SWITZERLAND SUPPORTS RENEWAL OF MANDATE FOR THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERN 000241 SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO/RHS (A.OSTERMEIER/G.PATEL),DRL/MLGA (L.SICADE),AND EUR/CE (Y.SAINT-ANDRE) E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2019 TAGS: AORC PHUM PREL SZ SUBJECT: SWITZERLAND SUPPORTS RENEWAL OF MANDATE FOR THE SUDAN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR REF: SECSTATE 55852 Classified By: POLE Counselor Richard Rorvig; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) Ambassador Andrea Semadeni, Special Envoy for the Sudan and the Horn of Africa, and Esther Keimer, FDFA program officer for Sub-Saharan Africa, told poloff on June 4 in response to reftel demarche that Switzerland was in favor of renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Sudan. Semadeni stressed that countries like the U.S. and Switzerland will never have a majority on the Human Rights Council, and that Switzerland therefore supports dialogue in order to try to reach a mutually agreed upon outcome. He added, though, that this sometimes becomes a "dialogue of the deaf," as neither side is willing to compromise. ¶2. (C) Semadeni and Keimer praised the work of Special Rapporteur Sima Samar, and said that when Samar is in Sudan, Swiss Ambassador Andrej Motyl arranges meetings between Samar and generally less constructive Sudanese actors at the Ambassador's residence. These meetings are an attempt by Motyl to show the Sudanese that Samar herself is from a country with a troubled history of human rights, and therefore is in a good position to work with the Sudanese government on this issue. ¶3. (C) Keimer told poloff of a project Switzerland initiated with Sudan after the Special Session on Darfur in 2006 in order to assist in implementing the Group of Experts' list of recommendations. Semadeni wryly remarked that the Government of Sudan "appreciates" the support, or at least says that it does. Keimer added that "The Project," as FDFA calls this bilateral initiative, obliges Sudan to remain involved with the HRC throughout the year, rather than only once a year. ¶4. (C) On a separate note, Semadeni emphasized that the Government of Switzerland was very pleased to have the USG back on the HRC, assessing that the institution was weakened as a result of non-participation by the U.S. in recent years. Keimer added that she hoped the balance of the HRC would be tilted more favorably now that the U.S. is a member. CARTER