SPAIN EQUIVOCAL ON RCFS REGISTRATION, BUT MAY DO

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 001835

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

USOSCE FOR CHRIS SIBILLA
EUR FOR PDAS KURT VOLKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/21/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER OSCE RS SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN EQUIVOCAL ON RCFS REGISTRATION, BUT MAY DO
NOTHING

REF: STATE 132369

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d)


1. (C) Charge spoke September 20 with Jose Maria Pons,
Director General for North America and Europe, about the need
for Spain as Chair-in-Office (CiO) to allow the registration
of the Russian Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS) for the
Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM). Charge
expressed USG's strong concern at the precedent set by the
failure to register RCFS for the September 13-14 Victims of
Terrorism meeting. He emphasized that the RCFS is a
reputable and internationally recognized human rights
organization that has been under continuous pressure from the
Russian Federation, and he noted that the closure of RCFS was
more likely due to its illumination of human rights
violations in Chechnya than any tenuous allegations of
association with terrorism. Charge underscored the USG takes
terrorism as or more seriously than any nation in the world
and would not be arguing for their inclusion if we thought
the RCFS had anything to do with terrorism. Charge
referenced President Zapatero's championing of human rights
in his foreign policy and noted that such an action would
send a very negative message to the world and reflect poorly
on Spain as a human rights defender.


2. (C) Pons replied that he understood and respected the USG
position perfectly and Spain agreed that there is no link
between the RCFS and terrorism. However, he said that Spain,
as the CiO, must respect the institutional sovereignty of
each member state. As such, the fact that a sovereign
state's highest judicial body has declared an organization
illegitimate must be taken into account and respected by the
Chair-in-Office. From an institutional perspective, the CiO
must take such considerations very seriously.


3. (C) Pons lamented that Spain was being placed in a very
difficult position and was under great pressure from the U.S.
a key friend and ally, some of its EU partners, and Russia.
Pons said Spain would carefully weigh all of the arguments
and make a final decision. Pons acknowledged that the
Zapatero government has made human rights one of its foreign
policy pillars.


4. (C) Pons concluded by noting that the RCFS had already
registered for the HDIM, so that removing it would require a
"formal action" by the CiO to reverse the registration, which
he indicated was a different circumstance than for the
Victims of Terrorism meeting, and possibly more difficult.


5. (C) COMMENT: Charge took Pons' final comment as a slight
hint that the CiO might be considering this minor technical
point as a means to allow the RCFS to remain registered for
the HDIM. Pons did not mention the upcoming trip by
President Zapatero to Sochi, which no doubt is factoring in
Spanish considerations in the other direction.
LLORENS