Cablegate: Un Human Rights Council: Gaining Support for Usg

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS LIMA 003331

SIPDIS

I/O FOR SASHA MIRA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PE UNCHR UNGA
SUBJECT: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: GAINING SUPPORT FOR USG
PROPOSAL (PERU)

REF: A. STATE 140192

B. LIMA 2748
C. STATE 114051
D. LIMA 1233

1. Poloff delivered the demarche on gaining support for the
USG proposal to create a UN Human Rights Council to replace
the UN Human Rights Commission to Carlos Roman, the Foreign
Ministry's Director of Human Rights, on 8/2. Roman said Peru
supported the principles behind the U.S. initiative, but was
not/not prepared to commit to the proposal that states under
Security Council sanctions be prohibited from membership in
the Council.

2. With respect to Peru's position on the creation of a UN
Human Rights Council, Roman gave Poloff a slightly
abbreviated version of the non-paper he provided to
A/Polcouns in June (full text translated in Ref B). That
non-paper notes that Peru favors the efforts of the Lausanne
Group, led by Switzerland, and seeks to reconcile the
Lausanne Group's position with the proposal for an
independent commission of experts advanced by Peru in March
(Ref D) to create two bodies to replace the UNCHR: a Human
Rights Council and an Oversight Commission, made up of
independent experts, elected through a system ensuring
balanced geographical representation.

3. COMMENT: The GOP supports the replacement of the UNCHR
with a new UN Human Rights Council, but remains hopeful that
its own initiative to create an independent group of experts
can still be worked into the final formula. Peru also
remains non-committal on our proposal to exclude countries
under Security Council sanction from membership in the new UN
Human Rights Council. We do not/not see the GOP as being
insistent on either issue, however, and can expect the
Peruvians to follow emerging consensus on both the final
composition of the body/bodies that replace the UNCHR, as
well as on the eligibility criteria for membership on the UN
Human Rights Council. END COMMENT.
STRUBLE

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