheless, Le Fraper expressed puzzlement at the U.S. insistence that the HRC avoid "action on any substantive proposals" at the initial session. She said visiting German officials had voiced the same reaction to this U.S. view during a luncheon earlier that day. ¶3. (SBU) Le Fraper understood U.S. dissatisfaction with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. However did the U.S. hope to block any action on the reports of all five Working Groups, specifically the draft Convention on Enforced Disappearances? Le Fraper reiterated the MFA commitment to adoption of the draft Convention on Enforced Disappearances, which she termed a key deliverable for the French Government (Ref B). Le Fraper warned that Ambassador Ripert in Geneva had indicated France would not back the U.S. on delaying action in the other Working Groups should that hinder adoption of the Convention on Disappearances. ¶4. (C) Le Fraper volunteered that France would not push for action on the draft Declaration on Indigenous Peoples. While France supported the initiative, she empathized with U.S. reservations and noted that France believed the Declaration as such lacked any juridical value and did not constitute a legal instrument. In fact, at the time of HRC adoption of the draft Declaration, France planned to qualify its support by issuing a "rather robust" national statement summarizing its "juridical difficulties," specifically the postulation of collective or group rights and the suggestion of a right to self-determination (Ref C). Le Fraper provided poloff the draft text of the proposed GOF statement on a confidential basis with the important caveat that the French Presidency had not yet cleared on the text. (Comment: President Chirac is a self-declared champion of indigenous peoples. He is inaugurating a major museum of tribal arts this summer which many believe he hopes will constitute his cultural legacy in France. Ref. D) Wedgwood Addendum -------------- ¶5. (C) Le Fraper ended on encouraging terms by reaffirming the French pledge to vote for Professor Ruth Wedgwood's reelection to the Human Rights Committee in exchange for the United States' support for Christine Chanet's own reelection (Ref E). She noted France had already declined to back a Spanish candidate by declaring a prior commitment to support the Wedgwood candidacy. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm STAPLETON