HIRC DELEGATION DISCUSSES HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, UN

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000764

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KUNR PHUM EAID KPKO UNSC
SUBJECT: HIRC DELEGATION DISCUSSES HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, UN

REFORM, DARFUR WITH G77 AMBASSADORS AND GA PRESIDENT'S CHEF
DE CABINET


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A House International Relations Committee
(HIRC) delegation led by Chairman Henry Hyde met the GA
President's Chef de Cabinet and subsequently with six key G77
ambassadors March 27 to discuss a range of issues. Key
topics of discussion centered on the recently created UN
Human Rights Council (HRC),UN management reform, UN mandate
review, Darfur and sexual exploitation by UN Peacekeepers.
End Summary.


2. (U) On Monday March 27, Chairman Henry Hyde led a HIRC
delegation to New York to meet with key UN interlocutors.
The delegation consisted of Chairman Hyde (R-IL),Congressman
Tom Lantos (D-CA),Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ),
Congressman Gary Ackerman (D-NY),Congressman Dan Burton
(R-IN),Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D-AS),Congressman
Donald Payne (D-NJ) and Congressman William Delahunt (D-MA).
The delegation met first with Ambassador Lars-Hjalmar Wide of
Sweden, Chef de Cabinet to UNGA President Jan Eliasson (who
was out of the country),followed by a larger meeting that
also included Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa
(Chair of the Group of 77),Ambassador Nirupam Sen of India,
Ambassador Abdullah M. Alsaidi of Yemen, Ambassador Hamidon
Ali of Malaysia, Ambassador Aminu Bashir Wali of Nigeria and
Ambassador Heraldo Munoz of Chile. Also attending the
meetings were USUN Ambassador Wolff, H Deputy Assistant
Secretary Callahan and HIRC staffers.

SIPDIS

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL


3. (SBU) In the delegation's separate meeting with Chef de
Cabinet Ambassador Wide, Congressman Smith said there was "a
great deal of concern" in Congress regarding the final HRC
resolution that was approved by the GA over U.S. objections.
He characterized the effort to reform the UN's human rights
machinery as having been "a golden opportunity, a lost
opportunity" and asked what could be done now to overcome the
new HRC's flaws.


4. (SBU) Wide responded by arguing that while not perfect and
"not all we wanted," the new HRC is "a huge step beyond the
past." Although in the end consensus wasn't possible, the
vast majority of member states supported it. Putting forth
familiar justifications, Wide asserted that countries will
need an absolute majority to get elected to the HRC (compared
with the simple majority needed in the past) and that
offenders can be suspended from the HRC by a 2/3 vote if they
are found to be abusing human rights. He said that while the
U.S. and others wanted "some extra things," in the end the
text that emerged reflected a delicate balance.


5. (SBU) In response, Congressman Smith took issue with
Wide's use of the phrase "extra things" to describe U.S.
priorities, and said elements such as prohibiting egregious
human rights abusers from membership on the HRC went to the
heart of the body's credibility. Wide countered that it is
still too early to render a judgment on this, but early signs
are that member states are taking seriously the provision
that a country's human rights record should be "taken under
consideration." He noted that all countries that have thus
far put forward their candidatures for the HRC are
highlighting their own commitment to HR principles and
practices. Congressman Lantos commented that "the bottom
line is we live in a very ugly world and the UN represents
this very ugly world -- it is a derivative reality of that
ugly world." Chairman Hyde agreed with Ambassador Wide's
comment that "we shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of
the good," but questioned whether the HRC resolution that
ultimately emerged was, in fact, "the best we could do,"
adding "it is distressing because this could have been so
much better."

MANAGEMENT REFORM AND PROCUREMENT


6. (SBU) Looking beyond the HRC, Ambassador Wide told the
delegation that the GA is now turning its attention to
management reform. Virtually all member states agree on the
need to get more out of the UN and see its structures
improved. However, there are many different views on how
best to do this. The SYG's new report "Investing in the UN"
contains numerous specific proposals on how to streamline and
restructure the Secretariat. The Secretariat's role has
evolved over the years from organizing and servicing
international conferences to implementing operational work in



the field. Wide said that Sweden will "put every effort of
our Presidency into making a difference before June."


