LEBANON TO VOTE AS NORMAL IN UPCOMING UNGA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIRUT 001001 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2014 TAGS: PREL PGOV PARM UNGA UNSC LE SUBJECT: LEBANON TO VOTE AS NORMAL IN UPCOMING UNGA REF: STATE 90254 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) As requested in reftel, poloff delivered points on the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to Majdi Ramadan, U.S. desk officer at the Lebanese MFA. Because government formation is ongoing, Ramadan predicted that Lebanon would likely not take any initiatives during the UNGA except competing for a rotating seat on the Security Council. He also reported that Lebanon would vote (in descending order of priority) according to its own precedents, the Arab League's position, and finally the G-77 position. With regard to specific issues raised in reftel, Ramadan predicted the following positions: - Peacekeeping and Conflict Management: Strong support for UN peacekeeping missions as a nation hosting such a mission. - The Middle East: As an Arab League member with a large population of Palestinians, Lebanon will not support consolidating resolutions regarding Israel. - Creating Stability in Afghanistan: Lebanon will support increasing the budget for the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, although Ramadan predicted discord within the G-77, possibly from Egypt or Pakistan, for budget increases only for "favored" missions. - Human Rights and Democracy: Ramadan welcomed U.S. participation in the Human Rights Council and predicted that Lebanon will vote for country-specific human rights resolutions regarding the DPRK and Burma and abstain during no-action motions on them. Lebanon will vote against resolutions regarding Iran and Sudan and vote for no-action motions related to those two countries. - Gender Issues: Lebanon will likely follow the G-77 on consolidating the four UN bodies dealing with women's issues. - UN Effectiveness and Reform: Lebanon strongly supports maintaining the U.S. ceiling for the Scale of Assessments at 22% and hinted at discord within the G-77 on adjusting the scale, with China blocking all discussion on the subject. Lebanon supports reaching agreement on the scale and the budget by consensus. - Lebanon will strongly support non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament resolutions. - Lebanon will support both the Organization of the Islamic Conference's resolution against religious defamation and the U.S.-sponsored one on the elimination of religious intolerance. - Lebanon will "consider" Egyptian amendments to the resolution on torture but will likely support the resolution. BIOGRAPHIC NOTE -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Majdi Ramadan has been in the Lebanese foreign service for just over ten years. He served three years in Ghana and Liberia before spending seven years in New York at the Lebanese UN mission as counselor and legal advisor. He will return to the Lebanese mission to the UN this fall to assist with UNSC issues. He has a B.A. from the American University of Beirut, a law degree from the Lebanese University, and an MBA from Columbia. He speaks English, Arabic, and French. He is a Shi'a Muslim. SISON