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RUEHQU RUEHRD RUEHRG RUEHRS RUEHTM RUEHVC
DE RUEHME #2886/01 1551835
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 041835Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7325
INFO RUEHZJ/HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION COLLECTIVE
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 2298
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0960
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0133

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MEXICO 002886 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2017 
TAGS: PHUM PREL UNHRC MX OAS HUMAN
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS TALKS REVEAL AREAS OF AGREEMENT, 
DISCORD ON OAS AGENDA 
 
 
Classified By: MCPA CHARLES V. BARCLAY, REASONS: 1.4(B/D). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  On May 29, U.S., Canadian and Mexican 
officials held trilateral talks in Mexico City on human 
rights cooperation.  This is the first of two cables 
summarizing the talks, and will focus on issues relating to 
the upcoming OAS General Assembly (OASGA); issues relating to 
the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) will be discussed septel. 
The candid discussions revealed broad agreement between the 
USG and GOC on many issues.  While the talks reflected broad, 
trilateral agreement on the draft OASGA resolutions relating 
to protecting human rights while combating terrorism, and 
protecting the rights of migrants and human rights defenders, 
they also reflected significant disagreements with respect to 
the draft OAS instruments on the rights of indigenous peoples 
and on fighting racial discrimination.  All three delegations 
concurred that the candid discussions had proven very useful. 
 End summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) On May 29, representatives of the U.S., Canadian and 
Mexican governments met in Mexico City for trilateral talks 
on human rights.  The talks began with Ambassador Gomez 
Robledo detailing major initiatives the Calderon 
administration was undertaking to improve Mexico's domestic 
human rights performance.  He said the GOM was committed to 
bringing its domestic human rights practice into compliance 
with its international obligations under existing human 
rights instruments. 
 
Setting Priorities for the OAS General Assembly 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) After Gomez Robledo's brief introduction, the 
delegations turned to a discussion of their respective 
priorities at the upcoming OASGA.  Director General for 
Regional Organizations Raul Cueta said GOM priorities at the 
OASGA included resolutions on protecting the rights of 
internally displaced persons, migrants, human rights 
defenders, and detainees, as well as on protecting human 
rights and fundamental freedoms while fighting terrorism. 
 
¶4.  (C) Canadian Gwyneth Kutz said the GOC shared many of the 
GOM's OASGA priorities.  Kutz said GOC priorities also 
included the resolutions on protecting the rights of 
migrants, and expressed interest in joining the U.S. and 
Mexico in co-sponsoring their joint-resolution.  (Note: Since 
the resolution is already closed, this will not be possible. 
End Note.)  Canada is also prioritizing efforts on human 
rights defenders, protecting human rights while fighting 
terrorism, promoting democracy in the hemisphere, and 
promoting the participation of civil society in hemispheric 
human rights efforts.  The GOC will also push for the hiring 
of more women in senior OAS positions. 
 
¶5.  (C) Kutz stressed the GOC is concerned about a number of 
resolutions proposed by Venezuela, including one on the 
so-called right to a healthy environment, a right which is 
not established in international law; a resolution on citizen 
participation in the development of democratic systems; and a 
resolution on the obligation in the OAS Charter to preserve 
and strengthen peace in the hemisphere, which she identified 
as selectively reinterpreting the original text of the OAS 
Charter.  Canada is deeply concerned about recent internal 
developments in Venezuela, where the regime,s actions had so 
eroded freedoms and public institutions as to put Venezuelan 
democracy at risk. 
 
¶6.  (C) DAS Barks-Ruggles agreed with Cueta and Kutz that 
trilateral cooperation on the draft resolution on migrants 
had been excellent.  She said the resolution on civil society 
participation in human rights efforts was among the USG's 
priorities for the OASGA and urged GOM support for the 
resolution.  Barks-Ruggles joined Canada in expressing strong 
concern over internal developments in Venezuela, particularly 
recent measures aimed at muzzling the opposition press, and 
efforts to block action by others in the OAS on human rights. 
 She emphasized that in the face of such troubling 
developments, Mexico's co-sponsorship of the resolution on 
free expression was vital. 
 
