NEPAL: OHCHR HEAD BENNETT TRANSFERRED TO GENEVA

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000013 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2020 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NP SUBJECT: NEPAL: OHCHR HEAD BENNETT TRANSFERRED TO GENEVA Classified By: Acting DCM Terry J. White. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) Richard Bennett, the high-profile, outspoken head of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, is being transfered to Geneva in February. In a lateral career move, Bennett will become the Director of OHCHR's Field Operations Division, responsible for the Middle East and Asia/Pacific. Bennett, who is a dual New Zealand and UK citizen, has been the head of OHCHR Nepal since September 2007 and a vocal critic of Nepal's prevailing culture of impunity. Bennett has publicly and aggressively pushed the Nepal Army and the Maoists to address conflict-era human rights cases. ¶2. (C) High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay tapped Bennett for the Field Operations position in a "unilateral move," according to Bennett's special assistant. Bennett did not lobby for nor seek to leave Nepal and was surprised by the offer from the High Commissioner. Following Bennett's departure, scheduled for sometime in February, his deputy Jyoti Sanghera, an ethnic Indian with Canadian citizenship, will assume the role of interim head of OHCHR. While bright and articulate, Sanghera is not seen to have the same gravitas as Bennett, and is unlikely to be as outspoken. According to Bennett's special assistant, the High Commissioner will not advertise the vacancy for OHCHR head until a mandate extension is approved by the Nepali government. OHCHR's current mandate expires on June 9. ¶3. (C) Several members of the diplomatic corps in Kathmandu have expressed concern about the gap in leadership at OHCHR and the message the vacancy could send. Bennett's special assistant told POLOFF that staff within OHCHR were confounded by the High Commissioner's decision and said her failure to name a replacement for Bennett or even open a vacancy reflected a lack of strength of leadership. The Danish, Swiss, and perhaps the U.K. embassies may lobby OHCHR headquarters in Geneva to either (1) extend Bennett's tenure to June, or (2) replace Bennett with someone of equal stature. ¶4. (C) Comment: The Nepal Army, the Maoists, and the human rights community will likely view Bennett's departure as a signal that the UN is downplaying its aggressive human rights agenda. At a moment when the promotion of General Toran Singh and the repatriation of Major Basnet from a UN peacekeeping mission dominate the news, Bennett's departure comes at an inopportune time and may complicate efforts to present a united front on human rights issues. We agree with our European colleagues that it would be preferable to extend Bennett's tenure or replace him with another senior, respected human rights activist. End Comment. ORDWAY