C O N F I D E N T I A L SINGAPORE 001063

SIPDIS

EAP/MTS - M. COPPOLA
EAP/RSP - J. VORDERSTRASSE
IO/HR - C. NEVILLE
DRL/MLGA - C. SIBILLA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2019
TAGS: PHUM PREL UN SN
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE WILL FOLLOW CASE-BY-CASE APPROACH TO
THIRD COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS

REF: STATE 109397

Classified By: EP Counselor Joel Ehrendreich for reason 1.4(d)


1. (C) Embassy officers previewed the expected Third
Committee resolutions as outlined in reftel and made a
preliminary request for Singapore's support to Ministry of
Foreign Affairs International Organisations Directorate
Deputy Director Daryl Sng on October 27. Though Singapore is
familiar with the United States' positions on these issues,
it has not voted with the United States in prior years. Sng
did not offer an immediate response, but he said Singapore is
prepared to discuss particular resolutions or motions as
specific texts are proposed. Sng's overall reaction
suggested that Singapore is unlikely to depart from its
traditional opposition to country-specific resolutions,
support for or abstention from no-action motions, and support
for a "defamation of religions" resolution. (Comment: Post
expects that Singapore will likely continue its past practice
in Third Committee votes this year, unless some of its larger
neighbors such as Indonesia and Malaysia can be persuaded to
change their traditional positions. End comment.)

Country-Specific Resolutions on Burma, Iran, and the DPRK
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2. (C) Sng said Singapore generally opposes country-specific
resolutions as a matter of policy. With respect to Iran,
Embassy officers pressed Sng as to whether Singapore would
reconsider its policy in light of the disputed Iranian
election and its aftermath. (Singapore did so in 2007 in
response to violent events in Burma - but only to the extent
of abstaining.) Sng did not offer a substantive response but
said Singapore would consider the merits of any
country-specific resolution based on both the specific text
proposed and the circumstances of the country in question.

No-Action Motions
--------------


3. (C) In keeping with its policy of opposition to
country-specific resolutions, Singapore has historically
supported (or, exceptionally, abstained from voting on)
no-action motions. Sng said Singapore continued to hold the
same views on no-action motions but that any final decision
would, again, depend upon the text of a given motion and the
surrounding circumstances.

OIC Defamation of Religions Resolution
--------------


4. (C) Sng said that in light of Singapore's long-standing
concerns about sectarian tensions among its own religious and
ethnic groups, Singapore has been sympathetic to the concept
underlying the OIC's resolution on defamation of religions.
He added that Singapore has no position on whether it will
support such a resolution this year, since it must see a
proposed text before formulating an opinion. Sng appeared
interested in the joint U.S.-Egypt resolution on freedom of
speech at the Human Rights Council and expressed guarded
approval of an effort to dissuade the OIC from tabling a new
resolution on defamation of religions in favor of a less
divisive alternative. (Sng also took the opportunity to
reiterate that Singapore views country-specific resolutions
as equally divisive.) Sng avoided giving a substantive
response when Embassy officers asked whether he thought
Singapore could play a helpful role in communicating with OIC
countries as part of any such effort.

Elections Resolution
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5. (C) According to Sng, Singapore will likely support the
United States' biennial resolution on free elections, though
he said he was unable to make a definite commitment.

SHIELDS

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