GOLDSTONE - URUGUAY WILL ABSTAIN IF HRC RESOLUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONTEVIDEO 000577 SIPDIS IO/RHS FOR CARI ENAV AND KELLY RAZZOUK NEA/IPA FOR JEFFREY GIAUQUE E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2019 TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER KISL KPAL IS UY SUBJECT: GOLDSTONE - URUGUAY WILL ABSTAIN IF HRC RESOLUTION UPHOLDS RECOMMENDATIONS REF: A. STATE 98567 ¶B. MONTEVIDEO 556 Classified By: CDA Robin Matthewman for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Charge conveyed reftel points to Foreign Minister Pedro Vaz on October 1, following up on an earlier demarche delivered to the Director Human Rights on October 23. The Foreign Minister reiterated the GOU's intention to seek a balanced and moderate outcome from the Goldstone Report. He explained that the GOU would consider the report and its recommendations separately. If the resolution upholds both in their entirety, Uruguay would abstain. If it generally upholds the report, but not its recommendations, Uruguay would tend towards a favorable vote. Vaz commented that Uruguay did not favor a third possibility, wherein the resolution would approve some, but not all, of the report's recommendations. Vaz looked at that option as not feasible. He emphasized that Uruguay would not support the recommendation to address this issue in a forum other than the HRC. Matthewman