FOLLOW UP ON HMONG MINORS ISSUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001437 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2016 TAGS: PREF PHUM LA UNICEF SUBJECT: FOLLOW UP ON HMONG MINORS ISSUE REF: (A) STATE 119402 (B) VIENTIANE 655 Classified By: Miriam Hughes for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Begin Summary. Per Ref A, ECONOFF delivered talking points to Laos Desk Officer at the UN Department of Political Affairs (UNDPA). Reponse was that a request for a high-level visit to Laos was made by the UN Country Team and remains "under serious consideration." No decision has yet been made either on the visit or on a possible follow up letter from Secretary-General Annan. UN interlocutors on this issue SIPDIS (UNICEF and UNDPA) are in agreement that current efforts for the return of the children have hit a "brick wall." Efforts are continuing. End Summary. ¶2. (C) In accordance with Ref A, ECONOFF visited both UNICEF and UNDPA to inquire about the status of efforts for the return of the Hmong children. UNICEF was consulted first as they had taken the inital lead on this issue when the children were first reported missing. According to UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kul Gautam, efforts for return of the children have hit a "brick wall." What was initially a children's issue has been politicized by the exchange of letters between Secretary-General Annan and the President of Laos. As noted Ref B, attempts to focus Laotion attention to address the issue are evaded, as Laotions refer back to the exchange of letters as proof that the Government of Laos is already looking for the children. Mr. Kautam related a recent attempt he made to raise the issue with the Laotian Permanent Representative during a UN meeting. He received the same response. ¶3. (C) Mr. Gautam counseled patience to allow the issue to come down from the current high level to a point where it could be addressed by quiet diplomacy. Mr. Gautam believes that a high-level visit at this time could be counter-productive, as it might further stiffen Laotian resistance. As there is no current UNICEF representative in Vientiane (the incumbent recently left for a new assigmnment in East Timor),follow-up at this time by UNICEF is difficult. A new UNICEF representative has been appointed but it will be several weeks before she gets to Vientiane. When she arrives, the first order of business will be the return of the Hmong children. ¶4. (C) On July 27, ECONOFF delivered Ref A talking points to UNDPA Lao Desk Officer Anne Marie Ibanez. Ms. Ibanez confirmed that the UN country team had indeed requested a high-level DPA visit and that such a visit was "under serious consideration" as were other options, such as a follow-up letter from Secretary-General Annan. However, no decision had yet been made regarding the proposed visit and Ms. Ibanez cautioned against raising false expectations. ¶5. (C) Although Ms. Ibanez agreed that current negotiations for the return of the children had reached an impasse, she stressed the importance of continuing engagement. In this regard, she mentioned the follow-up demarches done by the UN Country Team at the Director General level in the Laotion Foreign Ministry, after the Foreign Minister refused to receive them. From the beginning, the approach by DPA has been to emphasize the humanitarian aspects of the case and to work to support the efforts of the UN Country Team in Vientiane. In this regard, she was very concerned that there was no current information on the children and asked if we had heard anything. ¶6. (SBU) Ms. Ibanez will relay U.S. points and strong support for the visit to higher level DPA officials and decision makers. USUN will report any further developments. BOLTON