NETHERLANDS/HRC: BALANCING SUDAN, BURMA AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 000485 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS (A. COPE),AF/S (S. HILL)IO/PSC (G. KANG),DRL/MLGA (J. NOYES),IO/RHS (D. ROHN) E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2017 TAGS: PHUM ASEAN EUN KPKO PREL UNHCR UNSC BM CD CT, RP, ZI, NL SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/HRC: BALANCING SUDAN, BURMA AND ZIMBABWE REF: A. STATE 29795 ¶B. THE HAGUE 406 ¶C. STATE 33357 ¶D. STATE 34009 Classified By: Political Counselor Andrew J. Schofer; reasons 1.4 (b an d d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The GONL's top priority for the HRC's 4th regular session remains Sudan. The Dutch do not believe that HRC action on Zimbabwe is practical. They are willing to consider alternative strategies, however, and their human rights ambassador will travel to Harare at the end of this week to discuss possible approaches. On Burma, the Dutch remain consistent in their support for ASEAN initiatives. They would like to defer HRC action on Burma until Western countries can agree on an effective strategy to counter the OIC. End summary. Sudan remains top Dutch priority at HRC, bar none -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Political Counselor and poloff met March 16 with MFA Ambassador at Large for Human Rights, Piet de Klerk, who reiterated that Sudan remains at the top of the Dutch agenda for the current session of the HRC. De Klerk said that, while the GONL is supportive of efforts to address other problems, it would not act at the expense of efforts on Sudan. Other MFA officers have been more blunt - the MFA believes that any HRC action on Zimbabwe or Burma at this time would deflect critical attention from Sudan. The MFA is therefore unlikely, they say, to support any action at the current HRC session on either of these two issues. Zimbabwe: What can South Africa do? -------------- ¶3. (C) Separately, MFA Human Rights Policy Officer Arjen Kool asked what message the United States was delivering to South Africa. He was hopeful that Pretoria could be goaded into taking a more critical stance in public of Mugabe's government. He noted also that Ambassador de Klerk would arrive in Harare March 23 and would hold talks with NGOs, the MDC and the U.S. Ambassador. ¶4. (C) Kool said that the GONL had no plans to issue statements publicly, but that it stood fully behind the EU's German Presidency statement of last week. Burma: Support for ASEAN action -------------- ¶5. (C) The Dutch believe HRC action on Burma, absent a Western consensus, is ill advised. They prefer to wait for a Western consensus to emerge, even if this means waiting until this summer's 5th session. On the other hand, according to MFA Policy Officer Joris Geeven, the GONL remains supportive of ASEAN initiatives to increase pressure on the Burmese government. ARNALL