ARABS REQUEST U.S. SUPPORT FOR SECURITY COUNCIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000944

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2019
TAGS: PREL KPAL KWBG UNSC IS LY
SUBJECT: ARABS REQUEST U.S. SUPPORT FOR SECURITY COUNCIL
ACTION ON GOLDSTONE

Classified By: Ambassador Wolff for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador Wolff met Friday October 23 with
the representatives of Arab states and organizations that
have joined together as a follow-up group to lobby for action
on the Goldstone Report in New York. The Palestinian
Permanent Observer suggested the establishment of a
"monitoring mechanism" in the Security Council that would
serve a dual purpose: increasing the chances that the parties
themselves will act, and, in the absence of national action,
creating an alternative way that those responsible for crimes
can be brought to justice.


2. (C) Summary Continued: Ambassador Wolff stated explicitly
that the Goldstone Report should not be dealt with by the
Security Council and that there would not be any referral to
the ICC. Wolff challenged the group to explain how bringing
this report to the Security Council related to the overall
strategic goal that the U.S. shares with them - establishment
of a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and
security with Israel. The Palestinian Permanent Observer said
that if the Security Council does not act on its own, the
General Assembly (GA) will act and "the whole weight of the
General Assembly will be on you," but also made it clear that
the GA would act on the report no matter what happened in the
Council. At the conclusion of the meeting the Egyptian
Ambassador asked Wolff one-on-one whether the U.S. could
consider a Council statement merely calling for national
investigations. The Arab follow-up group met later on
October 23 to consider next steps in view of the U.S.
position. In a conversation following that meeting, the
Egyptian Ambassador told Wolff that the group is likely to
move directly to the GA as a first step, possibly in the
first week of November, with a resolution whose content is
not yet clear. End summary.


3. (C) Ambassador Wolff met Friday October 23 with the
representatives of Arab states and organizations that have
joined together as a follow-up group to lobby for action on
the Goldstone Report in New York. In attendance were
Ambassador Abdelaziz of Egypt (representing the Non-Aligned
Movement),Palestinian Permanent Observer Mansour, Sudanese
Charge Di-Aping (as the Chairman of the Arab Group for the
month of October),Syrian Ambassador Ja'afari (as Chair of
the Organization of the Islamic Conference),Moroccan
Ambassador Lulicki (as Chair of the Jerusalem Committee) and
Arab League Representative Mahmassani. (Note: Ambassador
Badji of Senegal, Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of
the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, is also a
member of the follow-up group but did not attend. End note.)


4. (C) Mansour reported that the group had already meet with
other (unnamed) members of the Security Council, the
President of the General Assembly, and twice with the
Secretary General in order to follow-up on the action taken
in Geneva by the Human Rights Council (HRC). The group's
explicit goal is Security Council action that will "force"
national investigations and accountability by the parties,
and establishment of a Security Council mechanism to
follow-up if national authorities fail to take action.
(Note: The group had already heard from the Russians and
Chinese that they oppose referring the matter to the Security
Council, but in an October 22 meeting the UK told the group
it has "no opposition in principle" to bringing the Goldstone
Report to the Security Council. The group was scheduled to
meet with the French Mission later on October 23. End note.)


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Security Council must act
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5. (C) Mansour said "the Security Council has to act." He
said that Goldstone made recommendations for Security Council
action because the Council it is the only UN body that can
compel states to comply. Mansour said that despite the fact
that the General Assembly has been appealing for an end to
settlements for decades, Israel continues to build. He
suggested that referring Goldstone to the Security Council
could establish a "model" to hold Israel to commitments when
it fails to take action on settlement construction and the
issue of Jerusalem.

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Establishing a monitoring mechanism
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6. (C) Mansour said that there is a "global consensus," to
which only Israel disagrees: that national investigations on
the basis of the Goldstone Report must take place. Mansour

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suggested the establishment of a "monitoring mechanism" in
the Security Council that would serve a dual purpose: it
would increase the chances that the parties themselves will
act and, in the absence of national action, would create an
alternative way that those responsible for crimes can be
brought to justice. Mansour was clear that the group's
objective is to "bring those who potentially committed war
crimes to justice in Israeli and Palestinian courts."
Abdelaziz noted, "we (diplomats) are not judges, but we need
to ensure that the competent legal organs investigate and
ensure there is no impunity." Mansour suggested that the
Goldstone Report has had a tangible effect already - Israel
will never conduct its military operations in the same way
again and "Hamas will think 1,000 times before firing rockets
at Israeli civilians."

