Cablegate: Argentina Likely to Abstain On Un Indigenous

VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #2413 2982124
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 252124Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6305
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0125

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002413

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

USUN PLEASE PASS TO EVELYN ASWAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL KTIA UN AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA LIKELY TO ABSTAIN ON UN INDIGENOUS
RIGHTS DECLARATION

REF: A) STATE 169257 B) STATE 78740 C) GOMEZ-ASWAD

10/24/06 E-MAIL

1. (SBU) Per reftel, Poloff, in conjunction with New Zealand
First Secretary Mark Gibb, and Australian Third Secretary
Lou-Ellen Martin delivered ref. A talking points and
background paper to Monica Pinto, MFA Advisor on Human Rights
and asked if the GOA intended to change its position on the
declaration at the UNGA. Pinto indicated that Argentina will
likely continue to abstain on the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP) due to concerns with the
Declaration's language on self-determination. She explained
that the GOA supports the declaration in principle; however,
Argentina's policy on self-determination issues is strictly
defined due to its long-standing sovereignty claims over the
Falklands/Malvinas Islands. She stated that the GOA had
tried to amend the Declaration's text on self-determination
at the Human Rights Council in June and again at the UNGA, so
that it could vote in favor of the Declaration, but to no
avail. As a result, the GOA will likely abstain. She added
that Argentine Foreign Minister Taiana is personally
interested in the DRIP, as he spearheaded a similar effort
during his tenure as Executive Secretary of the
Inter-American Human Rights Commission in 1996-2001.
MATERA

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