US embassy cable - 05PARIS2039

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 002039 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, FR, UNCHR-1 
SUBJECT: FRANCE ON VARIOUS UN/HR/CHR ISSUES 
 
REF: A. STATE 42847 
     B. PARIS 1721 
 
Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary: Poloff met March 23 with Beatrice le 
Fraper du Hellen, DAS-equivalent for Human Rights in the 
MFA's United Nations and International Organizations bureau, 
to discuss several UN, human rights, and CHR-related issues. 
End Summary. 
 
Cuba 
---- 
2.  (C) In discussing the proposed Cuba resolution, Fraper du 
Hellen noted that she understood the necessity of the modest 
language in order to ensure passage.  France would support 
the text, but, Fraper du Hellen said the GOF would prefer to 
see a provision encouraging Cuba to cooperate with the 
Personal Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human 
Rights on Cuba, believing it would be acceptable to Latin 
American countries.  She also thought that Belgium might 
co-sponsor the resolution this year.  While on the subject, 
Fraper du Hellen wanted to inform the USG that it was 
possible that Christine Chanet, the French magistrate serving 
as the Personal Representative of the UN High Commissioner 
for Human Rights on Cuba, might have to resign her post after 
the 61st Commission due to her recent and unexpected election 
to the chair of the UN Human Rights Committee.  The new 
position was a big job and it would be difficult to hold both 
positions, Fraper du Hellen continued, but Chanet might be 
open to discussion. 
 
No Action/GTMO/Arbitrary Detention 
---------------------------------- 
3.  (C) Fraper du Hellen reiterated that the French agreed 
with us about avoiding no action motions, but asked whether 
we would honor the principle should a Guantanamo 
(GTMO)-related resolution be introduced (which she had heard 
was a possibility).  The French felt they were addressing 
their concerns through a thematic resolution on arbitrary 
detention rather than a specific one and would not support a 
resolution on GTMO; however, they had been approached by 
Egypt about doing so. 
 
Forced Disappearances 
--------------------- 
4.  (C) Fraper du Hellen underlined that the French 
resolution on forced disappearances was not pointed at the 
U.S.  Rather, it was drafted with the political 
disappearances in Algeria and Latin America in mind and was 
an attempt to improve relations with those countries. 
 
Extreme Poverty 
--------------- 
5.  (C) France's resolution on extreme poverty was 
misunderstood, according to Fraper du Hellen.  The 
resolution's goal was to point out that extreme poverty 
existed in all countries and that those suffering from it are 
often denied other human rights.  Fraper du Hellen believed 
that some developing countries were bothered by the 
resolution, preferring to corner the market on poverty 
themselves. 
 
PA Rep/EU Res on Israeli Settlements 
------------------------------------ 
6.  (C) Fraper du Hellen confided that the GOF had intervened 
directly, as friends and at the highest levels, with the 
Palestinian Authority in the territories and in Algiers to 
express their exasperation with the PA representative in 
Geneva.  His attitude, she continued, did not reflect the 
positive actions on the ground and at Sharm el-Sheikh.  The 
PA responded that they "understood" French concerns.  The EU 
planned to put forth a resolution on Israeli settlements that 
would be balanced with a mention of terror attacks.  Arab 
states were preparing a "terrible" resolution with no such 
mention, which, Fraper du Hellen noted, was one of the 
reasons the French had approached the PA at a high level. 
Fraper du Hellen dismissed a draft Lebanese resolution on 
detainees in Israel as not relevant to the problem. 
 
Community of Democracies 
------------------------ 
7.  (C) In principle, Fraper du Hellen noted, France would 
like to work through the UN as much as possible, and this 
extended to the Community of Democracies.  When it came to 
defining democracies, she stated, the U.S. tended to use free 
elections as the benchmark.  The French saw free elections as 
an important element of a democracy, but went further, 
including human rights and adherence to international rights 
and conventions.  She pointed specifically to Afghanistan, 
where free elections were a good start, but further work was 
necessary in areas like women's rights.  Fraper du Hellen 
remarked that the U.S. had a tendency to always work through 
UNDP, which was a good organization, but one lacking a 
complete understanding of international conventions.  She 
encouraged the inclusion of the Office of the High 
Commissioner on Human Rights.  Finally, she noted that France 
had worked well with Chile on the Community of Democracies 
and was currently doing so with Mali. 
 
UN Reform 
--------- 
8.  (C) Fraper du Hellen commented that France supported 
enlargement of the Security Council and the addition of 
"real" new members -- specifically mentioning Germany and 
Japan, though France supports Brazil and India as well. 
Concerning the CHR, Paris had concerns about its 
transformation into a smaller and more restrictive body, and 
Fraper du Hellen encouraged expansion rather than 
contraction.  She noted that France did not see the logic in 
changing the format, and stated that restricting the number 
of countries seemed counterintuitive.  Dictatorships 
typically tried harder than democracies to get on the 
commission, she continued, and a smaller commission gave 
their voices more weight.  She also voiced concerns that 
proposed restrictions would limit NGO access. 
Wolff