SUBJECT: OIC POWER PLAY DOMINATES HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL \
SEVENTH SESSION \
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REF: 07 GENEVA 2626 \
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Classified By: Ambassador Warren W. Tichenor. Reasons: 1.4 (b/d). \
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¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The seventh session of the Human Rights \
Council, which ran March 3-28 with an April 1 extension, \
highlighted the power of the Organization of the Islamic \
Conference (OIC) in that still evolving body. The session's \
defining moment came in the closing minutes of its last \
scheduled day of work, when the OIC and its allies rammed \
through amendments that subverted the Freedom of Expression \
resolution. This culminated relentless OIC efforts \
throughout the session to press its interests, which \
generally undermine the promotion and protection of human \
rights. The results included, inter alia, the passage of a \
resolution on defamation of religions, and the Council's \
by-now customarily unbalanced approach to Israel. On the \
positive side, the Council preserved some important country \
mandates, and provided the forum for a discussion of China's \
behavior in Tibet. The balance sheet, however, continued to \
favor the OIC and its allies. As several like-minded \
ambassadors agreed in an April 2 meeting with Ambassador \
Tichenor, the seventh session raises deep concerns about the \
Council's future direction and strongly argues for more \
active and more effective coordination among like-minded \
states. END SUMMARY. \
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AN OIC TRIUMPH \
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¶2. (SBU) OIC efforts to amend -- and in effect subvert -- the \
Freedom of Expression resolution had been a dominant subtext \
throughout the Council's seventh regular session. With \
support from the U.S., the EU and others, Canada, as chief \
sponsor, had sought to fend off an OIC amendment that would \
instruct the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression to \
report on "instances in which the abuse of the right of \
freedom of expression constitutes an act of racial or \
religious discrimination." The OIC, taking advantage of its \
internal discipline, had held firm throughout. China, \
apparently angered by criticism during the Council's March 25 \
meeting of its behavior in Tibet, floated its own killer \
amendments two days before the vote. Canada rejected these \
as having been raised too late in the game. \
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¶3. (U) The decisive action on the freedom of expression \
resolution and its amendments came on the session's last day. \
We had joined Canada and others in efforts to sway moderate \
OIC members, but these had fallen short. Meanwhile, Canada \
had sought to find compromise language that would avoid the \
OIC amendment. When those efforts failed, and with the \
session having been extended beyond its scheduled 6pm closing \
time, the OIC called for a vote on its amendment, which \
passed (27-17-3). The U.S., Canada, the EU and others \
dropped their co-sponsorship. With the momentum clearly \
favoring the OIC and its allies, Cuba then pulled an \
unexpected move, proposing an oral amendment underscoring \
"the importance for all forms of media to report and to \
deliver information in a fair and impartial manner." That \
amendment passed (29-15-3). Canada and the EU failed in last \
minute procedural efforts to head off the fully amended \
resolution, which then passed (32-0-15). \
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¶4. (C) The Ambassador's April 2 meeting with like-minded \
ambassadors to take stock of the session provided additional \
insights into the dynamics behind the last-minute \
maneuvering. Canada's ambassador expressed frustration at \
the African Group's solidarity with the OIC. Madagascar and \
Angola, for instance, had expressed discomfort with the \
amendment in conversations with the Canadians but had \
eventually been pressured into voting for it. The OIC had \
also exerted immense pressure on others during the end game, \
he reported; Bosnia and Herzegovina, for instance, had been \
pressed hard, although it had ended up voting against the \
amendment. Both the Canadian and Danish ambassadors \
expressed particular resentment toward China: though the \
Chinese had ostensibly kept their promise, made on the \
session's last day, not to put forth an oral amendment, they \
had clearly struck a deal for Cuba to do so. \
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¶5. (U) In an April 1 extension of the seventh session to \
allow for closing statements, several OIC members defended \
the newly amended resolution. Pakistan argued that the OIC \
amendment had done nothing beyond providing an "add-on" that \
made the resolution more "comprehensive and holistic," in \
order to protect the stability of multicultural societies. \
Sri Lanka echoed that theme and expressed hope that the \
decisions on the freedom of expression mandate would not \
leave the Council as a "house divided." The U.S. was among \
several delegations that sharply criticized the amendments. \
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¶6. (U) The OIC had scored an earlier victory with adoption of \
a resolution on defamation of religions (21-10-14). It also \
succeeded in rescheduling the Item 7 discussion of the \
Occupied Palestinian Territories to early in the Council \
session in order more quickly to condemn Israel's response to \
rocket attacks from Gaza. In addition to the resolution \
passed on that occasion, the Council also passed three other \
anti-Israel resolutions. One of these, on Israeli \
settlements, passed 46-1-0, with only Canada voting against \
it. \
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MODEST SUCCESS ON COUNTRY MANDATES, OHCHR UNDER ATTACK \
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¶7. (U) In recent months, the OIC and its allies had continued \
their criticism of country mandates, arguing that they had \
become unnecessary particularly given the imminent start of \
the Universal Periodic Review mechanism. The seventh session \
saw two important casualties: the mandate of the Democratic \
Republic of the Congo was eliminated, to be replaced with a \
far weaker arrangement for monitoring the situation on the \
ground in the DRC, and the Council passed a weak resolution \
on Sudan. Nonetheless, two important country mandates, on \
Burma and the DPRK, were adopted (the former by consensus and \
the latter by a vote of 27-7-18). \
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¶8. (SBU) At the session, new appointments were made to fill a \
number of special procedures mandates. This followed a \
difficult and highly politicized process that drew complaints \
from many delegations about lack of transparency. In the \
end, two AmCits were selected, both of whose records suggest \
they will not address their mandate responsibilities \
even-handedly; none of the USG nominees for mandates was \
selected. In the April 1 session, Egypt, Russia, Algeria and \
others sought to undercut the principle under which mandate \
holders are extended, with little review, for a second \
three-year term if they perform well in their first term; the \
EU and others resisted this effort, seeing it as a ploy to \
impose pressure on mandate holders who prove overly \
independent. \
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¶9. (SBU) Meanwhile, a resolution criticizing the Office of \
the High Commissioner for Human Rights for failing to ensure \
balance in its hiring of staff was adopted 34-10-3, playing \
into the hands of those seeking to whittle away at the \
independence of the OHCHR. By most accounts, we are likely \
to see more such resolutions criticizing the OHCHR in future \
sessions. High Commissioner Louise Arbour also came under \
attack at various points throughout the session, including in \
the aftermath of the report she presented to the Council, \
during which she also announced that she would step down from \
that post at the end of her term in June. \
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TIBET ON THE AGENDA \
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¶10. (C) On the positive side, the Council session proved an \
opportunity to shed light on China's reaction to protests in \
Tibet. Slovenia (on behalf of the EU), Switzerland and \
Australia joined the U.S. in raising concerns about the \
issue, as did a number of NGOs, generally in harsher terms. \
China's delegation, supported by a few others, repeatedly \
raised procedural objections on the grounds that the \
discussion was taking place under Item 8 (Vienna \
Declaration), which should not address country situations. \
In response to the objections, Council President Costea took \
a middle ground, urging speakers to address the Vienna \
Declaration and its implementation but allowing all but one \
NGO speaker to speak about Tibet. Switzerland is among \
several countries planning to write Costea to underscore its \
view that country situations may be addressed under Item 8. \
In the view of many, China's repeated objections only played \
into the hands of those criticizing it for seeking to squash \
dialogue on the subject. \
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