7. (SBU) In the delegation's follow-on discussion with G-77
Ambassadors, Ambassador Kumalo of South Africa said that
there have been erroneous reports that the G-77 does not
support management reform. The G-77 "is very supportive of
reform; the question now is how to go about it." He asserted
that the G-77 had supported the creation of an ethics body
before the Volcker Commission issued its report, and
similarly had called for a review of the UN's procurement
practices before this was raised in the Security Council.
Ambassador Munoz of Chile stated that "we all want our
taxpayers' money to be well spent. We share the same
concerns -- we want more control and more accountability."
Chairman Hyde asked why the G-77 had issued a February 21
letter in which the group said procurement issues were the
purview of the GA not the Security Council. Wouldn't this
approach only slow down the process? In response, Ambassador
Kumalo said it would not cause delays and reiterated that
questions concerning the UN's overall procurement practices
were the purview of the GA. When the SYG uncovers
corruption, the G-77 is in agreement that he should
immediately take action but also inform member states, as
required by the UN Charter. By contrast, procurement issues
related specifically to the Oil for Food (OFF) program should
be handled by the Security Council since OFF had been a
creation of the SC and had been monitored by its sanctions
committee.

MANDATE REVIEW


8. (SBU) Ambassador Wide told the delegation that the SYG's
report on Mandate Review will be out in the next few days,
after which member states will begin discussions on which
mandates are obsolete, redundant, duplicative, etc.
Congressman Ackerman asked Ambassador Wide to comment on the
"tremendous waste generated by a number of almost permanent
institutions in the UN devoted to Israel-bashing." Wide
responded that many of the these institutions are not
relevant to what is taking place on the ground. That said,
their mandates "are regularly renewed by overwhelming
margins. This is a sensitive issue." While acknowledging
that there is a need to "clean up all these Palestinian
resolutions," Wide also cautioned that taking them on
immediately would grind the mandate review process to a stop.
Instead, Wide counseled, "We should look at the easier
mandates first and get something going" before dealing with
the Palestinian mandates.


9. (SBU) In the broader meeting, Ambassador Munoz of Chile
argued that mandate review should not be seen as a
cost-cutting exercise, but one focused on relevance. If
mandates are terminated for being obsolete or redundant,
those resources should be redirected to relevant mandates in
similar areas. He stressed that "development issues are
fundamental to us since they go to the core issues of poverty
and democracy." In response to the challenge posed by
mandate review, Chairman Hyde commented that "even the most
obscure mandate has interested parties -- we face the same
thing in Congress." Pointing to the example of base
closings, he continued that "our solution has been to appoint
commissions to take the heat and we carry out their
recommendations." Perhaps, he offered, such an approach
could be useful here. Ambassador Alsaidi of Yemen said one
way of tackling the problem of excessive mandates is to set
up a "monitoring mechanism" to ensure that mandates are
implemented and when completed are ended.

DARFUR


10. (SBU) In the meeting with G-77 Ambassadors, Congressman
Smith said "many of us are extremely concerned about Darfur
-- while African Union troops are doing an heroic job under
difficult circumstances, we think more troops with a more
robust mandate are needed." In response, Ambassador Wali of
Nigeria underlined that Darfur is "very much a front burner
issue" but added that what the AU forces could do was limited
since the three parties to the conflict have not yet come to
an agreement. Until they do, AU forces will not have a
mandate for peacekeeping and will only be able to monitor
human rights abuses and deliver humanitarian assistance. He
asserted that "the U.S. and others have a duty to nudge along



the contending parties to get to a peace agreement," and said
that without the consent of the Sudanese government any
solution would be very difficult. He went on to say that the
whole international community should be concerned given the
volatility of the situation, but not enough resources have
been provided for the AU forces to carry out their mandate.


11. (SBU) In response to Ambassador Kumalo's comments,
Congressman Payne stated that while "we recognize resource
issues, to be truthful the AU has been weak and not
assertive." He pointed to counter examples, such as when
Nigeria intervened in Liberia or Tanzania went into Burundi,
and said these were instances when African countries took the
lead and were assertive. Sudan is a pariah state and should
be called that. A more serious approach by the AU is needed.

SEXUAL EXPLOITATION BY UN PEACEKEEPERS


12. (SBU) Congressman Smith stated that "Prince Zeid has done
a terrific job" and asked for thoughts on where we are in
putting reforms in place. Ambassador Sen of India called
Prince Zeid's efforts "one of the real success stories" and
that the Prince's recommendations are being implemented, for
example through courts-martial, dismissals and use of
forensic methods. Additional steps needed will also require
improved and very strict training on gender issues, ensuring
that peacekeepers are "busy with useful things" such as
community projects, and making sure that more women are
included as part of PKOs.
BOLTON