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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 STATE 106423 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER IS KPAL
SUBJECT: URGENT DEMARCHE REQUEST ON THE GOLDSTONE REPORT 
 
REF: STATE 098567 (NOTAL) 
 
¶1.  (U) This is an Action Request.  Please see paragraph 
three. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary.  South African Jurist Richard Goldstone 
submitted his report on conflict in Gaza to the Human Rights 
Council (HRC) on September 15.  After negotiating with the 
United States to reshape an initial, one-sided Palestinian 
draft into a balanced resolution on the report, the 
Palestinian delegation changed course on October 2, and the 
Arab Group and others asked that the resolution be deferred 
until next March.  The Palestinians have now changed course 
again, calling for an HRC Special Session on October 15-16 to 
take up the report.  While we do not support this session, we 
have decided not to oppose it actively.  Similarly, in New 
York, we agreed to move forward a regularly-scheduled UNSC 
meeting on the Middle East to October 14, though not to 
specifically add the Goldstone report to the agenda.  This 
cable asks Posts to describe these developments to host 
governments, and to ask them to coordinate with our Geneva and 
New York missions in advance of the HRC and UNSC meetings. 
End Summary. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Action Request: Drawing on the background in paras 4- 
6, the goals outlined in paras 7 and 8, and talking points in 
paras 9-13, Missions should demarche host governments on the 
U.S. position on the Report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on 
the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Report), and request their 
support at the October 14 UNSC Open Debate on the Middle East, 
and the October 15-16 Human Rights Council Special Session. 
End Action Request. 
 
Background 
----------- 
 
¶4. (U) In January 2009, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in 
Geneva held a Special Session on the December-January conflict 
in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.  It mandated a 
 
STATE 00106423  002 OF 008 
 
 
fact-finding mission to investigate "all violations of 
international human rights law and international humanitarian 
law" by Israel.  In April, the HRC President appointed South 
African Justice Richard Goldstone to lead the mission.  He 
said he would investigate all parties to the conflict: Israel, 
Hamas and Fatah (although the Council did not formally change 
his mandate).  On September 15, Goldstone released the 
Mission's 575-page report.  The USG has serious concerns about 
the report, including its unbalanced focus on Israeli actions; 
its sweeping conclusions of law; and the overly broad scope of 
its recommendations, some of which go into areas that must be 
resolved politically in the context of permanent status 
negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. 
Nevertheless, we take the allegations in the report seriously. 
 
¶5. (SBU) On October 2, at a regular HRC session in Geneva, 
member states of the Organization of Islamic Conferences 
(OIC), the Arab Group, the African Group, and the Non-Aligned 
Movement asked the HRC President to defer consideration of a 
draft resolution on the Goldstone report.  Until then, we had 
been working with the Palestinians, Israelis and others in 
support of significant edits to a Palestinian draft that would 
have resulted in a balanced, de-politicized resolution calling 
on all parties to the conflict to investigate allegations 
through credible domestic processes.  Despite the deferral, 
the Palestinian Mission in Geneva has sought to hold a Special 
Session, now scheduled for October 15-16. 
 
¶6. (SBU) On October 6 in New York, the Libyan Mission, 
supported by the Arab Group and the Non-Aligned Movement, 
requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council to discuss 
the Goldstone report.  However, Council members felt there was 
no urgency to hold such a meeting, deciding instead to move 
forward the regularly-scheduled monthly meeting on the Middle 
East -- the normal forum for all matters related to the Arab- 
Israeli conflict -- from Tuesday, October 20 to Wednesday, 
October 14.  This will be an Open Debate, meaning that any 
delegation -- not just UNSC members -- may speak.  We expect 
many NAM and OIC delegations to focus their remarks almost 
exclusively on the Goldstone report and Gaza.  Some may also 
call for a referral to the International Criminal Court. 
 
USG Goals 
 
STATE 00106423  003 OF 008 
 
 
--------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Our broad objectives are: 
 
-- to minimize potential damage to ongoing efforts to re- 
launch permanent status negotiations that would lead to the 
creation of an independent Palestinian state; 
-- to keep action on the Goldstone report in the HRC in Geneva 
and not the Security Council; 
-- to avoid any UNSC outcome document in the event that the 
report is eventually placed on the UNSC agenda; 
-- to minimize damage to the HRC and to the process of U.S. 
reengagement, including minimizing any sensationalized 
discussion of the report in New York; and 
-- to promote accountability for violations of international 
law, while working to prevent any effort to use the Goldstone 
report to modify international law relating to the conduct of 
war. 
 
