GUIDANCE: ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS IN THE UNGA

UNCLAS STATE 122724 SENSITIVE SIPDIS USUN PLEASE PASS GERMAIN AND MASILKO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC KPAL IS SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS IN THE UNGA PLENARY ¶1. (U) This is an action message. ¶2. (U) Mission should call for the vote and vote "no" on resolutions put up for adoption on December 1 and 2 dealing with the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat, the Special Information Programme on the Question of Palestine of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat, and the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine, as well as resolutions dealing with Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan. Mission may draw from para 3 blocks in making an summary explanation of vote (EOV) on anti-Israeli resolutions in the UNGA plenary. ¶3. (SBU) Begin EOV Blocks: -- Mr. President, with respect to the situation in the Middle East, the United States has clearly stated our policy that there should be two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. -- Therefore, we are deeply saddened to once again be presented with unbalanced resolutions that -- unlike the General Assembly's action with respect to any other member state, geographic area or issue -- places demands on Israel while failing to acknowledge that both sides have obligations and must take difficult steps. While the United States accepts the principle that the General Assembly may look into the practices of individual states, the resolutions under this agenda item -- in combination with over fifteen other resolutions that will come before the General Assembly this year, as every year -- form a clear pattern of institutional bias directed at one member state of the United Nations. This is particularly disappointing because the United States has clearly demonstrated its renewed commitment to working with international institutions. We would hope to see in return a commitment by those organizations to changing the way they deal with issues such as these. -- Of particular concern to the United States are three resolutions concerning entities established more than a generation ago that perpetuate institutional bias. The millions of dollars expended on the Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, could be better directed toward more pressing issues, including direct assistance to needy Palestinians, as could the staff resources taken up by these entities. -- We reiterate our call for all member states to review seriously the continued existence of these bodies with a sharp focus on what, if anything, they actually contribute towards a solution to the Middle East conflict. -- Mr. President, in addition to these three resolutions, the General Assembly will consider other resolutions that presuppose the outcome of permanent status issues, including the status of refugees and the status of Jerusalem. These issues properly belong in bilateral negotiations. Resolutions such as these undermine the institutional credibility of the UN, as they cast into doubt the UN's impartiality. This, in turn, serves to discredit the UN's important role, acting through the Quartet, in supporting the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. -- We believe that through good-faith negotiations the parties can mutually agree on an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinians' goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines, with agreed territoral swaps, and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements. Our commitment to achieving a solution with two states living side by side in peace is unwavering. -- It is impossible to see how supporting resolutions reviewing the mandate of entities with an institutional bias or that intrude into the substance of negotiations contribute to this effort. Therefore, we cannot support these resolutions and we call on this Assembly to repudiate them as well. End EOV blocks. CLINTON