GOE SUPPORTS PERMANENT UN MIGRATION FORUM

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 002259 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF EAID SMIG UNGA UNGA SUBJECT: GOE SUPPORTS PERMANENT UN MIGRATION FORUM REF: STATE 122513 Classified By: DSCG-05 (B&D) ¶1. (U) Summary: Foreign Minister Carrion will represent the GOE at the UN High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD) in New York. The GOE delegation will support a permanent forum. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On September 7, PolOff met with MFA Ambassador Carlos Lopez, Acting Undersecretary for Migration and Consular Affairs, to deliver points in Reftel. Lopez indicated Foreign Minister Francisco Carrion will head the Ecuadorian delegation to the HLD and preside over Round Table number 2, dealing with migrant human rights, smuggling and trafficking in persons. Also attending will be Ambassador Gonzalo Salvador, MFA Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs, Ambassador Rafael Paredes, MFA General Coordinator, and Lourdes Puma, MFA Director General for Multilateral Affairs. Puma told us Carrion will skip the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Havana, which President Palacio will attend, in order to represent Ecuador at the HLD. ¶3. (U) Lopez outlined Ecuador's goals for the forum in imprecise terms. He explained Ecuador's status as a source, transit and destination country for migration and said the GOE was committed to protecting the human rights of all migrants. Lopez said Carrion would highlight the GOE's fight against alien smuggling and trafficking in persons and present the GOE's examples of best practices, such as the MFA's pre-screening of applicants for Spanish work visas. Lopez did not raise or signal concern over U.S. migration policies at all during the meeting, although Ecuador has publicly expressed such concerns in the past. ¶4. (U) Lopez rejected our assertion that the UN Secretariat compromises its neutrality by lobbying in favor of a permanent forum, an issue that affects important interests of UN member states. Asked to elaborate, Lopez cited the human rights of migrants and said global migration is well within the purview of the United Nations. Ecuador would support a permanent forum on migration and would pursue all its migration policies in conjunction with the Community of Andean Nations. ¶5. (C) Comment: The GOE will dedicate substantial resources to its participation in the HLD. Carrion's choice to forgo the NAM meeting to attend this one suggests the GOE will seek to lead the call for a permanent forum on migration. It will be interesting to hear the GOE's views on migration in this forum since Ecuador has an illegal immigrant problem of its own: there are many reports of a substantial number of undocumented Colombians that are not afforded access to education, health care, work or other civil services. JEWELL