MEXICO ON UNSC REFORM AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A/S

UNCLAS STATE 104726 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNGA PREL SUBJECT: MEXICO ON UNSC REFORM AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A/S BRIMMER'S SEPTEMBER 24 MEETING WITH MEXICAN UNDER SECRETARY FOR MULTILATERAL AFFAIRS AND HUMAN RIGHTS JUAN MANUEL GOMEZ ROBLEDO ¶1. SUMMARY. A/S Brimmer met with Mexican Under Secretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo on September 24 on the margins of the 64th UN General Assembly (UNGA). The discussion focused primarily on UN Security Council (UNSC) reform and human rights. END SUMMARY. ¶2. At his first meeting with IO Assistant Secretary Esther Brimmer, Mexican Under Secretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo thanked A/S Brimmer for the phone calls on the UNESCO elections and said that Mexico was very relieved by the results. He then continued with a lengthy discussion of UNSC reform and Mexico's efforts towards the 2011 review of the Human Rights Council. -------------- UN Security Council Reform -------------- ¶3. Gomez said that Mexico was "profoundly committed" to a solution that could garner the "widest possible acceptance." He understood that Mexico, along with the Uniting For Consensus (UFC) group, have been perceived as wanting to postpone negotiations, but in reality Mexico did not want to "prolong the agony" and urged progress, notwithstanding their own red-lines. ¶4. Mexico would "never accept" new permanent members. He said, "Isn't it odd to be insisting on changes to the G20 and the G8, recognizing that work changes and more nations should participate in international decisions, but in the UNSC we go back to World War II considerations and give the privilege to only a few?" Adding new permanent members would, he said, send the wrong messages, as follows: a. New permanent representatives would not in fact provide regional representation. On the Council, Gomez stated, each nation would represent only its own national interests. b. Some nations have argued that an unreformed Council would lose legitimacy, but Gomez said this would be a dangerous argument, as it would undermine effectiveness. He stressed that all UNSC decisions are legal and legitimate. c. Adding new permanent members would not serve the aspirations of the 70-plus members who have never served on the Council. Small countries could make valuable contributions, he said, and should be allowed to participate actively through new longer-term, renewable non-permanent seats. ¶5. Gomez said that Mexico did not intend to block any particular country or country grouping. He said regional rivalry did not play any role in their position, certainly not rivalries in South America, and particularly not against Brazil. ¶6. Gomez said that he had been in close touch with the Japanese, who had stated that UNSC expansion would require Charter amendments requiring the widest possible agreement in order to be ratified. He said that it was in the G-4's best interest to get the widest possible agreement, and that the G-4 might be beginning to understand that, even though they have publicly continued to call for two-thirds majorities. He hoped that the situation during the 2005 Millennium Summit on UN reforms could be avoided. Gomez said that Summit was "hijacked" by UNSC reform when the G-4, thinking that they were close to getting their permanent seats, relegated the rest of the agenda to the last few days of the Summit only to fail because the African countries were not on board. Gomez cited this outcome as an example of the divisiveness of the issue that had "affected the fabric of the membership." He said that the intergovernmental negotiations in the 63rd UNGA were a positive step forward. -------------- Human Rights -------------- ¶7. A/S Brimmer mentioned our rejoining the Human Rights Council (HRC) and our Universal Periodic Review next year, as well as the reviews of the Human Rights Council itself. She said that the United States, in an effort to bridge divides, has worked with Egypt on a freedom of expression resolution. She also said that regarding the Durban document, the United States wanted to find a way to avoid re-fighting the argument each time other members bring it up in texts at the General Assembly. ¶8. Gomez said that these issues were touched on during a recent U.S.-Canada-Mexico trilateral meeting. He expressed hope that A/S Brimmer would attend an October 28 - 29 "reflection group" meeting in Mexico City to discuss the HRC reviews, organized with France. This group, which would include civil society as well as non-like-minded nations, would craft a report to the General Assembly and the Secretary-General before discussions began. Gomez said he was worried that the Russians were convening a similar group on the premise that the HRC review was a Western-driven exercise. ¶9. On freedom of expression, Gomez conveyed his congratulations to the United States for its work with Egypt. Solving this issue, he said, would also solve the issue of defamation of religion, which Mexico did not like. Gomez said that during a bilateral meeting with Pakistan, he told them to stop making defamation of religion solely an issue of the clash between Islam and the rest of the world. Freedom of conscience was the basis; all people should have the freedom to choose a religion, or not, as well as freedom of expression. ¶10. Gomez expressed concern about Russia's promotion of the issue "traditional values," which Mexico also did not like. He said this proposal had the potential of undermining basic rules of human rights. Mexico would never support this initiative, which he said would divide the membership. It reminded him an "old Cuban trick" in which the Cubans promoted the idea that citizens had responsibilities to the states that confer on them socio-economic benefits and rights. Gomez also expressed concern about the compatibility between "traditional values" and the plight of women in Muslim countries. A/S Brimmer said that the United States shared Mexico's unease. ¶11. Gomez asked about the status of the United States ratifying the Convention on Ending Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). A/S Brimmer responded that CEDAW was being considered along with several other outstanding treaties, including the treaty on the rights of persons with disabilities, which the United States signed in July 2009. -------------- Other Issues -------------- ¶12. Citing the utility of bilateral consultations prior to assuming their UNSC seat last year, Gomez said that he would like to have another meeting with IO regarding the second year of their service on the UNSC. Mexico would like to chair the 1540 committee, replacing Costa Rica, and will continue to work hard on Children and Armed Conflict, which they currently chair. They were interested in the overall re-organization of committee chairs and vice-chairs starting in January. ¶13. Gomez would also participate in the Geneva Group meetings. He spoke about his concern that the Secretariat continually asked for increases in the budget, on which he wanted to take a strong stance. Mexico would be active in the negotiations on the scale of assessments, citing the figure that as the 10th largest UN contributor, Mexico pays 52% of Latin America's contributions, more than Brazil pays. Gomez was disturbed that 90% of the budget went to salaries and that programs were funded primarily by voluntary contributions. Gomez concluded by saying that he did not want the United States to pay more, as this is "not good for the health of the organization." CLINTON