US embassy cable - 05GENEVA2422

UNCLAS GENEVA 002422 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT PASS TO IO/SHA, DRL/MLA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, UZ, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH UN INDEPENDENT EXPERT FOR UZBEKISTAN 
MICHELE PICARD 
 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
1.  (U) The French Permanent Mission in Geneva hosted a 
meeting October 4 for UK, Russian and U.S. representatives 
with Michele Picard, the UN Independent Expert on the 
situation of human rights in Uzbekistan.  The Independent 
Expert's report to the Secretariat is due by December 15. 
Judge Picard has not yet received authorization from the 
Uzbek government for a country visit, and is concerned that 
the authorization may not come, or may be so delayed as to 
render a visit impractical.  She sought assurances from the 
UK, U.S. and Russian representatives of governmental support 
for her mission, and asked pointedly what measures those 
governments might be prepared to take if the Uzbek 
authorities refused to cooperate with her work.  End Summary. 
 
RUSSIANS LEND QUALIFIED SUPPORT 
------------------------------- 
 
2.  (U) Judge Picard started by noting that it was not clear 
that Uzbekistan would agree to allow her to visit the 
country.  She submitted a request to the Uzbek government on 
September 15 but has had no reply to date.  She also noted 
that although she had requested a meeting with the Uzbek 
Charge d'Affaires in Geneva, and had been flexible as to when 
she could travel to Geneva to meet him, she had been told 
that he was too busy to see her.  She specifically inquired 
if the U.S., UK and Russia supported her mission.  We joined 
the UK representive in assuring her that her mandate had our 
governments' full support.  The Russian response was more 
equivocal, noting first that the Independent Expert's mandate 
must be limited to the 1503 procedure, and could not expand 
to include an investigation of the May events at Andijon. 
The Expert's role, in the Russian view, must be limited to 
responding to specific complaints.  The Russian added 
pointedly that the Belarus experience with Special Rapporteur 
for Human Rights in Belarus Adrien Severin showed that an 
expert deciding on his own to expand his mandate would likely 
lead a country to refuse to cooperate. 
 
3.  (U) Judge Picard noted that, while she agreed that 
Andijon was not included in her mandate, limiting her work to 
responses to specific complaints was impractical.  All 
domestic remedies must be exhausted before filing a 
complaint, and her report was due in mid-December.  Picard 
said that, if allowed to visit, she planned to stay two weeks 
to allow sufficient time to meet with a broad spectrum of 
people, including governmet officials and NGOs.  In addition 
to reviewing the human rights situation at present, Picard 
said she needed to see what changes (deterioration) had 
occurred since Andijon.  She expressed particular interest in 
the condition of Uzbekistan's judicial system, and asked 
about U.S. assistance for judicial reform.  Mission oficers 
provided her with a copy of the August 17 fact sheet on U.S. 
assistance to Uzbekistan. 
 
SAFETY CONCERN 
-------------- 
 
4.  (SBU) Comment:  In an aside after the meeting ended, and 
after the Russian representative had departed, Judge Picard 
commented that UNHCR had warned her that visiting Uzbekistan 
in her role as Independent Expert could be hazardous.  She 
had been told that "accidents can happen quickly there," and 
noted casually that the caution had given her pause. 
Cassel