UGANDA: GOU CONSIDERS USG POSITION ON ANTI-ISRAELI

UNCLAS KAMPALA 001542


PASS TO IO/UNP ANDREW MORRISON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL UNGA IS PA LE SY UG
SUBJECT: UGANDA: GOU CONSIDERS USG POSITION ON ANTI-ISRAELI
RESOLUTIONS

REF: STATE 123081


1. PolOff delivered reftel points to Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Multilateral Organizations and Treaties Office
Director Isaac Sebulime on November 20, calling on Uganda to
vote against or at a minimum abstain on unhelpful and
disproportionate resolutions against Israel. Sebulime said
that the GOU recognized that the Israel-Palestine issue was
"politicized" within the UN, but noted that it was a problem
created by the UN and therefore viewed by many in the
international community as the place to solve it. In the
end, Sebulime said that the GOU would review past resolutions
and consider the USG position accordingly.


2. Comment: As noted in reftel, Uganda in the past has had a
mixed record in supporting the U.S. position on anti-Israeli
resolutions. Barring imminent changes in key positions at
the Foreign Ministry or at the Ugandan Mission to the UN, we
do not expect any substantial shifts in GOU voting patterns
towards Israel or Palestine.

BROWNING