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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001177 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA AND IO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2018 
TAGS: PREL PHUM AG MO IS NU UNGA
SUBJECT: UNGA COMMEMORATES UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN 
RIGHTS 60TH ANNIVERSARY 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR T. VANCE MCMAHAN FOR 1.4(B,D). 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  The UN General Assembly (UNGA) marked the 
60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
(UDHR) in New York on December 10.  Despite some initial 
uncertainty about which states would be permitted to speak, 
the commemoration, which included two panel discussions and a 
plenary meeting, proceeded smoothly.  Speakers agreed that 
while much had been achieved since the adoption of the UDHR, 
much remained to be done, and the UN needed to respond to new 
challenges presented by the global financial, food, and 
energy crises, climate change, and the widening gap between 
the rich and the poor resulting in higher poverty levels.  In 
addition to touching upon the more traditional rights, 
speakers focused on "new" human rights including the right to 
development and the right to water, and emphasized that equal 
attention needed to be given to economic, social and cultural 
rights as to civil and political rights.  The United States 
made a statement in our capacity as the "Host Country." 
Israel spoke on behalf of the Western European and Others 
Group (WEOG).  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (C) During the December 10 UDHR commemorative plenary 
meeting, the UNGA adopted by consensus a Declaration on the 
anniversary of the UDHR.  Five countries, one from each 
region, co-authored the draft of a Declaration marking the 
60th anniversary of the UDHR:  Algeria (Africa), Indonesia 
(Asia), Argentina (Latin America), Germany (WEOG, which 
includes the United States), and Azerbaijan (Eastern Europe). 
 The Declaration maintained a generalized, laudatory tone 
while avoiding specific enumerations of controversial 
documents or situations.  The UNGA also adopted by consensus 
the Third Committee resolution which took note of the 
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, 
Social and Cultural Rights. 
 
¶3. (C) During his opening statement, Miguel d'Escoto 
(Nicaragua), the President of the General Assembly (PGA), 
called for adherence to the values enshrined in the UDHR at 
this point in history "marked by the maniacal, suicidal 
selfishness of an increasingly discredited system aimed at 
the ever-increasing concentration of wealth and power."  He 
outlined a number of phenomena which "we cannot tolerate," 
including poverty, hunger, trafficking in persons, 
deforestation, torture, and foreign military bases 
established in sovereign nations.  The PGA also called for 
democratization of the UN, stating "All dictatorships must 
end, including dictatorship in this house."  These remarks 
were in keeping with the PGA's efforts to prevent Israel, 
Morocco and the United States from taking the floor during 
the commemoration, in direct contravention of established 
procedures (see below).  While his maneuvers were perceived 
both in the press and by delegations as a slight towards 
Israel, which held the monthly rotation as WEOG chair in 
December, his actions were also apparently aimed at Morocco 
(the monthly African group chair) at the instigation of 
Algeria. 
 
¶4. (C) Seven recipients were presented with Human Rights 
Awards, including Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General 
and defense attorney for Saddam Hussein and Slobodan 
Milosevic.  The winners were chosen by a committee headed by 
PGA D'Escoto and comprised of the Human Rights Council (HRC) 
President, the Economic and Social Council President, the 
Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women, and the Chair 
of the Advisory Committee of the HRC (a Cuban).  The other 
recipients were Human Rights Watch, Louise Arbour, Dr. Denis 
Mukwege, Dr. Carolyn Gomes and, posthumously, Benazir Bhutto 
and Sister Dorothy Stang.  The seven recipients were chosen 
from over 150 nominations provided by governments, NGOs and 
individuals after an opaque and secretive vetting process 
from which the Office of the High Commissioner for Human 
Rights was marginalized. 
 
¶5. (U) On December 5, after first announcing no Member States 
would be allowed to speak at the commemoration, the PGA 
reversed himself and scheduled the five regional groups to 
speak at the end of the meeting, after the award ceremony and 
the formal adoption of the Optional Protocol on Economic, 
Social and Cultural rights.  The usual practice for such 
commemorations, however, as codified by the General Committee 
 
USUN NEW Y 00001177  002 OF 002 
 
 
of the UNGA, is for speeches to be made by the chairmen of 
the Regional Groups and by the Host Country.  Under protest 
from the USUN, the PGA reluctantly added the host country 
back onto the agenda, but said Cuba, as coordinator of the 
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), would also be added.  Once word 
of this departure from normal procedure became known, other 
groups also requested a speaking role.  Ultimately nine 
additional groups spoke in addition to the five regions and 
the Host Country:  the African Union (Tanzania), the European 
Union (EU) (France), the NAM (Cuba), the Arab States (Egypt), 
the Rio Group (Mexico), MERCOSUR (Brazil), Nordic Countries 
(Iceland), CANZ (Canada), and CARICOM (Guyana).  Morocco 
(speaking for Africa), Colombia (speaking for Latin America 
and the Caribbean), and Cuba (speaking for the NAM), stressed 
the importance of the right to development.  Egypt (speaking 
for the Arab States) and Cuba (speaking for the NAM) 
underscored the rights of persons in territories under 
foreign occupation, with Egypt calling for the international 
community to divest itself of "selectivity, politicization 
and double standards," and to reiterate commitment to 
supporting the Palestinian people's right to 
self-determination.  Despite our prior misgivings, the 
speeches at the event were less inflammatory than had been 
anticipated. 
 
¶6. (U) Other speakers included the HRC President, the UN High 
Commissioner for Human Rights, and (by video message) 
Secretary-General Ban.  Speakers agreed that the lack of 
political will on the part of some to make the UDHR 
principles a reality remained a problem.  They also agreed 
that the global financial, food, and energy crises were 
presenting new challenges on the human rights front, which 
required international cooperation.  Virtually every speaker 
expressed concern about the widening poverty gap, noting that 
poverty led to exploitation and abuse.  Many speakers 
emphasized the need to give as much attention to economic, 
social, and cultural rights as given to civil and political 
rights. 
 
¶7. (U) The December 10 UDHR commemorative events also 
included panel discussions on lessons learned and on 
challenges ahead and the way forward.  Panelists agreed that 
there had been much progress achieved since the adoption of 
the UDHR, but that rights continued to be violated around the 
world, and human rights education would be key to moving 
forward.  Former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for 
Human Rights Mary Robinson expressed concerns related to the 
fight against terrorism and secret detention.  The 
representatives of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty 
International echoed similar concerns, though their comments 
were not as heated as Robinson's. 
 
¶8. (U) In addition to touching upon the more traditional 
rights, speakers focused on a number of "new" rights which 
they argued merited equal attention, namely the right to 
development and the right to water.  Panelist Maude Barlow, a 
water rights activist, made the point that water must be 
viewed as a human right rather than a commodity, arguing that 
it should be a free public good.  A few speakers noted that 
some developed countries were more focused on addressing 
human rights problems in other countries than those within 
their own borders, and Syria raised the need to protect the 
human rights of persons living in territories under foreign 
occupation. 
 
¶9. (U) A fuller reflection of the debate during the panel 
discussions and the UNGA plenary meeting can be found at 
www.un.org/apps/pressreleases.  The complete text of the U.S. 
statement can be found at www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov. 
Khalilzad