VZCZCXRO0440
RR RUEHAG
DE RUEHSW #1253/01 1871048
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 061048Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2590
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1127
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0056
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0238
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2562
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0086

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BERN 001253 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2016 
TAGS: PHUM UNHRC SZ
SUBJECT: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - SWISS APPROACH TO 
SPECIAL SESSION 
 
REF: A. DEPIRRO-URBAN EMAIL OF 7/6 
 
     ¶B. LAGON-URBAN EMAIL OF 7/5 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Carol Urban, Reasons 1.4 b/d 
 
1.(C) In view of USG concerns about Switzerland's role at the 
UNHRC special session on the Gaza situation (refs A & B), 
Poloff today called Swiss DFA Human Rights Coordinator 
Wolfgang Bruelhart to urge Switzerland not to break with 
Western Group consensus against the imbalanced OIC/Arab Group 
resolution.  Rather than joining the US, Canada, and much of 
the EU in outright opposing the imbalanced resolution, Swiss 
officials -- under the explicit instruction of Foreign 
Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey -- have proposed several 
amendments which, if adopted, would make the OIC/Arab Group 
resolution only slightly more palatable, while possible 
splitting the Western Group. 
 
2.(C) Bruelhart defended the Swiss approach as an effort to 
encourage consensus.  The Swiss want to break from the 
previous Human Rights Commission practice of naming and 
shaming, without providing constructive follow-through.  For 
this reason, the Swiss were displeased by the condemnatory 
resolution against Israel during last week's HRC session.  In 
the Special Session, Bern hoped to play a "bridge-building" 
role within the new HRC. The Swiss amendments are designed to 
call upon armed Palestinian groups to respect international 
humanitarian law and avoid violence against civilians, 
something the resolution demanded of the Israelis.  Even at 
that, he said, the amendments may not be adopted by the 
OIC/Arab Group. 
 
3.(C) Bruelhart shared concerns about the current draft's 
call for the Special Rapporteur to visit the region.  He 
strongly believed that the High Commissioner should go. 
Unfortunately, she had announced that she did not want to go 
to the region, because she did not believe she could fulfill 
her mission.  Bruelhart hoped that the Western Group members 
would join to convince her to fulfill her obligations. 
 
4.(C) Returning to the resolution itself, Poloff stressed USG 
concern that if the Swiss amendments were adopted, the 
resulting resolution would still be imbalanced.  This at the 
cost of dividing the Western Group.  Poloff asserted that an 
HRC that focused its energy on Israel bashing and occasional 
America bashing was going to deemed a failure by the American 
people.  Bruelhart agreed that the HRC could not degenerate 
into that type of body.  He held out hope, though, that by 
the precedent of this Special Session, it will be easier for 
Western Group members to call future special sessions on 
areas of concern like Sudan.  Poloff expressed his skepticism 
that Non-Aligned Movement members would ever allow such 
special sessions to achieve anything constructive. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
5.(C) Swiss FM Calmy-Rey is almost certainly the driving 
force behind the vigor of Swiss activity in Geneva -- the 
Swiss bureaucracy is more conscious of the need to keep in 
line with EU partners.  That said, Swiss officials are quite 
critical of the current Israel incursion into Gaza, even 
while acknowledging Hamas' violent provocations.  Embassy 
offers the following observations as to Swiss motivations: 
 
-- Having, in their own view, midwived the Human Rights 
Council, the Swiss would now like to be the "grand mediator" 
of the Council and play the role of bridge builder and 
consensus achiever.  Thus, they will tend to strive for 
compromise positions, even with regard to differences that, 
in our view, are irreconcilable and better left "unbridged." 
In striving for this special role, they will resist appearing 
subject to any group, even the Western Group. 
 
-- As depositary state of the Geneva Conventions, the Swiss 
are also receptive OIC/Arab pressure to expound on actions in 
the "Occupied Territories."  Poloff witnessed one resident 
Arab ambassador at Embassy's July 4th reception haranguing 
Swiss DFA Near East/Africa director Livia Leu for her 
country's role in pushing Red Cross/Red Crescent adoption of 
the Third Emblem, over OIC/Arab opposition, while not being 
vocal enough on the Gaza situation. 
 
-- The Swiss, like their European neighbors, tend to view the 
 
BERN 00001253  002 OF 002 
 
 
Israeli/Palestinian conflict through a paternal, 
post-colonial lens, in which more is always demanded of the 
Israelis than of the Palestinians. 
 
6.(C) In sum, the Swiss view their own stance as a delicate 
balance, even if we view things otherwise.  We believe the 
best way to influencing their approach would be to achieve 
consensus with the EU, since Bern is generally not inclined 
to isolate itself from its EU neighbors. 
Urban