PARAGUAY SUPPORTS USG CANDIDACY FOR SEAT ON WORLD

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000947 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SCUL PA UNESCO SUBJECT: PARAGUAY SUPPORTS USG CANDIDACY FOR SEAT ON WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE REF: A. ASUNCION 889 ¶B. STATE 122739 (SBU) On July 19, Foreign Minister Leila Rachid contacted the Ambassador to advise him that Paraguay would be pleased to support the USG in its candidacy for a seat on the World Heritage Committee (WHC),but the Ministry of Education must pay Paraguay's arrears to UNESCO to regain its voting privileges. Paraguay owes USD 300,000 in arrears. Rachid added that Paraguay would like the USG to support their candidacy for a position on the Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC). She did not explicitly condition Paraguay,s support for our WHC candidacy, but her mentioning both in the same breath implied it and is certainly within character for Paraguay and Rachid. (NOTE: MFA International Organizations Director Julio Peralta told EconOff that Paraguay considers their ECOSOC candidacy a high priority. KEANE