Mexico Seeks Clarification of NGO Resolution 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) The Mexicans said the GOM did not disagree with the 
 
MEXICO 00002886  002 OF 004 
 
 
principles underlying the U.S.-sponsored resolution on 
Non-governmental Organizations and the Protection of Human 
Rights and Promotion of Democracy, but that it and some other 
governments felt the resolution needed to be clarified, as it 
potentially duplicated the draft resolutions on both human 
rights defenders and promoting democracy.  Barks-Ruggles 
explained that the resolution calls on SYG Insulza to prepare 
a report on NGO best practices and to reiterate the 
responsibility of states to promote and protect NGOs, 
offering the opportunity to tell a positive story about 
non-governmental organizations, contributions in this arena. 
 She added that all three North American governments had made 
important contributions to the resolution on protecting the 
defenders of human rights and it should be passed. 
 
Venezuela's Resolution on Posada-Carilles 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Turning to the draft Venezuelan resolution on the 
Posada-Carilles case, Barks-Ruggles emphasized that the OAS 
was an inappropriate forum for addressing what was plainly a 
bilateral U.S.-Venezuelan issue.  Several governments had 
already pledged to support USG efforts to defeat the 
Venezuelan resolution and she urged Mexico to do the same. 
The Mexicans replied that the GOM would study the 
resolution's text. 
 
OAS Declaration on Rights of Indigenous People 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶9.  (C) The single biggest area of disagreement related to 
the OAS Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as 
well as the UN declaration on the same subject (septel).  The 
Mexicans argued that with an indigenous population of between 
10 and 12 million, domestic political considerations required 
strong GOM support for the OAS declaration.  They added that 
such domestic political pressure existed in many other Latin 
American countries and was a major factor underlying broad 
support for the as yet unfinished declaration. The GOM 
believes that an OAS declaration should be consistent with 
the UN declaration.  The Mexicans asserted that the U.S. 
proposal for general principles on indigenous rights would be 
"a step backwards."  Pressed by the US delegation as to why a 
declaration would be seen as negative, the GOM delegation 
emphasized form (e.g. the importance of an international 
instrument versus a single declaration) over substance. 
 
¶10.  (C) DAS Barks-Ruggles emphasized the USG is committed to 
concrete actions to address legitimate indigenous grievances. 
 She noted that the USG took its international obligations 
seriously, that even non-binding declarations had significant 
U.S. domestic legal implications, and that the USG would not 
support a declaration that could not be implemented.  She 
explained that while early on, the USG had sought to 
negotiate the declaration line-by-line, it had concluded that 
this approach had not been effective.  In the interest of not 
blocking negotiations, the U.S. had taken the principled 
position of taking a general reservation on the text, while 
seeking to enhance the negotiations by contributing 
observations based upon domestic U.S. experience on this 
issue.  She agreed the OAS declaration should be consistent 
with the UN declaration, noting that the simultaneous 
negotiation of the two declarations had led to 
inconsistencies. 
 
¶11.  (C) The Canadians emphasized that in Canada the issue of 
indigenous rights was politically charged.  They observed 
that even though declarations such as this one were not 
themselves legally enforceable, Canadian courts were already 
citing other international declarations as evidence of 
evolving legal standards.  The GOC was therefore very 
concerned about the current text of the declaration, which 
would have serious domestic legal ramifications if signed by 
Canada.  They argued the OAS declaration should focus on 
points about which there is an international consensus, and 
that including controversial issues on which no consensus 
existed would compel Canada to opt out, weakening the 
declaration's significance.  They said that a declaration 
promising more than could possibly be delivered would create 
even more serious problems with indigenous groups than 
currently existed, and that it was therefore vital to have a 
declaration whose terms could be fulfilled. 
 
¶12.  (C) The Mexicans concluded the discussion of this issue 
 
MEXICO 00002886  003 OF 004 
 
 
by noting that indigenous peoples had become an important 
actor in the international system, and that they had high 
expectations for achieving gains by working within the 
system.  Accordingly, the GOM believed the international 
community had to address these concerns.  The Mexicans 
repeatedly urged the three governments to search for 
"creative solutions" to their disagreement, taking into 
account political realities in Latin America. 
 
