FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF NEW UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L GENEVA 000790 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2018 TAGS: PHUM PINR UNHRC SUBJECT: FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF NEW UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PILLAY Classified By: Ambassador Warren Tichenor. Reasons: 1.4 (B/D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In her first two and a half weeks as the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanetham Pillay has demonstrated an intelligence and deep commitment to human rights that we find somewhat encouraging; also encouraging, from our perspective, were her initial, positive comments about the U.S. in her introductory meeting with the Ambassador. So far, Pillay has attached high priority to Durban, while not staking out positions on many other issues or laying out a clear vision for the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR). Pillay seems firmly committed to preserving OHCHR's independence, although it remains unclear if she has the political savvy to fend off those who wish to erode it. Given that she still is developing her views on a range of issues, the current moment offers an important opportunity to shape her thinking on her new job. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Pillay was an unknown quantity in Geneva when UN SYG Ban announced her in July as the next High Commissioner. In the period since she assumed her position on September 1, she has spoken twice before the Human Rights Council as well as proceeding with a full schedule of meetings, including with regional groupings and within OHCHR. We offer the following snapshot of first impressions about Pillay, based on an introductory call with Ambassador Tichenor and a luncheon he hosted for her with other ambassadors, as well as on conversations with others -- in the diplomatic community, among NGOs and in OHCHR -- who have met with her over the past weeks. INTELLIGENT AND COMMITTED... -------------- ¶3. (C) Among the only issues on which there is wide consensus so far is that Pillay is highly intelligent, with a thought process which appears largely informed by her many years as a judge. For many, this portends a High Commissioner who will be fair and methodical, and careful to check the facts before drawing conclusions. Consensus also centers on Pillay's deep commitment to human rights, based both on her work particularly on the Rwanda tribunal and her earlier, formative experience as an anti-apartheid lawyer in South Africa. In the view of many of our interlocutors, that commitment, and the firmness with which she articulated it, was the most noteworthy theme in her September 8 introductory 
statement to the Human Rights Council. An Ethiopian diplomat commented to us that Pillay's firm pledge to speak out forthrightly on human rights violations raised concerns among a number of African delegations that she would be a force to contend with. She seems an engaging but careful interlocutor. ...AND A POSITIVE MESSAGE ABOUT THE U.S. -------------- ¶4. (C) From our perspective, Pillay made a number of encouraging remarks during her September 10 introductory call on Ambassador Tichenor. She began by describing the U.S. as "the home of human rights." She remembered fondly the help she received from U.S. consultants during her time on the Rwanda Tribunal, and noted enthusiastically that one of her daughters is now living in the U.S.. She responded favorably to the Ambassador's call for good dialogue with the Mission, including his request that she provide a heads-up, to the extent possible, before publicly leveling criticism of the U.S. so that we could ensure that she had her facts straight; she added, however, that she would pursue the same approach with all missions. PRIORITY ON DURBAN -------------- ¶5. (C) Pillay quickly turned, in her introductory call, to a discussion of the Durban anti-racism conference, which has proven a high priority in her initial period as High Commissioner. Echoing the comments she had made in her introductory statement to the Council, where she expressed hope that countries that did not intend to attend Durban would be persuaded to change their minds, she told the Ambassador that she was focusing heavily on Durban because she wanted to make it a success. The voice of the U.S. was needed to raise issues and offer perspectives critical to that success, Pillay continued, pledging that she would do all in her power to make the outcome document fair and constructive. When the Ambassador explained the U.S. position on the issue, Pillay pleaded that the U.S. "give me a chance on Durban." MANAGERIAL APPROACH STILL UNCLEAR -------------- ¶6. (C) OHCHR contacts tell us that Pillay has yet to put her stamp on the OHCHR or even to offer a clear vision of her plans for that organization. Most staffers we have spoken with take this in stride, although they betray a bit of concern at having no idea of how she plans to proceed. Ibrahim Salama (please protect),Chief of the OHCHR Treaties and Council Branch (whom Egypt had promoted as a possible High Commissioner),told us with some disappointment that in her initial meetings with the organization's departments, Pillay had confessed to having "no real vision" on the subject. ¶7. (C) Pillay has told staffers, however, that she intends to spend more time than her predecessors at the UN's New York headquarters. Her reasoning is that human rights are not sufficiently integrated into the work being done there. Being in New York more often will also give Pillay the opportunity to try to fund-raise with governments as well as with large U.S.-based foundations, an effort that was begun, with only modest success, under Arbour. (For now, only the MacArthur Foundation, among such foundations, has provided OHCHR with funding.) SORTING OUT HOW TO DEAL WITH COUNTRY SITUATIONS -------------- -- ¶8. (C) Despite her pledge to tackle country-specific human rights problems, Pillay has yet to sort out how she plans to do so. At Ambassador Tichenor's luncheon, she gave only vague answers to questions on that subject, mentioning countries' treaty obligations, the need to make sure OHCHR had the facts straight, and the importance of seeking quietly and directly to influence the country's authorities before going public. Only when Ambassador Tichenor followed up by asking if Pillay would be prepared to speak out forcefully on violations if necessary did she say she would do so, without providing any details. ¶9. (C) Although she mentioned in that luncheon the importance of traveling to human rights hot spots, Pillay also is working out how she will proceed on that front. Following her initial meeting with EU ambassadors, several of them told us that she had focused her comments on her work in Geneva and New York rather than on traveling to countries to shine a light on their human rights problems. COMMITMENT TO INDEPENDENCE -------------- ¶10. (C) In all her meetings, Pillay has shown a keen awareness of the issue of OHCHR's independence and a firm commitment to preserve it. In her introductory meeting with the Ambassador, she said that she had spoken about this at length with her predecessor, Louise Arbour. She stressed that her mandate came from UNGA rather than the Human Rights Council. Commenting that she had "not applied for this job," she emphasized that she would not tolerate undue interference from the Council or its member states. She agreed that being as transparent as possible with the Council would blunt some of the attacks on her independence, while recognizing that this was only a partial solution. ¶11. (C) We heard few doubts among our interlocutors about the depth of Pillay's commitment to her office's independence. Some interlocutors, however, questioned whether she had the political savvy effectively to fend off the challenges to that independence. The general consensus is that those seeking to impose more control over the OHCHR have agreed to put off the effort for the moment but that they plan to go back on the offensive in future Council sessions. Salama was among several interlocutors who told us that Pillay's background, while perhaps preparing her well to stand up to the challenges, may not have helped her to develop the kind of political savvy that is pivotal to deal with the issue. COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (C) It is far too early to draw conclusions about whether Pillay will prove an effective High Commissioner. For the moment, the Geneva-based human rights community is hopeful but harbors some concerns about her vision and political savvy. In this key initial period in her tenure, Pillay will come under huge pressure from various quarters. We plan to interact with her and her staff to shape her thinking, and similar efforts by Washington principals can have a particularly potent influence. TICHENOR