VZCZCXRO1097
OO RUEHBZ
DE RUEHC #8921 2941920
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 211856Z OCT 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC POSTS COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS STATE 108921 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL UN
SUBJECT: ACTION REQUEST: 64TH UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THIRD 
COMMITTEE, 2009 - PRIORITIES 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The United States has a full agenda for 
the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Third Committee 
session (covering human rights-related issues) and will 
need the support of capitals to win key votes on 
resolutions on the human rights situations in Iran, Burma, 
and DPRK, as well as certain thematic human rights issues 
(see paragraph 5).  Votes will take place in mid-late 
November.  Department anticipates that many important 
actions (such as Canada?s annual resolution on human 
rights in Iran) will require high-level diplomatic 
engagement and are likely to pass by only slim 
margins.  The United States will also introduce its 
traditional biennial resolution on free elections.  In our 
approach to Third Committee this year, we will seek to 
improve UN voting coincidence between the United States 
and our bilateral partners, and to chip away at the 
historically strong tendency for regional groups to vote 
on resolutions based on bloc positions, often irrespective 
of a resolution?s merits or individual country?s 
interests. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
 
¶2.  ACTION REQUEST:  This cable requests Posts to 
demarche at the highest appropriate level to solicit 
cooperation and support for U.S. priorities listed in 
paragraphs 7-11 and to seek host government insights on 
other resolutions that may be offered in the fall session 
of the UNGA Third Committee.  Posts may draw on background 
and talking points provided in paragraphs 3-11. 
 
-- Note Additional Talking Points for Specific Regional 
Groups on key issues: 
a) Latin American and Caribbean countries: Specific 
talking points on the rights of the child resolution are 
set out in paragraph 8. 
b) Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Member 
States: Specific talking points on the U.S. approach to 
the OIC's "defamation of religions" resolution are set out 
in paragraph 10. 
c) All Non-OIC-Member countries: Separate talking points 
on the OIC's "defamation of religions" resolution are set 
out in paragraph 11. 
 
Posts should not deliver this demarche if they determine 
it would be counterproductive to do so, and in such cases, 
are 
requested to inform Department (IO-RHS and DRL-MLGA) of 
their rationale.  If Posts think it would be useful, they 
are encouraged to deliver demarche jointly with the 
Canadians and/or the Swedes (EU Presidency). 
 
BACKGROUND - U.S. HUMAN RIGHTS PRIORITIES FOR UNGA THIRD 
COMMITTEE 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
 
NO-ACTION MOTIONS 
----------------- 
 
¶3.  Some UN member states have repeatedly used so-called 
"no-action motions" in the Third Committee to halt debate 
and voting on country-specific human rights resolutions. 
The U.S. and many other countries 
strongly oppose use of such motions which often prevent 
discussion of and action on the most egregious violations 
of human rights and undermine the effectiveness and 
reputation of the General Assembly.  We are particularly 
troubled by Iran's continuing efforts to use this to 
prevent discussion about abuses of its own citizens.  This 
is especially worrisome given the abuses that have 
occurred in the aftermath of Iran's deeply flawed 
elections.  The passage of no-action motions would deal a 
blow to the credibility of the Third Committee, as well as 
the United Nations as a whole, and we request posts urge 
host governments to oppose any proposed no action motions 
that may arise (see paragraph 7). 
 
COUNTRY-SPECIFIC RESOLUTIONS 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Each year, the UNGA Third Committee draws attention 
through country-specific resolutions to a 
handful of countries that systematically violate their 
citizen's human rights.  Some countries will argue that 
there is no need for the Third Committee to address 
country-specific initiatives because they are covered by 
the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.  The United 
States disagrees; the Third Committee's purview over 
country-specific human rights situations is critical as it 
is the only venue specifically charged with addressing 
human rights where there is universal membership and all 
192 UN Member States have standing to engage, vote and be 
held to account on their votes on human rights issues. 
Furthermore, the Third Committee's work more directly 
influences the work of the General Assembly and other 
committees, and the work of the NY-based Secretariat. 
 
