Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ATHENS2113
2007-10-25 12:42:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Athens
Cable title:  

GREEK VIEWS ON UNGA THIRD COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS

Tags:  PHUM PREL KTIA GR 
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OO RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUEHTH #2113 2981242
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 251242Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0588
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0265
UNCLAS ATHENS 002113 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL KTIA GR
SUBJECT: GREEK VIEWS ON UNGA THIRD COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS

REF: SECSTATE 145641

UNCLAS ATHENS 002113

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL KTIA GR
SUBJECT: GREEK VIEWS ON UNGA THIRD COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS

REF: SECSTATE 145641


1. (SBU) On October 18, PolOff delivered reftel points on
U.S. positions on UNGA Third Committee resolutions to
Ambassador Georgios Dimitriadis, deputy head of the MFA D4
Directorate for Human Rights Issues.


2. (SBU) On October 25, DepPolCouns discussed the issues
further with Dimitriadis His responses below are keyed to
the major demarche topics.

-- "No-Action" Motions: Greece had long opposed the use of
such motions, as had the EU. Human rights, Dimitriadis
argued, was the basis of civilization and the prerequisite
for peace and stability. If no-action motions were allowed,
discussion of critical human rights issues was restricted.
There was no other global forum in which such discussions
could take place. Thus, it was important that Greece, the
U.S., and others allow discussion of human rights questions
to go forward by opposing no-action motions.

-- Iran: Dimitriadis said Canada had already approached
Greece about supporting its Iran resolution. Greece, along
with the rest of the EU, would support the resolution.

-- Belarus, Burma, DPRK: Dimitriadis said the EU would offer
resolutions on Belarus, Burma, and North Korea. He was
unsure how these resolutions would relate to any U.S.
resolutions -- i.e., whether the EU would join with the U.S.
or offer its own resolutions. In any case, Greece and the
rest of the EU in principle agreed with the U.S. position on
human rights issues in those three countries.

-- Elections Resolution: Greece supported the U.S. position
in principle but Dimitriadis had no details on the mechanics
of its vote at the UN.

--Religious Intolerance: Greece remains unsure on whether the
EU should table the resolution in the Third Committee, as we
suggested. He believed the issue would be left to the
experts in NY to decide, since it was essentially a tactical
issue they were best equipped to handle.

-- Defamation of Religion: Greece agreed with the U.S.
position. Freedom of belief was an important human right,
"defamation" of religion was not a legitimate human rights
issue and was used as a way to stifle freedom of expressions.
Greece would vote accordingly.

-- Death Penalty: Dimitriadis understood that the U.S. would
oppose the resolution but that it would not work against it
through such tactics as no-action motions, etc. Greece
appreciated this position. Still, Greece "strongly" opposed
the death penalty because of its irreversibility. "If new
evidence should come up," he argued, "an innocent man who was
executed could not be brought back to life."

COUNTRYMAN