LITHUANIA: SEEKING CANDIDATES FOR UN HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L VILNIUS 000655 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2019 TAGS: KDEM PHUM PREL LH SUBJECT: LITHUANIA: SEEKING CANDIDATES FOR UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL REF: STATE 120835 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Damian R. Leader for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) We discussed reftel points on December 2 with Julius Rakitskis, head of the MFA's Human Rights Division. He said that while he and other colleagues would be in favor of Lithuania seeking a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC),MFA leaders apparently have decided not to do so, largely because upcoming leadership roles in the OSCE and EU will stretch thin the ministry's resources. Rakitskis suggested that if the United States wished to persuade Lithuania to seek a seat on the HRC, the Ambassador or another high-level Department official should make an approach to Foreign Minister Usackas. ¶2. (C) Currently, Lithuania has only two diplomats in Geneva to cover all of the international organizations based there. As it prepares to take on the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2011, the MFA is preparing to beef up its presence in Vienna and Warsaw, Rakitskis said. It also will add personnel in Brussels before taking on the EU presidency in ¶2013. In general, however, Lithuania is in severe budgetary straits, and the MFA has had to bring some diplomats back from abroad to save money. ¶3. (C) Rakitskis said that Estonia already is campaigning openly for a seat on the HRC in 2012, and that he and his colleagues have learned that Latvia will seek an HRC seat in ¶2014. DERSE