¶5. In 2008, resolutions on the human rights situation in 
Iran, Burma, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 
(DPRK) were successfully passed in the UNGA Third 
Committee and subsequently in the plenary session of the 
General Assembly, though only after no-action motions on 
Iran and Burma were defeated.  In 2009, resolutions will 
again be presented related to Iran, Burma and the DPRK: 
 
-- Iran: The U.S. will strongly support Canada's annual 
resolution on the situation of human rights in Iran.  The 
Iranian government continues to commit serious human 
rights violations including summary executions, torture, 
and arbitrary detention.  Judicially sanctioned death by 
stoning has increased in 2009.  The government of Iran 
severely limits freedoms of expression, religion and 
assembly, and after the June 12 elections shut down scores 
of news outlets and arrested many journalists. 
Extrajudicial killings, torture, cruel and degrading 
treatment have been widely reported. 
 
-- Burma: The U.S. will strongly support the EU's annual 
resolution on human rights in Burma. We are deeply 
concerned with the situation in Burma, in particular the 
conviction of Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of violating the 
terms of her house arrest and the regime's continued 
imprisonment of more than 2,000 prisoners of conscience, 
including many imprisoned after peaceful pro-democracy 
protests in August and September 2007.  We are also 
concerned about the particularly severe ongoing 
persecution of many ethnic and religious minority groups, 
including the Muslim Rohingya who are denied citizenship. 
 
-- DPRK: The U.S. will strongly support the EU's annual 
resolution on DPRK.  The human rights situation in the 
Democratic People's Republic of Korea remains poor and the 
regime continues to commit serious abuses.  The regime 
controls almost all aspects of citizens' lives, denying 
freedom of expression, assembly, religion and association, 
and restricts freedom of movement and worker rights.  The 
country's continued failure to permit visits by the UN 
Special Rapporteur and its unwillingness to engage on 
human rights issues with the international community 
cannot be ignored.  The UN must address the situation in 
the DPRK to reinforce that this is a matter of 
international concern. 
 
 
¶6. THEMATIC RESOLUTIONS 
-------------------- 
 
Note: Copies of resolutions from previous years can be 
found at the UN General Assembly website at 
www.un.org/ga/sessions/previous.shtml 
 
-- Defamation of Religions: This resolution, sponsored by 
the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) presents 
real difficulties for the U.S.  It calls for 
prohibitions/punishment on offensive speech, including 
speech that defames religions, and singles out Islam as 
the main religion of concern in this respect. We will aim 
to either defer this resolution or defeat it at this UNGA. 
 
OIC countries argue that governments should restrict 
speech that is offensive to individuals on the basis of 
their religion or belief.  Rather than seeking to address 
negative stereotyping of religion through banning 
offensive speech, the U.S. believes that the most 
effective role for government is to: (i) proactively reach 
out to minority groups, in particular, to address 
discrimination and intolerance, (ii) develop appropriate 
legal regimes to adjudicate discriminatory acts and hate 
crimes, and (iii) allow diversity to flourish through 
robust freedom of religion and expression protections. 
 
We hope to build on the success of the joint U.S./Egypt 
freedom of expression resolution at the Human Rights 
Council (see joint U.S./Egypt press release at 
http://geneva.usmission.gov/2009/10/06/expres sion-resolutio 
n), to work with OIC countries in particular to identify 
more appropriate ways to combat negative religious 
stereotyping.  However, if the Defamation of Religions 
resolution is tabled, we will urge governments to vote 
against it, and seek like-minded governments' views on how 
best to mount a successful campaign against the 
resolution. (Note: When a similar resolution was presented 
at the Human Rights Council in March 2008, the "no" votes 
and abstentions outnumbered the "yes" votes.  The vote was 
21-10-14. End note.) [Posts may also refer to this year's 
USG response to the Office of the High Commissioner for 
Human Rights concerning Combating Defamation of Religions 
on Mission Geneva's unclassified website at: 
http://geneva.usmission.gov/2009/08/12/usgove rnmentresponse 
] 
 
-- Elections resolution:  The U.S. will introduce its 
traditional biennial resolution on free elections, which 
will also offer support for the UN Electoral Assistance 
Division.  The resolution has always enjoyed widespread 
support, and we expect it will again this year. 
 
