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.

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UN Security Council Reform
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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.

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Human Rights
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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.

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Other Issues
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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