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U.S. against Security Council Action
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7. (C) Ambassador Wolff stated explicitly that the Goldstone
Report should not be dealt with by the Security Council and
that there would be absolutely no referral by the Council to
the ICC on this issue. He underlined that the U.S. is joined
in this position by other permanent members of the Security
Council. Wolff reminded the group that the Security Council
is not "bound" by Goldstone's assessment of what its
responsibilities should be - that is a matter for the
Council. He noted that considering the Goldstone Report as a
threat to international peace and security will not have
traction. He reiterated the U.S. position regarding the
flawed mandate given by the HRC, flaws in the report itself,
and the U.S. disagreement with many of Goldstone's
recommendations. He said that the report should be
considered by the HRC in a credible manner, not simply
forwarded to New York.


8. (C) While acknowledging the importance that national
investigations could play, Wolff noted there are
recommendations for investigations of Hamas and Israeli
actions. He stated that the U.S. has confidence in the
Government of Israel's judicial process, but asked how an
investigation of Hamas' activities could take place. He
queried whether President Abbas would be held responsible for
failing to carry out investigations in Gaza despite the real
logistical impediments on the ground or if the Palestinian
Authority would wish to legitimize Hamas' power in Gaza by
calling on the terrorist group to carry out an investigation
of itself. Mansour, clearly uncomfortable, had no answers to
these questions. Finally, Wolff challenged the group to
explain how brining this report to the Security Council
related to the overall strategic goal that the U.S. shares
with them - establishment of a Palestinian state that can
live side-by-side in peace and security with Israel so that
the events in Gaza are not repeated.

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GA will hold the SC responsible
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9. (C) The Arab ambassador's comments made it clear that the
GA will act on the report no matter what happens in the
Council. Mansour said that the HRC had fully endorsed the
report and that he expects the General Assembly will do so as
well. Mansour called the Goldstone Report a test for the
international community and said that if the Security Council
does not act on its own, the General Assembly will act and
"the whole weight of the General Assembly will be on you."
Clearly frustrated, Mansour said if there is not action on
the Goldstone Report by the Security Council, "Israel wins
again." Egyptian Ambassador Abdelaziz said the General
Assembly could either refer the report to the Security
Council for action or establish a General Assembly monitoring
and follow-up mechanism, or both.

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Other Regional Views
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10. (C) Syrian Ambassador Ja'afari said that U.S. support for
bringing Goldstone to the Security Council would be an
opportunity to reinforce with action President Obama's Cairo
speech. Arab League Representative Mahmassani noted strong
pressure in the court of Arab public opinion for action by
the United Nations. Moroccan Ambassador Lulicki said that
the group wants to make sure its approach to the Goldstone
report in New York is credible and effective and, to the
extent possible, wants to proceed by consensus. The Sudanese
Charge said that the perception of how the issue is dealt
with should be considered a threat to global security because

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it will be used as a powerful symbol for militants and
extremists worldwide. The Egyptian Ambassador noted the need
for consistency in the Security Council's treatment of human
rights issues. Ambassador Wolff responded, looking at the
Sudanese and Syrians, that the group's concern about
consistency on human rights would be more credible if its
composition were different.

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Arabs reconsider next step
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11. (C) At the conclusion of the meeting the Egyptian
Ambassador asked Wolff one-on-one whether the U.S. could
consider a Security Council statement calling for national
investigations. The follow-up group then reconvened to
consider carefully the U.S. comments and red lines. The
Egyptian Ambassador told Ambassador Wolff after that meeting
that the U.S. message was clear and that the group is now
reaching the conclusion, in light of the discussion with the
U.S., to move directly to the GA the first week of November
in order to adopt a resolution there. The Egyptians and
Palestinians have proposed a trilateral meeting with the U.S.
Mission next week to discuss the way forward.
Wolff