--Rights of the Child:  The EU and the Group of Latin 
American and Caribbean countries (GRULAC) jointly 
cosponsor the annual resolution on the rights of the 
child.  As one of only two countries (the other being 
Somalia) that has not ratified the Convention on the 
Rights of the Child (CRC), the U.S. has been virtually 
isolated in its opposition to this resolution in the 
past.  This year we would like to be able to join 
consensus and seek to work with the EU and GRULAC 
countries early on acceptable language.  One of our main 
concerns in the past has been language designating the CRC 
as the standard for protection of children's rights. In 
the past, we have not found the EU and others amenable to 
our changes but we hope that this year presents a new 
opportunity to find common ground.  The U.S. signed the 
Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, but it has 
not been ratified.  The State Department plans to engage 
in a new interagency process to carefully review the 
treaty before deciding whether to pursue ratification. 
 
-- Elimination of Discrimination Against Women:  At the 
most recent session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), the 
U.S. co-sponsored a resolution introduced by Colombia and 
Mexico on the elimination of discrimination against 
women.  The resolution requests the Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to prepare a report 
on women's equality before the law and to include 
recommendations on how the HRC can help States eliminate 
discriminatory laws. 
 
Earlier drafts of the resolution called for the 
appointment of an Independent Expert who would: work with 
governments to help them eliminate discriminatory laws, 
identify good practices from different regions and legal 
traditions, and foster cooperation among states with the 
OHCHR. However, Egypt and others strongly objected; and 
the drafters amended the text so that the resolution would 
be adopted by consensus. 
 
It is unlikely that this issue will come up at this year's 
General Assembly. The U.S. will continue to work with 
Colombia, Mexico, and others to move this issue forward. 
 
¶7.      KEY OBJECTIVES AND TALKING POINTS FOR ALL 
POSTS: 
 
-- Express U.S. commitment to multilateral efforts to 
protect and promote human rights, and urge close 
cooperation during the upcoming UNGA Third Committee 
session. 
 
--Emphasize that we are consulting with host government in 
advance of the session not only because we hope to work 
closely with them on key human rights initiatives, but 
also to enable us to take their views into account as we 
shape our own positions. 
 
-- Emphasize our principled and consistent position on 
no-action motions.  Strongly urge host government to 
oppose them and to permit full and open debate of the 
serious human rights issues that are raised in the Third 
Committee. 
 
-- Ask host government to support the planned 
country-specific resolutions on Iran, Burma, and DPRK. 
 
--Solicit host government support on the biennial U.S. 
elections resolution.  The provision of electoral 
assistance is an integral part of the UN's commitment to 
supporting democratic electoral processes in its Member 
States.  Support for this resolution constitutes 
recognition of the vital role the UN plays in electoral 
assistance. 
 
¶8.  FOR GROUP OF LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES 
(GRULAC) AND EU POSTS: Note our interest in finding common 
ground on important issues such as the Convention on the 
Rights of the Child.  Emphasize our desire to work closely 
with the EU and GRULAC on this resolution and encourage 
early outreach to our Mission in New York by their 
respective mission. 
 
¶9. KEY OBJECTIVES AND TALKING POINTS ON DEFAMATION 
 
Given the complex and nuanced nature of the debate on 
"defamation", posts may draw on the talking points below 
in discussions on this topic. 
 
¶10. FOR OIC COUNTRIES: 
 
.       The Administration is committed to implementing 
the vision articulated in the President's Cairo speech, 
including in the UN, where we want to reduce the unhelpful 
perception in the media of an insurmountable split between 
Islamic and Western states on key values. 
 
.       The United States is encouraged by the recent 
U.S./Egypt freedom of expression resolution adopted by 
consensus at the UN Human Rights Council, and by the 
excellent cooperation between the United States and the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member 
countries on an issue on which there has been so much 
division in years past. 
 
.       We hope to build on this collective achievement 
and to continue to foster greater understanding between 
nations.  We look forward to strengthening our cooperation 
in the United Nations, particularly in the area of 
combating discrimination. 
 
.       We are committed to working with the OIC to 
combat negative religious stereotyping, in particular, but 
as you are aware we have concerns with the "defamation of 
religions" concept and with the subsequent calls for 
prohibition on offensive speech. 
 
.       We do believe, however, that we share the 
objectives of ensuring religious freedom for all, and 
combating intolerance and discrimination.  We also believe 
that governments have a responsibility to promote respect 
and fight intolerance. 
 
.       We ask that you and the OIC consider postponing 
the Defamation of Religions resolution in this year's UNGA 
Third Committee, in order to give us time to work together 
to develop another approach to address these underlying 
concerns that could enjoy the consensus of the UN Human 
Rights Council and the UN General Assembly, and as a 
result could have a greater impact globally. 
 
