Cablegate: Uk in Agreement with Third Committee Priorities

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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLO #2391 2951629
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221629Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3781
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1507

UNCLAS LONDON 002391

SIPDIS

FOR COLLEEN NEVILLE IO/HR AND CHRIS SIBILLA DRL/MLGA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL UN UK
SUBJECT: UK IN AGREEMENT WITH THIRD COMMITTEE PRIORITIES

REF: STATE 108921

1. (U) Summary: Deputy Head of the UN Human Rights Team at the Foreign Office Andrew Suarez responded to reftel demarche by saying that HMG is supportive of all U.S. priorities at this year's session of the UN Third Committee. The UK opposes the use of no-action motions to block country-specific resolutions, and agrees with the U.S. view on resolutions regarding Iran, Burma, and DPRK. The UK also shares U.S. views on thematic resolutions, especially sharing our view that the defamation of religion resolution is not in keeping with the protection of human rights. End Summary.

UK AND EU LOBBYING AGAINST NO-ACTION MOTIONS --------------------------------------------

2. (SBU) Suarez told Poloff that the EU has undertaken an active lobbying effort to try to convince countries to vote against "no-action" motions in principle. The UK has been assigned about a dozen countries. So far, several have responded that they will continue to support no-action motions. South Africa said it agreed that no-action motions were undesirable in principle, but that it will continue to support them because it believes country-specific resolutions are too divisive.

COUNTRY-SPECIFIC RESOLUTIONS ----------------------------

3. (SBU) The UK continues to support Canada's resolution on the human rights situation in Iran. As a member of the EU, the UK will also be fully backing resolutions on Burma and DPRK. Suarez noted some concern about the prospect of including reference to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in the DPRK resolution. Suarez noted that linking the UNGA human rights mechanisms to the UPR risks damaging the integrity of the two separate processes and that the UK prefers to remove the paragraph on the UPR from the DPRK resolution.

THEMATIC RESOLUTIONS --------------------

4. (SBU) HMG fully agrees with the U.S. that the defamation of religions resolution is undesirable and that the U.S. approach of encouraging respect for minorities and legal mechanisms that prosecute discrimination and hate crimes is the correct one. The UK will support the U.S. resolution on electoral assistance. Suarez welcomed U.S. willingness to move forward on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and looked forward to working with us to make progress. Clark Chittenden, who heads the FCO team working on women and children's human rights issues, noted that the EU had only just settled on language for the resolution on children and would therefore probably be hesitant to re-open discussion on the resolution text. However, he also welcomed U.S. openness to re-examining the issue. Visit London's Classified Website: XXXXXXXXXXXX
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