U.S. CANDIDATE ELECTED TO UNIDROIT GOVERNING

UNCLAS ROME 005629 SIPDIS FROM THE U.S. MISSION TO THE UN AGENCIES IN ROME L/PIL FOR HAL BURMAN AND JEFF KOVAR IO/S FOR LISA JACOBSON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC ABUD UNIDROIT SUBJECT: U.S. CANDIDATE ELECTED TO UNIDROIT GOVERNING COUNCIL REF: ROME 4701 ¶1. SUMMARY: THE 57TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE UNIFICATION OF PRIVATE LAW (UNIDROIT) MET ON NOVEMBER 28. THE PROGRAM OF WORK AND THE BUDGET (AS APPROVED BY THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, SEE REF) WERE APPROVED AND A NEW GOVERNING COUNCIL ELECTED. U.S. CANDIDATE HENRY DEEB GABRIEL WAS ELECTED TO THE COUNCIL. END SUMMARY. ¶2. THE 57TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE UNIFICATION OF PRIVATE LAW (UNIDROIT) MET ON NOVEMBER 28 TO CONSIDER THE PROGRAM OF WORK AND BUDGET FOR THE NEXT YEAR AND TO ELECT A NEW GOVERNING COUNCIL. REPRESENTATIVES FROM 54 OF THE 56 MEMBER NATIONS ATTENDED THE ONE-DAY EVENT AT THE ORGANIZATIONS' HEADQUARTERS IN ROME. THREE FORMAL PRESENTATIONS WERE MADE: ON THE INSTITUTE'S ACTIVITIES DURING 2003, ITS STRATEGIC PLAN, AND ON THE CURRENT STATE OF WORK OF THE STUDY GROUP ON HARMONIZED RULES REGARDING INDIRECTLY HELD SECURITIES. IN ADDITION, THE BUDGET FOR 2004 (AS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, SEE REF) WAS PRESENTED AND ADOPTED. ¶3. OVERSHADOWING EVERYTHING ELSE WAS THE ELECTION OF THE NEW GOVERNING COUNCIL, WHICH WILL SERVE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. U.S. CANDIDATE HENRY DEEB GABRIEL WAS ONE OF 25 NEW ELECTEES, RECEIVING 43 VOTES. BECAUSE OF THE HIGH NUMBER OF NATIONS IN ATTENDANCE AND THE COMPETITIVE NATURE OF THIS TERM'S ELECTION, MANY MORE VOTES WERE NEEDED TO SECURE A SEAT THAN IN PREVIOUS ELECTIONS. ONE CANDIDATE (EGYPTIAN) WHO GARNERED 39 VOTES DID NOT GAIN A SEAT, AND NO CANDIDATE FROM THE ENTIRE CONTINENT OF AFRICA WAS ELECTED, CAUSING CONSTERNATION AMONG SEVERAL DELEGATES AND AT LEAST ONE CALL FOR A RE-VAMPING OF ELECTION BY-LAWS. EUROPEANS CONTINUED TO DOMINATE THE GOVERNING COUNCIL, SECURING 14 SEATS. ¶4. MOST AGENDA ITEMS WERE PRESENTED AND ADOPTED WITHOUT COMMENT. DURING THE DISCUSSION OF ARREARS, FOUR NATIONS (CHINA, ITALY, MEXICO, URUGUAY) PLEDGED TO SETTLE THEIR ACCOUNTS SHORTLY. SEVERAL DELEGATIONS, INCLUDING THE U.S., MADE INTERVENTIONS DURING THE BUDGET DISCUSSION. SOME OF THESE INTERVENTIONS QUESTIONED SPECIFIC LINE ITEMS, BUT ONLY HALF-HEARTEDLY DUE TO THE RELATIVELY SMALL SIZE OF THE ORGANIZATION'S BUDGET AS A WHOLE (UNDER USD 2 MILLION ANNUALLY),COMPARED WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. SIMILAR TO OCTOBER'S FINANCE COMMITTEE DISCUSSION, THE U.S. INTERVENTION FOCUSED ON THE VALUE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING, ON RESULTS BASED BUDGETING AND THE LINKING OF GOALS WITH RESOURCES NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS. ¶5. AS A RESULT OF PREVIOUS ENCOURAGEMENT AS WELL AS THE CONCLUSIONS OF TWO BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS HELD IN THE SPRING OF 2003, THE SECRETARIAT FORMALLY PRESENTED A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE ORGANIZATION FOR THE FIRST TIME. ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN INCLUDED A SHORT HISTORY OF UNIDROIT AND ITS CONSTITUENCIES, AN ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANIZATION'S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES (AS WELL AS REMEDIES FOR THE WEAKNESSES) AND IDENTIFICATION OF UNIDROIT'S PRIORITIES AND OBJECTIVES. COPIES OF THE PLAN HAVE BEEN FORWARDED TO L/PIL AND IO/S. HALL NNNN 2003ROME05629 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED