ROKG "MULLING OVER" PLAN FOR IRAN'S UPR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 000109 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2039 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV PINR SOCI KS IR SUBJECT: ROKG "MULLING OVER" PLAN FOR IRAN'S UPR REF: STATE 7242 Classified By: DCM MARK TOKOLA. REASONS 1.4 (B/D) ¶1. (C) DCM, accompanied by POL M/C, on January 28 delivered reftel demarche, which highlighted the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran and sought ROKG support for the U.S. position during the February 15 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session on Iran, to Cho Hyun, the new ROK Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs. DCM emphasized the significant deterioration in the human rights situation in Iran. DFM Cho said he had a good Iran discussion January 25 in Paris with IO DAS Suzanne Nossel, which provided him with solid understanding of the U.S. position on the UPR. ¶2. (C) While acknowledging Seoul's strong economic relationship with Tehran, Cho said the human rights situation in Iran "needed to be addressed." The ROK was still "mulling over" its UPR strategy; he pledged to be in touch once Seoul had a plan finalized. Cho inquired if the USG position on Iran,s human rights was related to the Iranian nuclear issue. DCM replied that the USG had a global, principled position on human rights: we would not give Iran a pass on human rights if it complied with its responsibilities on the nuclear issue, and neither would we change our position on the nuclear issue if Iran,s human rights practices improved. STEPHENS