HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL VOTE ON SUDAN: INDIA FAVORS

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 001402 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR A/S KRISTEN SILVERBERG, SCA/INS BERNICAT, DRL/MLGA NOYES, USMISSION GENEVA DIPIRRO, AND IO/RHS ROHN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM IN SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL VOTE ON SUDAN: INDIA FAVORS DIALOGUE REF: SECSTATE 36018 Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Senior Adviser to the Secretary Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli met March 22 with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Joint Secretary (UN Economic and Social) Manjeev Singh Puri and delivered reftel points. Puri rebutted, saying that there had been "good forward movement" in Geneva on the new resolution, but that inclusive discussions must be given more time to work. He added that the current draft resolution was a means of counterproductive "public shaming" that would get the Sudanese government's "tail up." Ambassador Tahir-Kheli firmly and clearly countered that inclusivity often means delay, which translates into additional lives lost or ruined in Darfur. She emphasized strongly that discussions with the Sudanese government have done little in the past three years to ameliorate the plight of the Darfur people. Puri responded that the Indian and European delegations are actively engaged with the Sudanese, but offered that he would instruct the Indian Ambassador to the UN Mission in Geneva to contact his American and European counterparts. ¶2. (C) At a separate meeting March 22 with MEA Joint Secretary (UN Political) Sanjiv Arora, Ambassador Tahir-Kheli SIPDIS reiterated the points of the demarche, pressing the Joint Secretary to instruct the Indian Mission in Geneva to at SIPDIS least abstain from the vote if it can't support the resolution. Arora noted that India's policy was, in general, not in favor of country-specific resolutions. ¶3. (U) This message was approved by Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli. MULFORD