RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CREATION OF NEW HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000173 SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR NEA/ARP, DRL, G/TIP, IRF, IO E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2014 TAGS: IR KISL OPDC PREL SA OIC KTIP SUBJECT: RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CREATION OF NEW HUMAN RIGHTS ORGAN LIKELY TO BE PASSED AT MAY 23-25 OIC DAMASCUS MINISTERIAL REF: JEDDAH 0121 JEDDAH 00000173 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is moving forward with plans to create a new human rights organ within the OIC. A senior OIC official passed post a draft resolution as it stands now, with key points noted below. Outstanding issues include membership and composition, goals, and location. Iran is said to have sought to have the body comprised of government officials, but its efforts have largely been ignored by the OIC Secretariat. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Assistant Secretary of the OIC for Cultural and Social Affairs, Ambassador Hemayet Uddin (former Bangladesh Foreign Secretary),recently passed a copy of a draft resolution on OIC's new Human Rights Commission to the Consul General and Poloff. The resolution builds off efforts made by the Secretariat to establish a human rights organ within the OIC (reftel). The resolution is likely to be adopted in some form at the May 23-25 OIC Ministerial in Damascus. Candid comments by Ufuk Gokcen, advisor to the OIC Secretary General, reveal the outstanding issues. ¶3. (C) EXPERTS OR DIPLOMATS?: According to Gokcen, plans for the OIC's new human rights organ are moving ahead with the "overall support of the member states except on the nature and composition of the body itself." The draft resolution indicates that the body will be comprised of experts. Since composition will be selected through member state nomination, nothing prevents the appointment of member state government officials. The following resolutions focus on this issue: Article 2: The Commission shall be composed of 19 experts nominated by the Member States' governments and elected by the Council of Foreign Ministers for a three-year period renewable once. The Committee shall perform an advisory function under the aegis of the Council of Foreign Ministers. Article 5: The Member States shall ensure that the experts nominated to the Commission have lofty value and established competence in the domain of human rights. ¶4. (C) IRAN PUSHING FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS RATHER THAN EXPERTS: Gokcen noted that the Secretariat has been pushing for a body consisting solely of experts. Gokcen claims that Iran is the only member state seeking to have the commission comprised of member state government officials as opposed to independent experts. Although the Iranians apparently submitted their own separate draft proposal with ideas separate from that of the rest of the membership, the Secretariat did not take the bait. Gokcen: "What we did is that we completely ignored the Iranian document." Gokcen warned that with Iran "if you don't include them (in the process),they come back later." ¶5. (C) INDONESIA OR ALGERIA AS POTENTIAL LOCATIONS: The location of the future OIC human rights organ is itself sensitive. According to Gokcen, "Confidentially the Secretary General wants to reach out to Indonesia and Algeria." The draft resolution leaves either possibility open: Article 26: The headquarters of the Commission shall be in one of the OIC Member States and the Commission shall hold its meetings in its headquarters or in any Member State. The Council of Foreign Ministers shall determine the Commission's headquarters. ¶6. (C) ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ORGAN UNCLEAR: Ufuk Gokcen noted that there is ongoing discussion about whether the human rights organ will play more of a role in prevention or promotion of human rights -- or both. It does not appear that functional investigation will be undertaken. The following articles provide some idea of the role: Article 10: The Commission shall seek to ensure the promotion and protection of the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in the Member States. Article 20: The Commission shall investigate any possible human rights violations by the OIC Member States in accordance with its rules of procedure, and shall submit JEDDAH 00000173 002.2 OF 002 reports thereon to the Council of Foreign Ministers for appropriate decision. (The draft place this paragraph between brackets and with a recommendation that it be referred to at a later meeting). ¶7. (C) POTENTIAL FOR FOCUS ON ANTI-DEFAMATION/ISLAMAPHOBIA: One article points to the potential for the commission to be used as a vehicle for anti-defamation and the OIC's Islamaphobia prevention campaign: Article 4: The Commission shall add value in serving the interests of the Muslim Ummah in the domain of human rights and encourage respect for languages, cultures and the tolerant Islamic values, the territorial integrity of the Member States and non-interference in their internal affairs. ¶8. (C) ROLE OF WOMEN: The OIC does not have many women within its rank and file, but there appears to be some attempt in the verbiage to encourage the appointment of women. The following sections of the draft are explicit: Article 8: The Member States are encouraged to nominate women to the membership of the Commission. Article 12: The Commission shall promote the laws and policies aimed at promoting the status of women and vulnerable sections of society in the Member States in the economic, social, political and cultural fields in consistency with the provisions of the OIC Charter, and protecting them from all forms of discrimination and violence. ¶9. (C) COMMENT: While the role of the new OIC human rights body remains fuzzy, OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu sees the initiative as a high priority. While the new commission has the theoretical potential to raise human rights issues within member states, there remains a high risk of politicization. Members may utilize the body purely to focus on favorite topics or whipping boys such as Islamaphobia, GITMO detentions and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict instead of examining broader concerns. The fledgling OIC human rights commission may well find itself discouraged from addressing specific human rights problems within member states. Post will continue to monitor developments. QUINN