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DE RUCNDT #0231/01 0740032
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R 140032Z MAR 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3898
INFO RUEHKB/AMEMBASSY BAKU 0159
RUEHYE/AMEMBASSY YEREVAN 0133
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3127

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000231 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2013 
TAGS: UNGA PREL ECON CVIS AJ KV AIDS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD'S FEB. 27 MEETING WITH UNGA 
PRESIDENT KERIM 
 
REF: A. USUN 151 
     ¶B. KERIM'S JAN. 29 LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR ZALMAY KHALILZAD FOR REASONS 1.4(b) AND (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: Kerim told Ambassador Khalilzad he hoped the 
First Lady could attend the General Assembly's June 10-11 
high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS and said he hoped U.S. 
immigration restrictions on HIV-positive visitors would not 
prevent several invited speakers from attending.  On UN 
management reform, he disagreed with critics who say mandate 
review is dead, but said he is angry at resistance from the 
UN Secretariat and the remedy for overcoming it is "constant 
political pressure."  He predicted the first round of 
eliminations of outdated mandates would be announced by the 
end of March.  The Ambassador said a projected 20-25 percent 
increase in the 2008-09 UN budget is unacceptable and urged 
Kerim and Secretary-General Ban to be attentive to the 
numbers.  Apropos a proposed UNGA resolution on Azerbaijan's 
territorial integrity, Kerim said Serbian Foreign Minister 
Jeremic had spoken publicly about raising Kosovo in the 
General Assembly and he (Kerim) feared Azerbaijan's 
resolution might pave the way for this, which would be "a 
mess."  The Ambassador agreed.  The two also discussed UNGA 
debates on climate change and the Millennium Development 
Goals, and financing for the Durban Review Conference.  End 
summary. 
 
CLIMATE CHANGE 
 
¶2.  (C) Kerim requested the meeting.  He was accompanied by 
Chief of Staff Igor Dzundev and Dzundev's deputy, Nikolaus 
Lutterotti.  Ambassador Khalilzad was accompanied by USUN 
Econ Minister-Counselor Hagen.  The Ambassador asked if Kerim 
was pleased with the Feb. 11-13 high-level UNGA debate on 
climate change (ref A).  Kerim said he was very happy with 
the large turnout (120 countries spoke), the quality of the 
panel discussions, and the respective contributions of New 
York Mayor Bloomberg (among other things, it helped improve 
the relationship between the UN and the city, said Kerim) and 
former New York Governor Pataki.  The next step, he said, 
will be parallel UNGA debates on private investment in 
combating climate change, and the impact of climate change on 
the most vulnerable states.  The Ambassador said he hoped the 
debates would not turn into a finger-pointing exercise or 
another version of the North-South debate.  Kerim said he 
agreed and would not allow this to happen.  The debate needs 
to look forward, not backward, he said. 
 
HIV/AIDS AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS 
 
¶3.  (U) The Ambassador conveyed regrets that due to a 
scheduling conflict the First Lady could not accept Kerim's 
invitation to attend the April 1-2 UNGA thematic debate on 
the MDGs (ref B).  Kerim said he hoped instead she might be 
able to attend a high-level UNGA meeting on HIV/AIDS taking 
place June 10-11. 
 
¶4.  (U) Deputy Chief of Staff Lutterotti said Kerim had 
received letters from NGOs concerned about U.S. visas for 
HIV-positive speakers.  Hagen said USUN had discussed this 
issue with visiting UNAIDS Director Piot and that UNAIDS and 
S/GAC were working together to resolve the problem. 
 
¶4.  (U) On the MDG debate in April, Kerim said the President 
of Mali, the Chancellor of Austria, and Ted Turner would be 
keynote speakers.  He welcomed the participation of U.S. 
Director of Foreign Assistance Fore.  Following the April 
event, Kerim and the Secretary-General would co-sign an 
invitation to heads of state and government to attend a 
follow-up MDG event during the opening of the next UNGA 
session in September. 
 
UN MANAGEMENT: MANDATE REVIEW, THE BUDGET, DURBAN 
 
¶5.  (C) Mentioning an April 8-9 UNGA debate on management 
reform, Kerim said he disagrees with critics who say UN 
mandate review is dead. "We are moving," he said, "and the 
United States is one of the driving forces."  The Ambassador 
said the issue is the speed and efficiency with which the 
review is moving.  There are too many meetings on the process 
and not enough action, he said, and he wondered about the 
wisdom of relying entirely on the Secretariat.  Kerim said he 
agrees fully that there are those in the Secretariat adept at 
finding ways of avoiding taking any action on political 
decisions.  For example, he said, he had posed a question on 
mandate review to the Secretariat and been told there was "no 
methodology" to answer it, which had made him very angry. 
The remedy for this is "constant political pressure," said 
Kerim.  The Ambassador asked if there is a timeline for 
 
 
 
eliminating outdated mandates.  Kerim said the first 
eliminations would be announced by the end of March.  Mandate 
review moves slowly, said Kerim, calling it "a tanker, not a 
speedboat," but "it's doable, and it's a must." 
 
¶6.  (C)  The Ambassador said there are indications that an 
increase of as much as 20-25 percent in the 2008-09 UN budget 
could be in the offing.  "You and the Secretary-General need 
to be aware of these numbers as they become available," he 
said.  The United States could live with an increase even as 
high as 10 percent, but 20-25 percent was unacceptable.  He 
would convey the same message to the Secretary-General. 
Kerim urged the United States to raise the budget issue 
during the April 8-9 debate.  The Ambassador also raised the 
issue of budget add-ons, saying they must not allowed to get 
out of control and a strong message from Kerim would be 
helpful in preventing this from happening. 
 
¶7.  (C) Kerim said he and the Secretary-General had discussed 
the budget, including the question of funding for the Durban 
Review Conference.  The Ambassador asked if a further UNGA 
resolution is needed to authorize expenditures for the 
conference and its preparatory meetings.  Kerim said the UN's 
Office of Legal Affairs has an official position on this 
question and he advised USUN to ask the UN Controller for it. 
 (Comment: Referring to his letter of Feb. 6 to the PGA on 
this matter, the Ambassador is reiterating his request for 
confirmation that another resolution is necessary.  End 
comment.) 
 
AZERBAIJAN AND KOSOVO 
 
¶8.  (C) Chief of Staff Dzundev mentioned the UNGA resolution 
on territorial integrity proposed by Azerbaijan.  The 
Ambassador said USUN had told the Azeris the United States 
could not accept it in the form in which it was drafted. 
However, he told Kerim, the Armenians had said they could 
support it if it contained language saying the independence 
of Kosovo was no precedent.  The Permanent Representative of 
Azerbaijan had urged the United States to raise the issue in 
Baku and the Ambassador told Kerim this would soon be done. 
Kerim said he feared other delegations might abuse such a 
resolution to raise the issue of Kosovo's independence in the 
General Assembly.  This would be "a mess."  The Ambassador 
agreed.  Kerim said Serbian Foreign Minister Jeremic had told 
the press he would raise the issue of Kosovo in the General 
Assembly, "hence my fear."  The Ambassador assured Kerim he 
understood. 
KHALILZAD