Resolution on Migration 
----------------------- 
 
¶13.  (C) The Mexicans said the GOM was extremely pleased 
about the U.S.-Mexican co-sponsorship of the OAS resolution 
on migrants, which they said reflected a "qualitative change" 
in the nature of bilateral cooperation in regional fora. 
They reiterated that the draft resolution on protecting the 
human rights of migrants was among the GOM's highest 
priorities and that the GOM also sought to establish a 
special commission on migrant issues, to operate under the 
OAS Permanent Council.  The Mexicans believed the OAS was a 
useful mechanism for addressing the issue of migration and 
emphasized their support for the revised text of the draft 
Belizean resolution on migration flows. 
 
¶14.  (C) DAS Barks-Ruggles said the USG was also very pleased 
about the cooperation on the resolution on migration, adding 
that the USG was committed to protecting the human rights of 
migrants.  She reiterated the administration's efforts to 
secure passage of an immigration reform bill to address the 
issue of migration comprehensively. 
 
¶15.  (C) The Canadians asserted the issue of migrants' rights 
needed to be addressed in practical rather than rhetorical 
terms, to reduce politicization of the issue, and to reduce 
inconsistencies and redundancies.  They observed that an 
increasing number of international bodies were dealing with 
the issue and that an effort should be made to decide which 
bodies were best equipped to handle the issue. 
 
Human Rights and Terrorism 
-------------------------- 
 
¶16.  (C) The Mexican delegation observed the three 
governments had cooperated well on the resolution addressing 
the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in 
the war on terrorism, which was a high international 
priority.  DAS Barks-Ruggles agreed trilateral cooperation 
had been strong.  She urged the GOM to consider supporting 
the biennialization of this resolution, noting the resolution 
absorbed considerable attention at the OASGA and that 
biennializing it would open room on the agenda for other 
important issues.  The Mexicans said they would consider the 
idea cautioning, however, that biennializing the resolution 
might depend upon "political factors." 
 
Inter-American Convention on Discrimination 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶17.  (C) The Mexicans outlined a number of measures the GOM 
was taking to fight discrimination within Mexico, adding that 
international human rights instruments had proven a major 
factor in encouraging the GOM to strengthen its domestic 
human rights performance.  Accordingly, the GOM believed the 
draft Inter-American convention on this issue would be a 
useful tool, even if not all governments chose to ratify it. 
In response, the Canadians said the text was weak, and at 
times even inconsistent with existing international norms. 
They noted, for example, that it would criminalize conduct 
that could not be criminalized under Canadian law, and that 
while the GOC strongly supported the fight against 
discrimination, it would not be able to support the 
convention as currently drafted.  They added that developing 
new norms risked confusing existing international norms, and 
that instead of creating such new norms, it would be far more 
effective to seek full implementation of existing norms. 
 
¶18.  (C) DAS Barks-Ruggles noted the USG had not been 
involved in the negotiation of the convention and had made a 
general reservation with respect to its text. 
 
¶19.  (C) The U.S. delegation, headed by DRL DAS Erica 
Barks-Ruggles, included Doug Rohn of IO/RHS, Steve Hill of 
L/HRR, Laura Jordan of DRL/MLGA, and Alan Meltzer and 
 
MEXICO 00002886  004 OF 004 
 
 
Priscilla Adams of Embassy Mexico City.  The Mexican 
delegation, headed by Ambassador Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo, 
Secretariat of Foreign Relations (SRE) Under-Secretary for 
 
SIPDIS 
Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights.  The following SRE 
officials also participated: Alejandro Negrin, Ulises 
Canchola, Alejandro Estivill, Raul Cueto Martinez, Salvador 
de Lara, Matilde Garcia Verastegui, Juan Carlos Lara, Sylvia 
Cabrera, Luis Benavides, and Mariana Salazar.  The Canadian 
delegation, headed by Gwyneth Kutz, Director of the Canadian 
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's 
(DFAIT) Division of Human Rights, Equality of Gender, Health, 
and Population, also included DFAIT officers John Hannaford, 
Benoit Gauthier, Sirine Hijal, as well as Matt Loken, of the 
Canadian Embassy in Mexico City. 
 
¶20.  (U) DAS Barks-Ruggles has cleared on this cable. 
 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American 
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
BASSETT