¶11. FOR NON-OIC COUNTRIES: 
 
.       The United States has serious concerns with the 
concept of "defamation of religions" and we urge 
host country to vote against or abstain on any such 
resolution. 
 
.       The United States believes that the concept of 
defamation of religions is not supported by international 
law and that efforts to combat defamation of religions 
typically result in restrictions on the freedoms of 
thought, conscience, religion, and expression. 
 
.       Under existing international human rights law, 
individuals not religions, ideologies, or beliefs are 
the holders of rights and are protected by the law.  In 
contrast, the concept of "defamation of religions" conveys 
the idea that a religion itself can be a subject of 
protection under human rights law and must be protected 
from individuals who might be at odds with a particular 
religion or religious interpretation. 
 
.       In addition, the term "defamation" carries a 
particular legal meaning that does not apply to systems of 
belief.  A defamatory statement is one that is false and 
not simply offensive or different from another's point of 
view.  The concept of "defamation" does not properly apply 
to things that cannot be verified as either true or false, 
such as statements of faith, belief, or opinion.  An 
individual's belief that his or her creed alone is the 
truth will inevitably conflict with another's sincerely 
held view.  Even among adherents of the same religion, 
there are divergent views that some might find offensive 
or "defamatory." 
 
.       As a practical matter, efforts to combat 
"defamation of religions" typically result in restrictions 
on freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and 
expression.  Some governments in Muslim-majority countries 
have attempted to justify domestic statutes against 
religious "defamation"  such as anti-proselytizing, 
blasphemy, and apostasy statutes  on the grounds that 
statements regarded as defamatory could, they claim, 
incite severe inter-communal violence.  However, instead 
of fostering tolerance, such laws can lead to greater 
intolerance, conflict, and instability, and can result in 
the abuse of religious minorities and vulnerable or 
dissident members of the majority community. 
 
.       In addition, even if a "defamation" standard were 
to be legally enforceable and applied in a 
non-discriminatory manner (which is not the case in many 
of the countries that have anti-defamation laws), it could 
lead to numerous legal claims and counterclaims between 
majority and minority religious communities. 
 
.       The United States understands the primary concern 
of the resolution to be the negative stereotyping of 
religious groups, particularly of minority groups, and the 
contribution that these stereotypes to a lack of respect 
and discrimination. 
 
.       The United States shares concerns about the 
impact of negative stereotypes, and believes that such 
stereotyping, particularly when promoted by community, 
religious, or government leaders, contributes to a lack of 
respect, discrimination, and in some cases, to violence. 
 
.       In his June 4, 2009 speech in Cairo, President 
Obama stressed that the United States must fight against 
the negative stereotyping of religion when he stated, "I 
consider it part of my responsibility as President of the 
United States to fight against negative stereotypes of 
Islam wherever they occur." 
 
.       The United States believes that States have the 
tools to fight these problems at their disposal, and that 
the best way for governments to address these issues is to 
develop robust legal regimes to address acts of 
discrimination and bias-inspired crime; to condemn hateful 
ideology and proactively reach out to all religious 
communities, especially minority groups; and to vigorously 
defend the rights of individuals to practice their 
religion freely and exercise their freedom of expression. 
 
.       The United States is encouraged by the recent 
U.S./Egypt freedom of expression resolution adopted by 
consensus at the UN Human Rights Council, and by the 
excellent cooperation between the United States and the 
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries 
on an issue on which there had been so much tension in 
years past. 
 
.       We hope to build on this collective achievement 
and to continue to foster greater understanding between 
nations, particularly in the area of combating 
intolerance, negative stereotyping, and discrimination. 
 
NOTE ON SEPTEL GUIDANCE 
----------------------- 
 
¶12.  As the UNGA Third Committee session proceeds, the 
Department will instruct select posts to deliver targeted 
septel guidance at the highest possible level to discuss 
host countries' voting records and encourage closer 
cooperation on key USG priority resolutions.  These 
septels will be in addition to the instructions in this 
message. 
 
POINTS OF CONTACT AND REPORTING DEADLINE 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶13.  Posts are requested to report outcome of demarche via 
front channel cable by no later than October 26 2009. 
Posts should use SIPDIS caption in responses.  For 
questions, please contact Colleen Neville in IO/HR and 
Chris Sibilla in DRL/MLGA. 
CLINTON