RWANDA ON ANTI-ISRAEL AND COMPLIANCE WITH

UNCLAS KIGALI 000819 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO IO/UNP ANDREW MORRISON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV UNGA RW SUBJECT: RWANDA ON ANTI-ISRAEL AND COMPLIANCE WITH NON-PROLIFERATION DEMARCHES REF: A. STATE 123493 ¶B. STATE 123081 ¶1. (SBU) Pol/Econ Chief met November 24 with Joseph Kabakeza, Director General of Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss reftel demarches on Anti-Israel resolutions (ref B) and the Non-Proliferation resolution (ref A). Kabakeza said his ministry would give careful consideration to the request to vote against anti-Israel resolutions, particularly the three resolutions to extend the three specialized bodies focusing on Palestinian rights. Agreeing that these resolutions add little to the search for peace, and often served simply to aggravate Israeli public opinion, Kabakeza cautioned that Rwanda often did not attend such votes, as its "skeletal" delegation could not track all the issues in the busy UNGA session. ¶2. (SBU) Kabakeza also listened attentively to the demarche points on the Compliance resolution passed by the First Committee, agreeing that the overwhelmingly positive vote in the First Committee showed the strong support the international community had for this resolution. He promised to consult closely with the Foreign Minister in framing Rwanda's position. SYMINGTON