US embassy cable - 05AMMAN5387

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005387 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, KISL, KPAL, JO 
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER QASRAWI ON UN REFORM, OTHER ISSUES 
 
REF: A. STATE 111657 
 
     B. AMMAN 5357 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
1. (U) Charge met with Jordanian FM Qasrawi on July 5 and 
discussed the following subjects: 
 
UN REFORM 
--------- 
 
2. (C) Charge explained USG positions (ref A) on the various 
aspects of UN reform, and Qasrawi answered each in turn, 
spending most of the time discussing Security Council reform. 
He said that Jordan is concerned that there will be a split 
over the G-4 proposal, and that the GOJ is especially mindful 
of the importance of Africa's position on Security Council 
reform. Jordan is supportive of both Japan's and Germany's 
bids for seats on the Council, but will not co-sponsor any 
resolution. Qasrawi said that he is not sure Germany can get 
the required 2/3 majority vote. 
 
3. (C) He noted that Jordan is supportive of any initiative 
to develop the Third World, and supports an assistance target 
based on a percentage of GDP as a means of revitalizing the 
UN's development capabilities. Jordan is also supportive of 
the U.S. proposal for a new Human Rights Council. 
 
4. (C) On the UN Convention on Terrorism, Qasrawi said that 
there is still a problem over defining terrorism. He 
suggested to Charge that the U.S. look at the definition 
adopted by the council of Arab ministers, as the current 
definition in the convention has drawn the ire of Syria as 
well as some other Islamic and developing nations. 
 
 
ARTICLE 98 
---------- 
 
5. (C) The Article 98 agreement was cleared by the Council of 
Ministers and now sits before Parliament. Qasrawi, however, 
gave no reason to believe that Parliament would ratify it 
during the six-week extraordinary session this summer (slated 
to begin the week of July 10). Charge noted that if it were 
not ratified, another waiver of the Nethercutt amendment 
would be necessary. 
 
 
PROLIFERATION SECURITY INITIATIVE (PSI) 
--------------------------------------- 
 
6, (C) While seven different GOJ agencies had presented 
concerns over the PSI, Qasrawi said that all of them had been 
addressed with the exception of the Ministry of Interior's 
objection based on "sovereignty" issues. Qasrawi was 
optimistic that this could be resolved, allowing Jordan to 
join the PSI. 
 
 
MDA - RED CROSS/RED CRESCENT SOCIETY 
------------------------------------ 
 
7. (C) According to Qasrawi, the MDA issue came up at the OIC 
meeting in Yemen in the form of a Palestinian proposal to 
declare that the time was "not right" for the convening of a 
diplomatic conference to adopt a Third Additional Protocol to 
the Geneva Convention. Jordan, he said, has no objection to 
the concept, but the timing has to be right, which was not 
presently the case. He stressed that the Palestinians also 
agree in principle to the conference, but want it postponed 
until after a successful Gaza withdrawal. 
 
 
BRUSSELS CONFERENCE ON IRAQ 
--------------------------- 
 
8. (C) Qasrawi said he thought the conference was successful. 
He noted that the Syrian and Iranian delegations were not 
"controversial," and that the parties seemed to be genuinely 
supportive of Iraq. Qasrawi hoped that this sentiment would 
be reflected in the donors' conference to be held in Amman 
later this month. 
 
 
AMMAN CONFERENCE ON "ROLE OF ISLAM IN MODERN SOCIETY" 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
9. (C) In his remarks at the Organization of Islamic 
Conference (OIC) meeting in Yemen, Qasrawi mentioned the 
international Islamic conference in Amman, saying that the 
time was right for such an event (ref B). Qasrawi said that 
the King's opening speech was short but rich, and provided a 
great start to the conference. Qasrawi stated that there 
needs to be more cooperation between the U.S. and the 
Jordanian public on Islamic issues and suggested some avenues 
for increased cooperation, including programming at the 
Brookings Institute. 
 
OIC MEETING IN YEMEN 
------------------ 
 
10. (C) Qasrawi was surprised that no foreign ministers from 
the Gulf, including the Saudi foreign minister, attended the 
OIC meeting. He speculated that the absence of the Saudi 
foreign minister could be due to tension between KSA and 
Yemen over security. He also noted that it appeared the 
Yemenis were disappointed with the lower-than-expected 
turnout. 
 
 
FATAH MEETING IN AMMAN 
---------------------- 
 
11. (C) Qasrawi said that it is imperative that Abu Mazen 
strengthens FATAH to nullify the destabilizing effects of 
HAMAS and Islamic Jihad. Currently, the in-fighting and 
competition between these groups renders all chances for a 
unified Palestinian voice moot. 
HALE