¶8. (SBU) To achieve these goals, at the October 14 UNSC 
session, we are asking all other UNSC members (except Libya) 
and potentially like-minded nations (the action addressees to 
this cable) to speak out in support of keeping action on this 
matter in the HRC.  It would also help for them to discuss 
their views on the Middle East situation overall, as the 
October 14 meeting is not just about the Goldstone report.  In 
Geneva, we will register strong opposition to any HRC 
endorsement of the report or to a one-sided outcome.  We have 
no specific request regarding others' remarks there, except 
that they avoid damaging the HRC or U.S. reengagement in it, 
including by refraining from sensationalizing or politicizing 
the report.  If unacceptable resolutions are presented either 
on October 15-16 in the HRC, or later on in the Security 
Council, we hope to maximize the number of "no" votes.  At the 
same time, we must balance our efforts by promoting principles 
of accountability for violations of international law and not 
being seen as quashing open discussion of a high-profile human 
rights matter. 
 
Talking Points 
-------------- 
 
¶9. (U) FOR ALL ACTION ADDRESSEES: 
 
STATE 00106423  004 OF 008 
 
 
 
-- The United States has serious concerns with the Report of 
the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the 
Goldstone Report).  We outlined these in our September 29 
statement at the Human Rights Council(HRC). 
 
-- Nevertheless, we take seriously the specific allegations in 
the Report.  Israel has the institutions and ability to carry 
out serious investigations of these allegations and we 
encourage it to do so.  Hamas is a terrorist organization, and 
has neither the ability nor willingness to examine its 
violations of human rights. 
 
-- We will approach the report with openness to dialogue and 
the goal of constructive and honest discussions on important 
human rights issues, and ensuring that discussion of it does 
not in any way impede the peace process at a critical 
juncture. 
 
-- At the request of the Palestinian delegation, there will be 
a Special Session of the HRC to discuss the report on  October 
15-16.  The report is also likely to be discussed by many 
delegations during the regular monthly session on the Middle 
East at the UN Security Council on October 14.  (This UNSC 
session is an open debate, at which any UN member, not just 
Security Council members, may speak.) 
 
-- My government asks that you instruct your Missions in New 
York and Geneva to coordinate closely with ours regarding our 
approach to these two sessions. 
 
-- While we believe that discussion of the Goldstone report 
should remain in the HRC in Geneva, the UN body which 
commissioned it, we did not support holding a Special Session 
at this time.  The Goldstone Report was discussed in detail at 
the September 14-October 2 HRC Fall session, where the OIC, 
the Arab Group, the Africa Group and the NAM requested to 
defer action on it until March.  We believe that the Council's 
consideration of the report should follow that calendar, to 
allow for full consideration of all the issues raised by the 
report. 
 
-- That said, we have no interest in fostering conflict with 
 
STATE 00106423  005 OF 008 
 
 
the Palestinian Authority at the HRC.  We do not plan to 
challenge it at the Special Session, nor do we intend to try 
to alter the text of any resolution the Palestinian delegation 
may present.  On the other hand, we will definitely vote 
against any unacceptable resolution, and will be encouraging 
others to do so. 
 
-- In New York, we have supported moving the timing of the 
UNSC monthly debate from October 20 to October 14.  We must 
keep in mind that this is not a special session on the 
Goldstone report, nor has the Security Council agreed to take 
up that matter.  We hope your Mission in New York will focus 
its remarks on the importance of the Middle East peace process 
as a whole, conveying your government's views on a wide range 
of issues, not only the Goldstone report.  We ask that you 
underscore the common interest in a comprehensive peace and a 
two-state solution to the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
 
-- In our remarks on the 14th in New York, we plan to call 
again for the urgent re-launching of peace negotiations, note 
the economic and security progress being made by the 
Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and cite the threat to 
international peace and security posed by the resumption of 
rocket attacks from Gaza.  We plan to limit our remarks on the 
Goldstone report to a minimum, except to note that the HRC in 
Geneva is the appropriate venue to discuss a report that it 
commissioned. 
 
-- We hope you will support us in ensuring that these issues 
can be discussed openly in the right forum, the HRC, at the 
right time, and with the right outcome. 
 
