Cablegate: Brazil, Hrc, and Goldstone Report

VZCZCXRO3765
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1194 2671859
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241859Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5145
INFO RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 9970
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8233
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 4589
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0335
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1600

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001194

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FOR IO/RHS CARI ENAV AND KELLY RAZZOUK AND NEA/IPA JEFFREY
GIAUQUE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER KISL KPAL IS BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL, HRC, AND GOLDSTONE REPORT

REF: SECSTATE 98567

1. (U) On September 23, Poloff delivered reftel demarche to
Carlos Eduardo da Cunha Oliveira, interim chief, Human Rights
Division, Ministry of External Relations (MRE). Cunha
Oliveira disputed some of the points in the demarche and
agreed with others.

2. (U) ONE-SIDED AND BIASED REPORT: Cunha Oliveira pointed
out that there had been a consensus in the HRC in support of
Justice Goldstone's fact-finding mission. That consensus did
not mean, he said, that every country supported the mission,
but that the mission was part of a compromise package to
facilitate HRC operations at that juncture. He said it would
be "detrimental to the experts" and "undermine the HRC" to
reject the Goldstone Report outright. Poloff stressed that
the U.S. goal was not to condemn the report but to ensure
that any HRC resolution on the issue is measured and
constructive. Cunha Oliveira agreed that it was possible for
the Council, without rejecting the report, to "put a
different twist on it."

3. (SBU) DIVISIVE DEBATE: Cunha Oliveira said that Brazil
was "absolutely committed" to an effective and
"non-politicized" HRC. He said the GOB's constant concern
has been the "selective and politicized approach" of some
countries toward human rights issues. This allowed Israel,
he said, to "withdraw legitimacy from the HRC." He said that
the GOB was concerned that one side, OIC countries, "has
power" and the other, Israel, claims that HRC decisions lack
legitimacy, with the result that "nobody wins" and the HRC is
weakened. Poloff responded that the USG wanted to work with
the GOB to strengthen the HRC through a balanced approach
toward human right issues, standing firmly against abuses
regardless of the actor.

4. (U) KEEP THE ISSUE IN THE HRC: The GOB fully agreed
that the HRC is the competent organ to deal with the
Goldstone Report, Cunha Oliveira said, and it would
"seriously weaken the HRC to refer the matter out" to other
organs of the UN or to the ICC. He also agreed that the
issue should not be allowed to overshadow other important
work of the HRC such as the freedom of expression resolution.
(As an aside, Cunha Oliveira said that the U.S. draft
resolution on freedom of expression was "on the whole
excellent," though for the Brazilians it was important for
legal reasons to change "stigmatization of religions" to
"stigmatization of persons because of religious affiliation.")
KUBISKE

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