SLOVENIA OPEN TO US-EU COOPERATIVE APPROACHES TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000671 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2017 TAGS: CU UNGA PHUM SI SUBJECT: SLOVENIA OPEN TO US-EU COOPERATIVE APPROACHES TO HUMAN RIGHTS IN CUBA REF: SECSTATE 147620 Classified By: CDA MCOLEMAN E.O. 12958, reason 1.4(b, d) ¶1. (C) On October 25, EmbOff met with Smiljana Knez, head of the MFA's Human Rights Unit, to urge the Slovenian MFA to balance out the loss of the Cuban Special Representative to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and pursue actions to promote democratic transition in Cuba, as requested in reftel. Knez stated that Slovenia, a member of the HRC, was also unhappy with the elimination of the Special Representatives for Cuba and Belarus in the HRC. She stressed that Cuba is one of the first countries scheduled to undergo universal periodic review in the HRC and that the challenge for the EU and U.S. is to see that the process is conducted properly. Knez said that Slovenia appreciates the alternative approaches offered by the U.S. to address human rights in Cuba and U.S. willingness to cooperate with UN mechanisms. She noted that concentrated actions in the HRC make an impression and exert additional pressure on countries that violate human rights, citing the example of a special HRC session on Zimbabwe. Knez remarked that the GOS will consider the cooperative approaches proposed by the U.S. and emphasized that EU unity and joint U.S.-EU action will best address human rights issues in Cuba. COLEMAN