UNCSD: TANZANIA'S POSITION ON ZIMBABAWE'S CANDIDACY

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAR ES SALAAM 000675 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT IO/EDA FOR JTUMINARO DEPT AF/E FOR BYODER, RMEYERS, DMALAC E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2012 TAGS: SENV UNCSD AORC PREL PGOV ZI TZ SUBJECT: UNCSD: TANZANIA'S POSITION ON ZIMBABAWE'S CANDIDACY REF: A. STATE 58046 ¶B. DAR ES SALAAM 00662 ¶C. DAR ES SALAAM 00543 ¶D. STATE 44613 Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Tulinabo Mushingi, for reason 1.4 (b). ¶1. (C) Ambassador Begum Taj, Head of the Multilateral Affairs Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), stressed to Poloff on May 8 that Tanzania would not be the country to ask the Africa Group to re-consider Zimbabwe as its candidate for Chair of the United Nations Committee on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). "We are involved in many regional initiatives already, including the effort which brought Zimbabwe onto the SADC agenda at the Summit in Dar es Salaam in March 2007. If another country were to call on the Africa Group to re-consider, then we may be able to support the search for an alternative candidate," Taj said. ¶2. (C) Poloff urged Ambassador Taj to consider Zimbabwe's poor record on land use and economic tailspin which has set back the country's development by decades. Poloff emphasized that Zimbabwe's candidacy sent the wrong message; that the Africa Group has not taken seriously the opportunity to Chair this important Committee and has not selected the best representative to advance the Committee's goals. Taj explained that Zimbabwe was the only African country which submitted its candidacy to Chair the UNCSD. "Only Zimbabwe applied for this vacancy in the African Group," Taj highlighted, adding, "other countries either missed the deadline or were not interested." With Zimbabwe as the only candidate to fill the vacancy, the Africa Group recognized Zimbabwe's right to hold the Chair. "No other countries had applied; we decide these things by consensus so what could we do?" Taj asked. ¶3. (C) Poloff responded that if the Africa Group did not reconvene to select an alternative candidate, then the U.S. and other countries who were members of the Committee, including Canada, EU countries, etc., urged Tanzania to vote against Zimbabwe during the May 11 elections which would be a vote by secret ballot. Ambassador Taj did not indicate whether Tanzania would vote for or against Zimbabwe in a secret ballot. She said while she believed it was too late SIPDIS to identify a different candidate within the Africa Group before the May 11 election, she was open to instructions from her superiors. Comment: -------------- ¶4. (C) Canada and Germany are also actively lobbying the GOT on this issue. Taj explained that German Embassy officials had already discussed the issue with her and we learned that the Canadian High Commissioner aims to raise the issue with the Deputy Permanent Secretary at MFA on May 9. Tanzania appears reluctant to initiate the call within the Africa Group to reconsider Zimbabwe's candidacy. However, we believe our joint efforts could contribute to Tanzania supporting another African country that might come forward and oppose Zimbabwe's candidacy or, at least, contribute to Tanzania voting against Zimbabwe on May 11. END COMMENT. RETZER