VZCZCXRO3765
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1194 2671859
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241859Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5145
INFO RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 9970
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8233
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 4589
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0335
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1600

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001194 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR IO/RHS CARI ENAV AND KELLY RAZZOUK AND NEA/IPA JEFFREY 
GIAUQUE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER KISL KPAL IS BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL, HRC, AND GOLDSTONE REPORT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 98567 
 
¶1.  (U)  On September 23, Poloff delivered reftel demarche to 
Carlos Eduardo da Cunha Oliveira, interim chief, Human Rights 
Division, Ministry of External Relations (MRE).  Cunha 
Oliveira disputed some of the points in the demarche and 
agreed with others. 
 
¶2.  (U)  ONE-SIDED AND BIASED REPORT:  Cunha Oliveira pointed 
out that there had been a consensus in the HRC in support of 
Justice Goldstone's fact-finding mission.  That consensus did 
not mean, he said, that every country supported the mission, 
but that the mission was part of a compromise package to 
facilitate HRC operations at that juncture.  He said it would 
be "detrimental to the experts" and "undermine the HRC" to 
reject the Goldstone Report outright.  Poloff stressed that 
the U.S. goal was not to condemn the report but to ensure 
that any HRC resolution on the issue is measured and 
constructive.  Cunha Oliveira agreed that it was possible for 
the Council, without rejecting the report, to "put a 
different twist on it." 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  DIVISIVE DEBATE:  Cunha Oliveira said that Brazil 
was "absolutely committed" to an effective and 
"non-politicized" HRC.  He said the GOB's constant concern 
has been the "selective and politicized approach" of some 
countries toward human rights issues.  This allowed Israel, 
he said, to "withdraw legitimacy from the HRC."  He said that 
the GOB was concerned that one side, OIC countries, "has 
power" and the other, Israel, claims that HRC decisions lack 
legitimacy, with the result that "nobody wins" and the HRC is 
weakened.  Poloff responded that the USG wanted to work with 
the GOB to strengthen the HRC through a balanced approach 
toward human right issues, standing firmly against abuses 
regardless of the actor. 
 
¶4.  (U)  KEEP THE ISSUE IN THE HRC:  The GOB fully agreed 
that the HRC is the competent organ to deal with the 
Goldstone Report, Cunha Oliveira said, and it would 
"seriously weaken the HRC to refer the matter out" to other 
organs of the UN or to the ICC.  He also agreed that the 
issue should not be allowed to overshadow other important 
work of the HRC such as the freedom of expression resolution. 
 (As an aside, Cunha Oliveira said that the U.S. draft 
resolution on freedom of expression was "on the whole 
excellent," though for the Brazilians it was important for 
legal reasons to change "stigmatization of religions" to 
"stigmatization of persons because of religious affiliation.") 
KUBISKE