NORWAY'S MIXED RESPONSE ON UNGA WALKOUT REDLINES;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OSLO 000578 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR IO/UNP CHRIS DEUTSCH AND USUN/W JENNIFER SIMON E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/20/2019 TAGS: NO PREL UNGA SUBJECT: NORWAY'S MIXED RESPONSE ON UNGA WALKOUT REDLINES; MORE ON EXPANDING THE CHORUS ON IRAN REF: A: STATE 97566 B: STATE 95073 C: OSLO 569 Classified By: POL/ECON Counselor Cherrie Daniels for Reasons 1.4 b and d. (C) Summary: Pol/Econ Counselor met September 21 upon receipt of reftel with Lars Petter Henie, Deputy Chief of the UN Section of Norway,s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to seek Norway,s support for the USG,s UNGA walkout redlines. Norway,s position against walkouts, whether at UNGA last year or at Durban II, is all too clear, made clearer by Henie,s initial reaction during the initial conversation to schedule the appointment:"You know we would never walk out at UNGA, but we,re happy to hear what you have to say." After an hour long discussion of Ref A points and the context of the new U.S. administration,s overall goal of increasing our engagement with the UN and multilateral institutions, Henie ended on a more positive note, "Actually, we do agree there ought to be standards for civil discourse at UNGA. Perhaps Norway can support the creation of such standards or redlines in a different way, without walking out." He agreed to convey the USG's position and request to Norway,s delegation at UNGA, along with reinforcing to the delegation the USG's position in Ref B regarding Expanding the Chorus on Iran. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Deputy head of the UN section at the Norwegian MFA Lars Petter Henie was initially quite negative about the USG idea of redlines for an UNGA walkout. After listening to the background and points in Ref A, his initial response was essentially, "We understand what you,re saying, but we will just have to disagree; we believe in general that walking out is somewhat childish and, moreover, not constructive." Reading from the GON's response after having stayed to hear Ahmedinejad,s comments at Durban II, Henie added, Norway believes in free expression at such fora, and it is our strategy not to leave the floor to the extremists, but to stay behind and to respond. Pol/Econ Counselor went back over several of ref A points again, reminding Henie that the new U.S. administration,s goal was to increase, not decrease, our engagement at the United Nations and to increase the credibility of the UNGA and UN Human Rights Council, etc, by increasing the objectivity of debate and the tone of discussion. She added that the USG position was to request that Norway and others at least downgrade their representation during such offensive remarks, should they occur, even if they could not walk out with us. No to a Walkout; but Possible Yes to Supporting Creation of Standards of Civil Discourse Appropriate to UNGA -------------- ¶3. (C) By the end of the hour-long discussion, Henie reflected and seemed to find some reason in the USG,s position even if Norway could not see itself walking out at any UN body. Norway agrees with you that there ought to be some kind of standard of civility to increase the credibility and effectiveness of UNGA and other UN bodies, he indicated. Henie therefore committed both to convey the USG position to Norway,s delegation at UNGA and to coordinate within the GON a firm position on the idea. "We do agree with your definition of what kinds of remarks cross the line, and we will find some way to clearly and strongly express our displeasure at any such offensive remarks if they occur, including by means of our own speech at UNGA." Acknowledging that remarks at the United Nations by Iran or others that cross our redlines would not help the credibility of the UN at a time when the new U.S. administration is willing to engage with the UN in a way Norway has long sought, Henie offered: "Perhaps Norway can support creating such standards or redlines for acceptable UNGA discourse in a different way, without walking out." (Embassy Comment: This offer of support "in principle" could be worth fleshing out further in Washington or New York should a common approach emerge from other capitals approached.) ¶4. (C) On the idea of downgrading presence, Henie responded, "We can,t really commit selectively to downgrading our presence in response to offensive comments. Over the course of such a long UNGA opening session, Norway will not always have a senior official in our chair to begin with" (Note: Unlike Durban II, a shorter meeting at which FM Stoere was present throughout and famously stayed in his seat during Ahmedinejad,s remarks. End Note). More Regarding Expanding the Chorus on Iran -------------- ¶5. (C) Pol/Econ Counselor also took the opportunity to OSLO 00000578 002 OF 002 deliver to Mr. Henie the demarche points in Ref B, originally delivered to the MFA Middle East Section September 16 (see Norway,s response Ref C). Henie said he would double track the USG,s message by conveying to Norway,s UNGA delegation our request that Norway use its public speeches and private side meetings in New York to emphasize the importance of Iran,s accepting a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue and fulfilling its international responsibilities. HEG