PARAGUAY HOSTS LATIN AMERICAN FIRST LADIES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASUNCION 001328

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/BSC, AND USAID (MAGAN)
WHITE HOUSE FOR SONYA MEDINA
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM KWMN PA
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY HOSTS LATIN AMERICAN FIRST LADIES
CONFERENCE

REF: ASUNCION 1063


1. (U) SUMMARY: From September 28-30, Paraguay hosted the
13th Conference of First Ladies, Spouses, and Representatives
of Heads of State and Government of the Americas. The
substantive theme of the 13th Conference was "Women and
Family." First Ladies from 11 countries attended, including
Colombia, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and
Chile. Nine countries sent representatives in lieu of their
country's First Lady. Ambassador to the UN Commission on the
Status of Women, Ellen Sauerbrey, represented Laura Bush at
the conference. Local press highlighted the absence of
Paraguay's MERCOSUR partners, as Brazil and Argentina sent
only a representative and Uruguay did not participate in the
conference. Despite some debate during the second round of
technical meetings that were held in advance of the First
Ladies Conference, all attending delegates signed the Draft
Declaration and approved the Action Plan. END SUMMARY.

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Preparatory Meetings Spark Debate
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2. (U) Country delegations attended the second Technical
Preparatory Meeting September 26 - 27 in order to reach
consensus on a Declaration and a Action Plan prior to the
arrival of the First Ladies. (The first Technical
Preparatory Meeting took place in Asuncion in July 2005.)
The 2005 Asuncion Declaration was signed by each of the First
Ladies and Representatives. In the Declaration, they agreed
to consider the issues of gender equality, education, health,
remunerated work, gender-based violence, and trafficking in
persons. The Action Plan, which is an unsigned document,
confirms the commitment of the First Ladies to promote and
strengthen the purposes and principles contained in the
Declaration. The Action Plan proposes guidelines that the
First Ladies and Representatives "may consider, depending on
the role they play in their respective countries, according
to national laws and practices."


3. (SBU) Although consensus was achieved on both Conference
documents, there was lengthy debate between the delegations
on the appropriate role of a First Ladies Conference. USDEL
argued against attempts by other delegations, notably Ecuador
and Argentina, to politicize the role of the First Lady and
the Conference. USDEL,s explanation that the U.S. First
Lady does not have policy responsibility and the U.S. would
not welcome a more politicized Conference was supported by
the Costa Rican, Panamanian, and Canadian delegations.
Efforts by the Paraguayan and Dominican Republic delegations
to muster support for the adoption of a set of "General
Rules" to codify procedures for future First Ladies
Conferences also demonstrated significant disagreement among
the delegates over the appropriate function of a First Ladies
Conference. The delegations eventually agreed to postpone
discussion of the "General Rules" until the first preparatory
meeting for the next First Ladies Conference to be held in
San Salvador in 2007. The delegates also agreed to begin
referring to the "General Rules" as a guide rather than a
legally binding document. El Salvador promised to work on
solidifying the "General Rules" prior to the 2007 meeting.


4. (SBU) There was significant debate concerning mention of
the role of the father in the Declaration. Delegates finally
agreed to recognize the "positive role of the father and his
co-responsibility in the development of the family and
society." Other terms and phrases such as; "gender equity
and equality", "remunerated domestic work," "values," and
"sexual and reproductive rights" also sparked debate among
the delegations. Some discussion focused on which
international conferences should be referenced in the
Declaration. The delegations decided to consider a
comprehensive list of international conferences in the
document with a caveat sentence, "respecting the reservations
of some countries." The inclusion of a paragraph on the
impact of drug abuse on the family also generated some
debate. The rest of the discussion on the Declaration
concerned language on sexual and reproductive health, which
was ultimately contextualized "in the fight against HIV/AIDS,
and other STIs."


5. (SBU) Due to time constraints and the fact that
delegates had not previously had an opportunity to address
it, the Action Plan generated more disagreement among
delegates than the Declaration. Confusion over the process
for reaching consensus and the purpose of the document added
intensity to the debate. With the assistance of Canada,
USDEL was able to include an introductory paragraph to the
Action Plan which clarified (for the first time) the purpose
and intent of the document. The delegations finally agreed
on a general outline of themes and guidelines, and discarded
the detailed prescriptions for action contained in the
original draft Plan.

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The First Ladies and Representatives Sign Off
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6. (U) Each First Lady or representative provided a brief
summary centered on the conference's theme, "Women and
Family", which included highlights of programs and activities
offered in their countries to aid the advancement of health
care, education, reduction of poverty for women and children.
In her remarks, Ambassador Sauerbrey highlighted the
importance of the family, improved access to health care, the
importance of literacy for women, and U.S. AID programs
throughout the region. Ambassador Sauerbrey included a
statement in her speech that language in the Conference
documents referencing sexual and reproductive health was not
understood by the United States to promote abortion. All
countries present signed the Conference Declaration and
approved of Action Plan.

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Comment
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7. (SBU) There seems to be a movement on the part of
several countries in the region to politicize the function of
the First Ladies Conference as evidenced by a push from
several delegations to include inappropriate policy language
in the outcome documents. There were also efforts to add
political weight to the Conference itself. In this context,
attention should be given to preparations for the 2007
Conference to see that procedures are not further codified by
the adoption of a set of "General Rules." It is also worth
noting that several multilateral organizations took a more
prominent role in this Conference than in previous years.


8. (U) Ambassador Sauerbrey and the U.S. Delegation have
cleared on this cable.

KEANE