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O 220100Z SEP 07
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000786 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNGA CH TW
SUBJECT: UNGA KEEPS TAIWAN UN MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION OFF 
AGENDA 
 
REF: A) USUN 773 B) STATE 133171 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000786  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U)  Summary:  The UN General Assembly met in plenary 
session September 21 to consider the report of the UN General 
Committee containing its recommendations for the agenda of 
the new (62nd) UNGA session which opened September 18.   The 
General Committee had decided not to inscribe the agenda item 
regarding Taiwan's UN membership application.  When the issue 
arose in the plenary, 140 delegations took the floor to 
discuss this portion of the report.  Of these, 14 spoke in 
favor of inscription, while the remaining 126 spoke in 
support of the General Committee's recommendation not to 
include the agenda item.  The majority included all European 
members of the Security Council (list of speakers in para 3 
and 5).  At the conclusion of the debate, the UNGA President 
gaveled through without challenge the General Committee's 
decision not to inscribe the agenda item on Taiwan.  The 
report of the General Committee was subsequently adopted 
without a vote. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U)  As reported ref A, the UN's General Committee decided 
September 19 not to recommend the inclusion of a proposed 
agenda item on Taiwan's membership application in the UN. 
When the plenary session of the UNGA met September 21 to 
consider the General Committee's recommendations, a lengthy 
debate arose on the issue of this agenda item. 
 
¶3. (U)  The 15 delegations who spoke in favor of inscribing 
an agenda item regarding Taiwan's UN application included: 
Gambia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Palau, Burkina Faso, 
the Solomon Islands, Paraguay, Belize, Tuvalu, Marshall 
Islands, Swaziland, Sao Tome and Principe, Saint Kitts and 
Nevis.  These states based their arguments on the rule of law 
and UN procedure.  They argued that the Secretary-General's 
decision not to receive Taiwan's application for membership 
to the UN over the summer was arbitrary, baseless, and a 
disappointment.  They also said that the refusal to consider 
Taiwan's application by the UN Secretariat and the majority 
of UN members states is anti-democratic and constitutes a 
violation of the fundamental human rights of the 23 million 
people of Taiwan.  They argued that UNGA Resolution 2758 
(1971) is not the final decision of the issue of the status 
of Taiwan.  Several called for the General Committee to 
reconsider its decision. 
 
¶4. (U)  The majority of member states opposed inclusion of 
the agenda item, citing UNGA Resolution 2758 (1971) and 
support for the "One-China" policy.  A smaller group 
explicitly asserted that Taiwan is an integral part of China. 
 When the session opened, some 50 states had arranged to 
speak.  Over the course of the day, more states joined the 
speaker's list, including a late afternoon decision by many 
members of the EU to speak out.  Per ref B, USUN did not 
speak.  (The U.S. position has been posted to USUN's 
website.)  Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand also did 
not speak.  There was no vote called on the matter.  At the 
conclusion of the debate, the Chair stated that he understood 
the wish of the General Assembly is not to include the agenda 
item and declared the matter decided. 
 
¶5. (U)  Delegations who spoke in opposition included:  Cuba, 
China, Venezuela, Cambodia, Mauritania, Colombia, Egypt, 
Rwanda, Micronesia, Burma, Russia, Brazil, East Timor, 
Zimbabwe, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Gabon, Cyprus, North Korea, 
Guinea, Belarus, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Morocco, 
Greece, Tanzania, Tunisia, Malaysia, Serbia, Central African 
Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Djibouti, Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, Syrian Arab Republic, South Africa, Yemen, 
Congo, Philippines, Montenegro, Uruguay, Moldova, Bolivia, 
Cameroon, Iran, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Algeria, Kyrgyzstan, 
Mozambique, Kuwait, Nepal, Peru, Burundi, Spain, Democratic 
Republic of the Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Mauritius, Senegal, 
Chile, Indonesia, Tonga, Angola, Lao, Papua New Guinea, 
Ukraine, Sierra Leone, Comoros, Uzbekistan, Romania, Togo, 
Jamaica, Barbados, Somalia, Niger, Sudan, Eritrea, Antigua 
and Barbuda, Bangladesh, United Kingdom, France, Italy, 
Albania, Namibia, Ecuador, Malta, Lebanon, Madagascar, 
Mongolia, India, Republic of Korea, Suriname, Libya, Benin, 
Turkmenistan, Lithuania, Cape Verde, Afghanistan, Bhutan, 
Luxembourg, Maldives, Lesotho, Iceland, Nigeria, Pakistan, 
Austria, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, Poland, Fiji, Finland, 
Ghana, Switzerland, Uganda, Armenia, Turkey, Hungary, 
Germany, Belgium, Slovenia, Netherlands, Botswana, Slovakia, 
Czech Republic. 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000786  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
 
KHALILZAD