NEW ZEALAND ATTENDANCE AT CONFERENCE ON GENOCIDE

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000398 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/ANP DRICCI E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2016 TAGS: PINR KAWC NZ SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND ATTENDANCE AT CONFERENCE ON GENOCIDE AND ATROCITIES PREVENTION REF: STATE 76257 (U) Classified by Political-Economic Counselor Katherine B. Hadda. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is an action message -- see para 4. ¶2. (C) On May 15, Poloff delivered reftel invitation to Valerie Meyer; Deputy Director; United Nations, Human Rights, and Commonwealth Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). Meyer responded that representatives from her division would not be able to attend, but that she would relay the invitation to Gerard van Bohemen, MFAT's International Legal Advisor. ¶3. (C) On May 21, van Bohemen responded saying that Legal Division will likewise find it difficult to attend the conference, but requested further clarification about the conference before making a final decision. ¶4. (C) Post requests Department assistance in responding to the following questions from van Bohemen: -- What will be the focus of the conference discussion? Is it legally-focused or is it looking to establish some kind of early warning system? -- Is the intention to focus on avoiding the social and economic circumstances that might give rise to such atrocities? -- If a Wellington-based GNZ official is unable to attend, would representation from NZ's Embassy in Washington be acceptable? McCormick