UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL -- SAG SAYS SAME OLD, SAME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 006926

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D COPY (HR COUNCIL ADDRESS CHG)

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI (BSHUKAN),DRL , DRL/IRF (HANFORD,
LISTON, LURIE),DRL/NESCA (OZKAN),DRL/MLGA (NOYES)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/16/2016
TAGS: KIRF PGOV PHUM PREL SA
SUBJECT: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL -- SAG SAYS SAME OLD, SAME
OLD

REF: 06 RIYADH 04854

RIYADH 00006926 001.3 OF 002


Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Gfoeller
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. Government of Saudi Arabia (SAG) MFA Human
Rights POC Torki Al-Madi told Acting Political Counselor and
PolOff during an August 16 courtesy call that the UN Human
Rights Council is not an improvement on its predecessor, the
UN Human Rights Commission, especially since the U.S. is not
a member of the Council. He said the Council continues to
emphasize politics over human rights. The Council will
continue its first session until April 2007 in order to
finish review and revision of its mandates, methods, and
procedures. There is still no consensus on thematic issues
for future sessions. According to Al-Madi, the membership
structure ensures that African and Asian countries dominate
the Council, often taking positions contrary to U.S. policies
and priorities. The Council's procedures make it easier to
call special sessions, e.g., on "occupied Palestinian
territories" and Lebanon, than had been the case under the
Commission. End Summary.

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UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
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2. (C) PolOffs paid a courtesy call on MFA Human Rights POC
Torki Al-Madi on August 16, during which he noted that the
KSA will maintain a low profile on the UN Human Rights
Council during its three year term (2006 - 2009) because of
human resource constraints. Saudi Arabia will work through
the Asian Group and focus on improving the Council's mandate,
procedures, appointments, and code of conduct.


3. (C) Al-Madi indicated that the KSA will focus on
reducing the number of UN special rapporteurs in order to
reduce costs, duplication, and contradictory recommendations,
as well as improve effectiveness. He estimated the 40
special rapporteurs cost between USD 15 to 20 million
annually and emphasized that the mandates of many could be
merged. However, he predicted EU opposition to this
approach, especially France, since it was the creator of many
of the mandates. He said that any changes to the special
rapporteur mandates must be agreed to by consensus, making
major reforms unlikely.


4. (C) Al-Madi said that Cuba, China, Russia, and Egypt
remain very active in the Council just as they had been in
the Commission. He said that these countries are fighting to
retain in the Council the same functions and focus as in the
Commission. (NOTE: Al-Madi did not elaborate on Egypt's
role in the Council given it is not currently a Council
member. END NOTE).


5. (C) Al-Madi stated that the Council's procedures make it
easier to hold special sessions since only 16 of the 47
Council members are needed to approve these sessions, whereas
the Commission's procedures required that 50 percent plus one
-- or 27 votes -- were required to call for a special
session. Consequently, despite previous SAG assurances to
the contrary, the Council held a special session about
Lebanon on August 11 (reftel). He also said that the
Council's declaration on indigenous peoples is non-binding
and should be of little concern to the U.S. He reiterated
that one of the reasons the SAG voted for the declaration was
because of its non-binding nature.


6. (C) Al-Madi reported that the the EU and Finland have
already approached the SAG in Riyadh regarding human rights
issues. He said the EU is in a hurry for the Council to take
action on the death penalty. He also said that Finland is
pushing the SAG to agree to make sexual orientation a
priority and a separate human rights issue. Al-Madi said
there is no need to treat sexual orientation separately since
it is already covered under non-discrimation. Al-Madi also
argued that "sexual orientation" is "an attitude" and "a
behavior," not "a right." (NOTE: Al-Madi has previously
told PolOff on several occassions that cultural and religious
reasons preclude the SAG from agreeing to provide protections
for homosexuals or to prohibit discrimination based on sexual
orientation. END NOTE).

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7. (C) Al-Madi predicted that it will be difficult for the
USG to ensure that the most qualified countries are elected
to the Council, claiming that the number of candidates for
election to the Council is being kept low in order to
preclude competition, thus ensuring the election of certain
countries. He said the regional groups want to prevent a
real choice among alternative candidates. For example, in
May 2006, there were 13 candidates for 13 African seats.
Consequently, Al-Madi predicted that Sudan and Zimbabwe will
be elected to the Council in 2007. Electing such members
only further reinforces the political nature of the Council.


8. (C) Al-Madi suggested that the only way to de-politicize
the Council would be if real human rights experts rather than
countries comprised its membership. Al-Madi added that, if
anything, the Council is even more politicized than the
Commission. He asked rhetorically if the U.S. will have to
carry through on its threat to eliminate the Council since it
has not been an improvement over the Commission. Al-Madi
also predicted that the use of Universal Periodic Reviews
(UPRs) will lead to "disasters" because countries will fight
such reviews or any criticism. He predicted that consensus
will be broken by the call for votes on individual UPRs and
wondered how the U.S. will be able to deal with Cuba and
China while the U.S. is not a member of the Council.


9. (SBU) Claiming that the U.S. seldom explained its votes
as a member of the Commission, Al-Madi advised that other
countries would better understand U.S. policies and values if
it explained the logic behind its votes. He claimed that
these explanations could better build consensus and support.
According to Al-Madi, the SAG would welcome the U.S. as a
member of the Council. Al-Madi implied that U.S. leadership
in the Council is needed if the Council is become an
improvement on the old Human Rights Commission. While
Al-Madi lamented the absence of the U.S. on the Council, he
stressed that the KSA and U.S. share similar views on such
issues as abortion, sexual orientation, and condemnation of
Cuba and China. (NOTE: In urging the U.S. to better explain
its policies and priorities, Al-Madi implied that the U.S.
could gain broader acceptance of its positions as well as
make it easier for countries to openly support the U.S. in
fora such as the Council. END NOTE).

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COMMENT
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10. (C) Al-Madi was relatively frank in his analysis of the
Council, its lack of effectiveness, and what he sees as key
issues. The SAG sees USG participation on the Council as a
necessity -- even though Al-Madi believes this will not be
enough to turn it into a fully functioning human rights body.
Despite Al-Madi's acknowledgement of SAG-USG commonalities
and the hope he conveyed that the U.S. will be a partner on
Council-related efforts, the SAG's position on the indigenous
peoples declaration and the special sessions on Lebanon and
Palestinians are a clear reminder that it has its own
priorities. END COMMENT.
OBERWETTER