US embassy cable - 04SANAA3086

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 003086 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS TO TRAVELING NEA/ARPI DAS PHILO DIBBLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PREL, IR, YM, DEMARCHE, HUMAN RIGHTS 
SUBJECT: UN HUMAN RIGHTS RESOLUTIONS NEED SUPPORT IN 
PLENARY DEMARCHE DELIVERED 
 
REF: A. STATE 259878 
     B. STATE 236869 
     C. SANAA 2861 
 
Classified By: DCM Nabeel Khoury for reasons 1.4 b and d. 
 
1. (U) Pol/Econ Chief delivered ref A demarche to Deputy 
Foreign Minister Mustafa Noman on December 13.  Ref B 
demarche was delivered November 9 (ref C). 
 
2. (C) Noman said he received the same demarche from the 
Dutch December 13.  The DFM confided that he agreed with the 
USG position on both the Canadian-sponsored Third Committee 
Resolution (ref B), as well as to abstain on a no action 
motion in the Plenary (ref A).  Noman said he would lobby the 
ROYG to abstain, but could not promise results. 
 
2. (C) Deputy FM Noman said he had fought against Yemen's 
decision to switch its usual Third Committee vote from 
abstention to a 'no' vote in the 2003 and again this year, 
arguing that it was inconsistent with Yemen's position on 
human rights.  Noman claimed he did not know the reason for 
the change in policy, but that the decision to vote against 
the resolution was made jointly by Foreign Minister al-Qirbi 
and Prime Minister Bajammal. 
 
3. (SBU) What Noman referred to as a "change in policy" from 
previous votes may be overstating the case.  In the 56th 
UNGA, Yemen did not actually abstain but was 'absent' from 
the Third Committee vote and on the Turkmenistan and Iran 
votes the ROYG 'refused to vote,' stating that 
"politicization of human rights issues, using them as a tool 
to target specific States while ignoring others" is rejected 
by Yemen as a double standard." 
KRAJESKI