ACTIVISTS' ANGER OVER U.S. POSITION ON GOLDSTONE REPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 001997



SIPDIS



FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/NESCA AND IO/RHS

NSC FOR KUMAR



E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2029

TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KPAL, UN, IS, EG

SUBJECT: ACTIVISTS' ANGER OVER U.S. POSITION ON GOLDSTONE

REPORT



REF: CAIRO 1834



Classified By: Economic-Political Minister-Counselor

Donald A. Blome for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).



1. KEY POINTS



-- (C) Following the UN Human Rights Council's (UNHRC)

October 2 deferral of action on the Goldstone Report, human

rights contacts expressed to us privately their deep

disappointment in the U.S. position on the report.



-- (U) On October 2, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights

Studies (CIHRS),which closely follows the UNHRC, issued a

mixed public statement that praised U.S.-Egyptian cooperation

on the freedom of expression resolution, but criticized the

U.S. position on Goldstone. Other NGOs were largely silent

in public.



-- (SBU) On October 17, following U.S. opposition to the

UNHRC October 16 resolution on the report, a coalition of

NGOs, many of whom are hostile toward USG policy, issued an

inflammatory public statement criticizing U.S. "bias" toward

an Israeli "government of murderers."



2. (C) Comment: Muted NGO public criticism of the U.S.

following the October 2 UNHRC deferral came in the context of

commentary in the pro-government and independent press that

blamed the Palestinians and the "Arab countries," along with

the U.S. and Israel. However, much of the press'

post-October 16 reporting criticized the U.S. vote against

the UNHRC resolution, including one pro-government paper's

condemnation of the U.S. as "corrupt." As press attention

began to focus on the U.S., the NGO coalition's shrill

criticism of the U.S. was generally consistent with

prevailing press sentiments. End comment.



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Contacts' Disappointment over Goldstone Deferral

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3. (C) Following the October 2 UNHRC deferral, our human

rights contacts who most carefully watch the UNHRC privately

criticized the U.S. position on Goldstone. Egyptian

Initiative for Personal Rights Executive Director Hossam

Bahgat called U.S. policy on the report "sad and

unfortunate," and asserted that the U.S. "gave up a tool" to

pressure Israel into negotiations. He claimed that the U.S.

position undermined international justice, and showed that

the U.S. values Israel's political needs over those of the

Palestinians and other Arabs. Bahgat rejected DRL A/S

Posner's references at the UNHRC to Israel's democratic

system as irrelevant to Israel's human rights violations. We

responded that the U.S. is working with Israel and the

Palestinian Authority to re-start negotiations as soon as

possible, and that the U.S. is encouraging domestic

investigations of human rights violations.



4. (C) Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

Director Bahey Al-Din Hassan charged the U.S. with having a

double-standard for Israel. He called for immediate

follow-up on Goldstone in the UN, saying that Israel should

not be treated differently than "other human rights

violators." He made the same point as Bahgat that the U.S.

missed an opportunity to press Israel into negotiations.

Both Hassan and Bahgat said Israeli Prime Minister

Netanyahu's public comments on the report reminded them of

Sudanese President Bashir's warning that UN steps against him

would jeopardize the Sudanese peace process. Hassan charged

that U.S. support for Israel on the report weakened U.S.

standing as a defender of human rights.



5. (SBU) CIHRS issued a mixed public statement October 2 that

criticized the UNHRC's deferral of action on the Goldstone

Report, and praised U.S.-Egyptian cooperation on the freedom

of expression resolution. The statement asserted: "In

effect, Israel and the U.S. have once again worked together

to ensure international impunity for war crimes committed in

Gaza by Israeli forces." Other NGOs were largely silent in

public over the UNHRC October 2 deferral.



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Anger at U.S. Vote against Goldstone Resolution

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6. (C) Following U.S. opposition to the October 16 UNHRC



CAIRO 00001997 002 OF 002





Goldstone resolution, a coalition of 12 Egyptian NGOs issued

an October 17 public statement entitled, "Adopting the

Goldstone Report: a blow to the government of murderers in

Israel, exposing the ugly bias of the American Government."

The statement accuses the U.S. of "hostility to international

justice," and speculates that Israel "would not have

continued to disregard the principles of justice and

international law without the support of the U.S.

government." It concludes by asserting that a possible U.S.

veto in the UN Security Council would "exceed" the actions of

"the American war criminals led by Dick Cheney and Donald

Rumsfeld." (Note: Many of the statement's signatories are

credible organizations that are well known to us. We have

direct contact with several of these NGOs, but others refuse

to meet with us over their opposition to U.S. policy. End

note.) On October 19, an official from one signatory

organization, The Hisham Mubarak Law Center, privately

asserted to us that the U.S. position on Goldstone

demonstrated that the U.S. has no concern for human rights.

Scobey