WikiLeaks: NZ on UN third committee resolutions, US voting

November 9, 2005 NZ on UN third committee resolutions, US voting priorities

date:2005-11-09T23:08:00 source:Embassy Wellington origin:05WELLINGTON875 destination:This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. classification:CONFIDENTIAL reference:05SECSTATE204646 ?C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000875

SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND ON UN THIRD COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS, US VOTING PRIORITES

REF: SECSTATE 204646

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission David R. Burnett, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

1. (C) Pol-Econ Counselor discussed reftel points with Val Meyer, Deputy Director of the UN, Human Rights, and Commonwealth Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. P-E Couns said that she hoped New Zealand would support all the resolutions, especially those involving countries with which New Zealand has bilateral relations: Iran and North Korea. (FYI: New Zealand's general policy is to cosponsor human rights resolutions involving countries with which it has diplomatic or other closer ties, and to vote in favor of resolutions against others if the case presented warrants this. End FYI.)

2. (C) Meyer said that New Zealand would cosponsor the resolutions against North Korea and Burma, having bilateral relations with the former and involvement with the latter through ASEAN and NGOs. She said that New Zealand is still examining the Uzbekistan resolution text. GNZ had not yet seen the draft Turkmenistan resolution but would look at it seriously. GNZ may vote for both the Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan resolutions, but would be unlikely to cosponsor, according to Meyer.

3. (C) Meyer also said that the Government is "taking a close look at Iran." She added that normally New Zealand would cosponsor the election monitoring/democracy and corruption/human rights resolutions, but the NZ UN official charged with Third Committee issues is currently stretched a bit thin. Meyer anticipated that New Zealand would nontheless vote in favor of both resolutions, and agreed that they are not controversial.

4. (C) Comment: New Zealand has diplomatic relations with Iran, and has recently come under criticism by some Kiwis for not having taken a strong stance against President Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map." When NZ was on the IAEA Board of Governors two years ago, Embassy successfully convinced the Government that PM Clark should criticize Iran over its nuclear activities, but we really had to push. End Comment. McCormick

ENDS