UKRAINE: BELARUS UN HRC CANDIDACY - AMBASSADOR'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L KYIV 001107 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR P - U/S BURNS; DEPT ALSO FOR IO/RHS, DRL/MLGA/ EUR/PGI, AND EUR/UMB E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2017 TAGS: PHUM PREL UNHRC BO UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE: BELARUS UN HRC CANDIDACY - AMBASSADOR'S ASSESSMENT REF: A. STATE 63345 ¶B. STATE 58054 Classified By: Ambassador for reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (C) Our soundings with the Ukrainian MFA, detailed below, indicate the Ukrainians are on the razor's edge regarding whether to support Belarus' candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). Their concern is to ensure that this year's vote not result in keeping Slovenia off the Council (Slovenia was Ukraine's unsuccessful competitor for the UN HRC seat that it won). If a third candidate does not emerge soon, then Ukraine is likely to vote for Belarus and Slovenia, believing that it has no other choice. To prevent the Ukrainian position from hardening, Bosnia needs to formalize its candidacy soonest. Armed with this information, we can re-engage the Ukrainians and press them to make the right decision. ¶2. (C) We delivered our points about preventing Belarus' election to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) May 10 to Deputy Foreign Minister Volodymyr Khandohiy. (The Foreign Minister is returning to Kyiv from an official visit to Canada.) He said Ukraine's position was still undecided, but that Ukraine would vote "in accordance with its human rights record" and understood its special responsibility as a Human Rights Council member. Khandohiy was unaware of Bosnia's candidacy and asked for more information. He noted that with the support of the Non-Aligned Movement, the election of Belarus might be hard to derail. Khandohiy was concerned that in light of NAM support for Belarus, the candidacy of Bosnia could simply draw votes from Slovenia and result in the election of Belarus and Bosnia. ¶3. (C) On May 8, we delivered ref B points to MFA UN Directorate head Andriy Beshta, whose position was similar to Khandohiy's. Noting that Ukraine takes its membership in the UN HRC seriously, Beshta said Ukraine shared our concerns over Belarus' human rights record. For this reason, Ukraine had supported the UNGA resolution condemning Belarus' human rights record. Ukraine had not yet decided how to vote; his department was consulting with other MFA departments, including the relevant regional bureau, to develop the Ukrainian position. Beshta said Ukraine expects Belarus to be elected because of NAM support and that Slovenia was concerned about another candidate entering the race. Ukraine was reluctant to encourage a third Eastern European candidate because Ukraine had beaten Slovenia in the last UN HRC election and did not want to be seen as undermining Slovenia's candidacy this time. ¶4. (C) According to our British colleagues in Kyiv, the UK also made the point to the MFA about the importance of preventing the election of Belarus to the HRC and got the same response as we did. Our UK colleagues suggested that we asses the situation on May 14 and possibly make a joint approach to the Ukrainians. ¶5. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website: www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev. Taylor