UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ELECTION: TANZANIA WILL

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAR ES SALAAM 000690 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO/RHS, DRL/MLGA, EUR/PGI DEPT ALSO AF/E FOR BYODER, AF/RSA FOR MBITTRICK ADDIS ABABA FOR AU MISSION E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2017 TAGS: PHUM PREL UNHRC TZ SUBJECT: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ELECTION: TANZANIA WILL NOT SUPPORT BELARUS REF: A. STATE 063345 ¶B. DAR ES SALAAM 00668 Classified By: Ambassador Michael Retzer for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) We reconfirmed on May 10 with Sule Sella, Deputy Head of the Multilateral Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),that Tanzania will not vote for Belarus as a member of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in the May 17 election in New York. Tanzania's position is clear: a country that has failed to protect the human rights of its own citizens should not be elected to the UNHRC (Ref B). ¶2. (C) We informed Sella that we expect that Bosnia will also announce its candidacy and urged that Tanzania amplify its position by lobbying other UNGA members to support both Slovenia and Bosnia. Sella assured us that he would pass this message to Ambassador Begum Taj, Head of the Multilateral Division, who was not available on May 10. Since Ambassador Taj had emphasized to my political officer on May 8 that the Government of Tanzania is "very sensitive about human rights," my assessment is that during the remaining days before the UNHRC election, Tanzania will express support for both Bosnia and Slovenia, based on these governments' commitment to protecting human rights. We will confirm with Ambassador Taj at the earliest opportunity that such instructions have been sent to Tanzania's Permanent Representative in New York. RETZER