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FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5098
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RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN IMMEDIATE 0965
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA IMMEDIATE 0987
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RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE 2328
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME IMMEDIATE 1016
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO IMMEDIATE 8536

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000927 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2018 
TAGS: PREL KUNR UNSC IN BR PK IT JP GM
SUBJECT: UNSC REFORM: GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SCHEDULES 
START OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL NEGOTIATIONS FOR NOVEMBER 21, 
2008 
 
REF: USUN NEW YORK 840 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff, for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( 
d). 
 
¶1.  (SBU) In an October 10 letter addressed to all missions, 
the President of the General Assembly (PGA) Miguel d'Escoto 
Brockmann announced: (1) a meeting of the Open-ended Working 
Group (OEWG) on November 11, 2008; and (2) an informal 
plenary of the General Assembly on November 21, 2008, to 
commence intergovernmental negotiations.  He also announced 
that the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan Zahir Tanin, 
one of the Vice Presidents of the 63rd UN General Assembly, 
would chair these sessions on his behalf.  (Note: The General 
Assembly Plenary discussion of Security Council reform is 
still scheduled for November 13, 2008.  End note.) 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The PGA's announcement accelerates the timetable 
set forth in the consensus decision (now known as 62/557) 
agreed to by the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly on 
September 15, 2008.  As detailed in reftel, that decision 
called on the OEWG to "continue immediately to address...the 
framework, modalities...in order to prepare and facilitate 
intergovernmental negotiations."  The Chairman of the OEWG 
"will present the results of these consultations to an 
informal plenary session of the General Assembly, no later 
than February 1, 2009."  It also decided, "taking into 
consideration the results achieved so far in the OEWG,...to 
commence intergovernmental negotiations in (an) informal 
plenary of the General Assembly during the sixty-third 
session of the General Assembly, but not later than February 
28, 2009." 
 
¶3.  (C) The Italian Perm Rep, a leader of the Uniting for 
Consensus (UFC) bloc, specifically requested today that the 
P-5 intervene with the Group of Four (G-4) and the PGA to 
question the rush to commence intergovernmental negotiations. 
 We are coordinating our reaction with Russia, China, and key 
UFC members.  We plan to meet with the PGA next week and tell 
him that we consider his acceleration of the negotiating 
timetable a breach of the spirit of the compromise that 
facilitated the consensus agreement on September 15, and that 
it risks setting back the reform process. 
 
¶4.  (C) Comment: We understand that G-4 member South Africa 
was pressing the PGA to start intergovernmental negotiations 
before the end of the year so that South Africa could go to 
the African Union Summit in January and seek a modification 
of the Ezulwini Consensus.  (Note: The Ezulwini Consensus 
requires African states to seek an expansion of the Security 
Council that includes African permanent seats with veto 
power.  End note.)  If negotiations are not already underway, 
they will be told to start the negotiations based on the 
previous decision and then will have to wait until the July 
summit for any modifications.  If negotiations have started, 
South Africa will be able to argue that permanent seats with 
the veto power are a sticking point and request flexibility 
on the veto issue.  End comment. 
Khalilzad