THAILAND WILL SUPPORT GERMANY, ITALY, AND GREECE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 002806 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR IO/MPR - BRIAN G. HACKETT E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM UNGA UNGA KUNR KJUS KAWC APER, AORC, TH SUBJECT: THAILAND WILL SUPPORT GERMANY, ITALY, AND GREECE FOR U.N. ICSC IN VOTE SWAPS REF: A. STATE 109341 ¶B. BANGKOK 1306 (THAILAND TO CONSIDER U.S. CANDIDATE FOR UN ICSC) Classified By: Political Counselor George P. Kent, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) PolOff engaged Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Department of International Organizations official Ranoppun Kapittai November 3 to follow up a meeting we had October 28 with Department of International Organizations Deputy Director-General Medha Promthep to seek support for Lucretia Myers' candidacy for the U.N. International Civil Service Commission (ICSC)(ref B). Ranoppun stated that the RTG had decided not to support Ms. Myer's candidacy because Thailand had entered into a vote swap deal with Germany and Italy in which the RTG would support those nations' candidates for the ICSC in exchange for support for Thailand's candidate for the U.N. World Heritage Committee. In a separate vote swap deal with Greece, Thailand agreed to support Greece's candidate to the U.N. ICSC in exchange for support for Thailand's candidate for the U.N.International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). (Note: The Thai candidate was successfully elected to both the World Heritage Committee and the INCB. End note.) ¶2. (C) Ranoppun said the RTG Thailand had made it a high priority to have a representative on the World Heritage Committee due to the ongoing border dispute with Cambodia regarding overlapping territory claims adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple. This had become an issue of particular concern following the listing of the temple as a world heritage site. As there had also been a Cambodian candidate for the World Heritage Committee, Thailand had wanted to do all it could to have a representative on the Committee in order "to bring balance to the Committee", Ranoppun said. With vote trading becoming increasingly common in the U.N., Ranoppun opined that it could become increasingly difficult for the RTG to vote with the U.S. without Thailand receiving voting considerations in return. Ranoppun stated that as a result of U.S. support of Thailand's candidate for the U.N. World Heritage Committee, if there were to be a second round of voting that the RTG would then support Ms. Myers' candidacy. JOHN