T&T WILL REEVALUATE LONG STANDING ABSTENTION POLICY ON SOME

UNCLAS PORT OF SPAIN 001299 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CAR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL KTIA UNGA TD SUBJECT: T&T WILL REEVALUATE LONG STANDING ABSTENTION POLICY ON SOME "NO ACTION" MOTIONS; WILL CONTINUE TO ABSTAIN ON COUNTRY SPECIFIC RESOLUTIONS REF: A. STATE 184178, B. STATE 182267 ¶1. Polchief delivered the talking points contained in Reftels, on November 9, to MFA Multilateral Division Director Susan Gordon. ¶2. Gordon reiterated T&T's long standing policy of abstaining on country specific resolutions. She argued that such resolutions are too selective and lack objectivity, adding that politically powerful countries tend to escape censure by the UN General Assembly while, on the other hand, North Korea, for example, is at the moment "everybody's whipping boy". Gordon's opinion was that more general, thematic-type resolutions make more sense. ¶3. Polchief pointed out that T&T might not be uniformly opposed to country specific resolutions since, in the Caricom context, specific action was taken against Haiti. Gordon responded that the Haiti action was taken within a regional context and that it might be more helpful, for example, if Iran's regional neighbors and allies were to dialog with Iran rather than have the entire UN membership publicly humiliate it. Although Polchief said that, in certain cases, repeated public humiliation can and does succeed, as in the case of apartheid South Africa, it was obvious Gordon was not about to change her position. ¶4. However, Gordon said that T&T's thinking on "no action" motions might be a different matter. She thought T&T may, in the past, have voted "no" on some "no action" motions, and undertook to review with her mission in New York T&T's past votes on such motions with a view to possibly changing them from abstentions to "nos" in certain cases. AUSTIN