Specifically, our concerns about the Goldstone report include: 
 
-- Its failure to adequately reflect the inherent right of 
States to self-defense in the context of asymmetrical conflict 
and the threat posed by non-state actors that carry out terror 
attacks and base themselves and their military operations in 
heavily populated urban areas. 
 
-- Its call to all countries to assert universal jurisdiction 
over Israeli government actions.  This could have serious 
 
STATE 00106423  006 OF 008 
 
 
ramifications for future HRC reports and other country 
situations. 
 
-- Its call to refer consideration of this matter to other 
institutions inside and outside the UN system, including the 
International Criminal Court. 
 
-- Its call for the HRC to refer the matter simultaneously to 
the General Assembly and the Security Council, a recipe for 
overlap and potential conflict. 
 
-- The HRC should instead deal with this report, which it 
commissioned, in a sober and moderate manner -- something we 
support. 
 
¶10. (U) ADDITIONAL TALKING POINT FOR USE WITH NON-SECURITY 
COUNCIL MEMBERS ONLY: 
 
-- We strongly encourage you to have your UN Permanent 
Representative speak at the October 14 UNSC open debate and to 
focus your remarks on broader aspects of the situation in the 
Middle East, especially the importance of the peace process. 
The debate will start in the afternoon and will likely have 
many speakers, so non-UNSC delegations should get in their 
requests to speak as soon as possible. 
 
¶11. (U) ADDITIONAL TALKING POINTS FOR USE WITH HRC MEMBERS 
ONLY: 
 
-- The United States will vote against any unacceptable 
resolution presented at the HRC Special Session.  We view the 
current draft Palestinian resolution as unacceptable. 
 
-- We ask that you join us in voting against such a 
resolution, after weighing carefully its full implications. 
 
¶12. (U) ADDITIONAL TALKING POINTS FOR USE WITH NATO 
MEMBERS, UNSC P5, COLOMBIA, INDIA AND PHILIPPINES ONLY: 
 
-- The Goldstone report contains serious allegations that 
should be investigated and addressed through credible domestic 
processes.  We are asking both Israel and the Palestinian 
Authority to do so. 
 
STATE 00106423  007 OF 008 
 
 
 
-- However, a fundamental shortcoming of the report is its 
failure to take into account Hamas' terrorist status.  Hamas, 
a terrorist group that has seized control of a territory, has 
neither democratic structures, an independent judiciary, nor 
any demonstrated willingness to examine its own violations of 
international humanitarian law and human rights. 
 
-- The Report also makes extraordinarily negative inferences 
about the intentions of Israeli military commanders, senior 
political leaders, and the Israeli criminal justice system on 
the basis of a limited factual record or conjecture.  From 
those inferences, it draws condemnatory conclusions of law, 
including international criminal law, treating accusations and 
inferences as fact. 
 
-- In deciding how to address this matter, particularly your 
potential vote on a resolution presented in the HRC Special 
Session, we ask that, while joining with us in encouraging 
credibly domestic investigations, you consider the 
implications of the report for any conventional modern 
military force faced with the difficult task of carrying out 
operations against ongoing, large-scale terrorist activity in 
a civilian setting. 
 
-- It would be useful for your military experts to examine 
this issue more closely. 
 
¶13. (U) ONLY IF ASKED: 
 
-- Many media reports on the October 2 outcome in Geneva 
indicated that the U.S. pressured the Palestinians to defer 
their resolution.  Our focus was not on pressing for deferral, 
but rather on seeking a consensus-based resolution in Geneva, 
an objective we pursued up until the point when we learned 
that the NAM and others were choosing to defer action on the 
resolution.  The U.S. has clear views on its response to the 
Report and was communicating those to the parties.    END 
TALKING POINTS 
 
Points of Contact 
----------------- 
 
 
STATE 00106423  008 OF 008 
 
 
¶14. (U) Posts should report delivery of the demarche via front 
channel cable to the Department and the US Missions in New 
York and Geneva, slugged for IO/RHS, Kelly Razzouk and Cari 
Enav; IO/UNP, Andrew Morrison; NEA/IPA, Jeffrey Giauque; 
USUN/NY, Amy Schedlbauer and Ellen Germain; and Geneva, Marc 
Cassayre.  Substantive responses should be reported in the 
same fashion and double-tracked via e-mail in light of the 
short time remaining before the two meetings. 
CLINTON