WikiLeaks cable: NZ on UN third committee resolutions, US voting priorities

November 9, 2005
NZ on UN third committee resolutions, US voting priorities

date:2005-11-09T23:08:00
source:Embassy Wellington
origin:05WELLINGTON875
destination:This record is a partial extract of the original cable.
The full text of the original cable is not available.
classification:CONFIDENTIAL
reference:05SECSTATE204646
?C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000875

SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND ON UN THIRD COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS, US
VOTING PRIORITES

REF: SECSTATE 204646

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission David R. Burnett,
for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

1. (C) Pol-Econ Counselor discussed reftel points with Val
Meyer, Deputy Director of the UN, Human Rights, and
Commonwealth Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade. P-E Couns said that she hoped New Zealand would
support all the resolutions, especially those involving
countries with which New Zealand has bilateral relations:
Iran and North Korea. (FYI: New Zealand's general policy is
to cosponsor human rights resolutions involving countries
with which it has diplomatic or other closer ties, and to
vote in favor of resolutions against others if the case
presented warrants this. End FYI.)

2. (C) Meyer said that New Zealand would cosponsor the
resolutions against North Korea and Burma, having bilateral
relations with the former and involvement with the latter
through ASEAN and NGOs. She said that New Zealand is still
examining the Uzbekistan resolution text. GNZ had not yet
seen the draft Turkmenistan resolution but would look at it
seriously. GNZ may vote for both the Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan resolutions, but would be unlikely to cosponsor,
according to Meyer.

3. (C) Meyer also said that the Government is "taking a
close look at Iran." She added that normally New Zealand
would cosponsor the election monitoring/democracy and
corruption/human rights resolutions, but the NZ UN official
charged with Third Committee issues is currently stretched a
bit thin. Meyer anticipated that New Zealand would nontheless
vote in favor of both resolutions, and agreed that they are
not controversial.

4. (C) Comment: New Zealand has diplomatic relations with
Iran, and has recently come under criticism by some Kiwis for
not having taken a strong stance against President
Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map."
When NZ was on the IAEA Board of Governors two years ago,
Embassy successfully convinced the Government that PM Clark
should criticize Iran over its nuclear activities, but we
really had to push. End Comment.
McCormick