CANADA TO DOWNPLAY ROLE OF UNDP CHAIR IF IRAN WINS

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 000016 SIPDIS IO/EDA FOR CHARLES CHANG AND NEA/IR FOR VICTORIA TAYLOR E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2019 TAGS: PREL EAID IR UN CA SUBJECT: CANADA TO DOWNPLAY ROLE OF UNDP CHAIR IF IRAN WINS REF: A. STATE 1500 ¶B. LONDON 55 Classified By: PolMinCouns Scott Bellard, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Canada will not openly oppose Iran's candidacy for the chair of the UNDP executive board, according to Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) International Organization Deputy Director Shannon-Marie Soni. Instead, Canada will seek to downplay the importance of the role of the chair and to marginalize Iran if it succeeds in its bid. Using language strikingly similar to the UK response (ref b), Soni commented that Canada does not want to "hand Iran a victory" and allow it to be "seen as having triumphed over the West" on an issue that Canada deems of secondary importance compared with our shared concerns over non-proliferation and human rights. Soni noted that Canada's UN mission had also consulted privately with the South Korean delegation, which confirmed that the ROK is unwilling to step forward to take Iran's place. Canada will also not support a motion for a vote, unless another candidate presents itself, added Soni. With no viable alternative, Soni said that Canada could see no reason to hand Iran "such valuable political leverage." Soni predicted that Iran is likely to succeed in its bid, thanks to G-77 support, but stressed that Canada views the chair of the executive board as "mostly devoid of power and largely symbolic." ¶2. (C) Soni nonetheless underscored that DFAIT strongly opposed this passive course of action, but admitted that DFAIT had been left out of the loop by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA),which represents Canadian interests on the UNDP. She said that the fast moving nature of this issue had unfortunately allowed CIDA to cut DFAIT out of the policy deliberations. DFAIT's own (unsuccessful) position had been that Canada "couldn't NOT oppose the Iranian candidacy," given Iranian treatment of Canada following Canada's successful UNGA resolution on human rights in Iran. ¶3. (C) Canada will seek to avoid making any public comment on Iran's bid, but would respond to questions publicly by emphasizing its general policy of respect for the "procedural prerogatives" of regional groups to choose their nominees, according to Soni. She noted that Canada also uses this policy to support various nominations of Israel by the WEOG. Visit Canada,s Economy and Environment Forum at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/can ada WILKINS