INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Fm's Views On the Un Human Rights Council

Published: Wed 23 Aug 2006 02:29 PM
VZCZCXRO1912
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHJI #0559 2351429
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 231429Z AUG 06
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9450
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 6771
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0172
RUCNDTA/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0028
S E C R E T JEDDAH 000559
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2016
TAGS: PHUM PREL SA XF
SUBJECT: FM'S VIEWS ON THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
REF: STATE 136467
Classified By: Ambassador James Oberwetter for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).
1. (S) Ambassador Oberwetter delivered Reftel points on the
UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to Foreign Minister Saud
al-Faisal on August 21. The Ambassador emphasized tha the
HRC has not taken a balanced approach to theIsrael-Hizballah
conflict and he questioned why he Council spoke out so
strongly against Israel ithout addressing Hizballah's
wrongdoings. The M said that the HRC's resolutions were
primarilythe result of "Israel's over-reacton to the
kidnappings." He said that Israel was not justified in
responding with such force and suggested that a more
appropriate Israeli response would have been to kidnap two
Hizballah militants.
2. (S) The FM pointed to the SAG and other Arab states'
condemnations of Hizballah for instigating the conflict. "We
immediately reacted--as did Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon--and
stood against Hizballah" for kidnapping the two Israeli
soldiers. The FM also said, "Israel's over-reaction changed
the whole tenor and mood in the Middle East," adding that
most Lebanese were opposed to Hizballah's provocation. He
said that public opinion "would have been completely
different if Israel did not over-react," and he accused
Israel of using only military force to bring about change in
the region. The FM repeated his view that Israel's
"over-reaction" prompted the HRC's actions, saying "Lebanon
was being harmed but Hizballah was not."
3. (S) The Ambassador reiterated that the HRC must be a
credible body and cautioned that one-sided messages "erode
its credibility." He said that both sides' actions must be
equally discussed in order for the HRC to have any merit.
The FM agreed that the HRC "should work on both sides," but
he warned, "the U.S. should not be too biased to Israel. You
should not be so one-sided."
Gfoeller
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