GEORGIA: REQUEST FOR AMBASSADOR'S ASSESSMENT ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 001079 SIPDIS SIPDIS FROM AMBASSADOR TEFFT E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2017 TAGS: PHUM RPEL UNHRC GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: REQUEST FOR AMBASSADOR'S ASSESSMENT ON UNHRC ELECTION REF: A. SECSTATE 63345 ¶B. TBILISI 1037 Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) The Georgian government has confirmed to us that they oppose Belarus' candidacy to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and will vote against Belarus in the upcoming election (Ref B). In my assessment, this is a very firm commitment. The government of Georgia is dedicated to pursuing closer ties with western democracies and seeks integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. It would be completely contrary to Georgia's expressed policy toward Euro-Atlantic integration to support Belarus' candidacy for a seat on the UNHRC. ¶2. (C) The Georgians have indicated that they would be willing to support Slovenia and other candidates against Belarus. We will continue to follow up with them, stressing the candidacies of Slovenia and Bosnia. TEFFT