SRI LANKA TO "SERIOUSLY CONSIDER" U.S. POSITIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000476 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/INS, DRL/MLGA (NOYES) AND IO/RHS (ROHN) GENEVA FOR DIPIRRO E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2017 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV ZI SU IS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA TO "SERIOUSLY CONSIDER" U.S. POSITIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL VOTES REF: A. STATE 36108 ¶B. STATE 35404 ¶C. STATE 33409 ¶D. MARCH 21 NOYES-MOORE E-MAIL Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE, JR. FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and ( d) ¶1. (C) On March 22, Ambassador met Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona regarding reftel demarches concerning votes on Sudan, Zimbabwe, and the Occupied Territories at the UN Human Rights Council. The Ambassador delivered all key points in reftels. He suggested that if Sri Lanka found it could not vote along the lines we advocated, its delegation to the UN could at least abstain or absent itself during the voting. ¶2. (C) Ambassador noted the importance of Sri Lanka demonstrating a commitment to addressing serious human rights violations world-wide. He added that by acting responsibly in the Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka could build up international goodwill, which would be important if the Council considers Sri Lanka's own human rights record at a future session. Kohona said he hoped Sri Lanka could stay off the Human Rights Council agenda. He assured us his government would "give serious consideration" to the U.S. positions. BLAKE