UNGA KEEPS TAIWAN UN MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION OFF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000786 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNGA CH TW SUBJECT: UNGA KEEPS TAIWAN UN MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION OFF AGENDA REF: A) USUN 773 B) STATE 133171 USUN NEW Y 00000786 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Summary: The UN General Assembly met in plenary session September 21 to consider the report of the UN General Committee containing its recommendations for the agenda of the new (62nd) UNGA session which opened September 18. The General Committee had decided not to inscribe the agenda item regarding Taiwan's UN membership application. When the issue arose in the plenary, 140 delegations took the floor to discuss this portion of the report. Of these, 14 spoke in favor of inscription, while the remaining 126 spoke in support of the General Committee's recommendation not to include the agenda item. The majority included all European members of the Security Council (list of speakers in para 3 and 5). At the conclusion of the debate, the UNGA President gaveled through without challenge the General Committee's decision not to inscribe the agenda item on Taiwan. The report of the General Committee was subsequently adopted without a vote. End Summary. ¶2. (U) As reported ref A, the UN's General Committee decided September 19 not to recommend the inclusion of a proposed agenda item on Taiwan's membership application in the UN. When the plenary session of the UNGA met September 21 to consider the General Committee's recommendations, a lengthy debate arose on the issue of this agenda item. ¶3. (U) The 15 delegations who spoke in favor of inscribing an agenda item regarding Taiwan's UN application included: Gambia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Palau, Burkina Faso, the Solomon Islands, Paraguay, Belize, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Swaziland, Sao Tome and Principe, Saint Kitts and Nevis. These states based their arguments on the rule of law and UN procedure. They argued that the Secretary-General's decision not to receive Taiwan's application for membership to the UN over the summer was arbitrary, baseless, and a disappointment. They also said that the refusal to consider Taiwan's application by the UN Secretariat and the majority of UN members states is anti-democratic and constitutes a violation of the fundamental human rights of the 23 million people of Taiwan. They argued that UNGA Resolution 2758 (1971) is not the final decision of the issue of the status of Taiwan. Several called for the General Committee to reconsider its decision. ¶4. (U) The majority of member states opposed inclusion of the agenda item, citing UNGA Resolution 2758 (1971) and support for the "One-China" policy. A smaller group explicitly asserted that Taiwan is an integral part of China. When the session opened, some 50 states had arranged to speak. Over the course of the day, more states joined the speaker's list, including a late afternoon decision by many members of the EU to speak out. Per ref B, USUN did not speak. (The U.S. position has been posted to USUN's website.) Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand also did not speak. There was no vote called on the matter. At the conclusion of the debate, the Chair stated that he understood the wish of the General Assembly is not to include the agenda item and declared the matter decided. ¶5. (U) Delegations who spoke in opposition included: Cuba, China, Venezuela, Cambodia, Mauritania, Colombia, Egypt, Rwanda, Micronesia, Burma, Russia, Brazil, East Timor, Zimbabwe, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Gabon, Cyprus, North Korea, Guinea, Belarus, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Morocco, Greece, Tanzania, Tunisia, Malaysia, Serbia, Central African Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Djibouti, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syrian Arab Republic, South Africa, Yemen, Congo, Philippines, Montenegro, Uruguay, Moldova, Bolivia, Cameroon, Iran, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Algeria, Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, Kuwait, Nepal, Peru, Burundi, Spain, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Mauritius, Senegal, Chile, Indonesia, Tonga, Angola, Lao, Papua New Guinea, Ukraine, Sierra Leone, Comoros, Uzbekistan, Romania, Togo, Jamaica, Barbados, Somalia, Niger, Sudan, Eritrea, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Albania, Namibia, Ecuador, Malta, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mongolia, India, Republic of Korea, Suriname, Libya, Benin, Turkmenistan, Lithuania, Cape Verde, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Luxembourg, Maldives, Lesotho, Iceland, Nigeria, Pakistan, Austria, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, Poland, Fiji, Finland, Ghana, Switzerland, Uganda, Armenia, Turkey, Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Slovenia, Netherlands, Botswana, Slovakia, Czech Republic. USUN NEW Y 00000786 002.2 OF 002 KHALILZAD