COLOMBIA: WANTS CONSENSUS BUT NEEDS SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 010062

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015
TAGS: PGOV ECON KSUM CO OAS
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA: WANTS CONSENSUS BUT NEEDS SECURITY
LANGUAGE AT SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS

REF: A. STATE 195226

B. STATE 195518

Classified By: Political Counselor Jeffrey DeLaurentis.
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

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Summary
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1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarches to Summit of the
Americas Coordinator Francisco Gonzalez on October 24.
Gonzalez agreed that much progress was made at the October
3-7 SIRG, but that more negotiation is needed before the
Summit Declaration can be signed. He was confident, however,
that agreement could be reached. Gonzalez said Colombia is
willing to be flexible on many issues but would hesitate to
remove language that refers to the importance of fighting
narcotics trafficking and/or terrorism in the Declaration or
Plan of Action. Gonzalez was skeptical that the draft Joint
Commercial/Labor Declaration could be negotiated and signed
during the Summit and was concerned that this effort would
deflect attention away from other, unresolved issues.
Gonzalez confirmed the participation of President Uribe and
Foreign Minister Barco, as well as other ministers, at the
Summit. End Summary.

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GOC Looking for Consensus
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2. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarches to Summit of the
Americas Coordinator Gonzalez on October 24. Gonzalez agreed
that much progress was made at the October 3-7 SIRG in
Washington, and that the draft declaration still needs more
positive, action-oriented language before it can be signed.
Gonzalez was confident, however, all sides would eventually
reach agreement and stressed Colombia's goal to act as a
consensus maker. He also said Colombia would not insist on
language that was not essential and would encourage others to
do the same. He noted specifically that language suggested
by Venezuela about the relationship between jobs and growth
in the United States in the 1990s was superfluous, but said
it was difficult to fight with the Venezuelans when their
data came from the IDB. He suggested that all parties be
prepared to negotiate on Saturday, November 5 - a day not
currently scheduled for any meetings - if necessary.

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Language on Terrorism and Narcotics Important to GOC
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3. (C) Gonzalez said President Uribe intended to make a
speech at the Summit covering two issues of importance to
Colombia: 1) trade as an critical factor for job creation;
and 2) the necessity of sustaining a "climate of security" to
facilitate continued economic growth. For Colombia, a
"climate of security" cannot be achieved without appropriate
attention to fighting narcotics trafficking and terrorism.
For this reason, Colombia would hesitate to eliminate
completely current paragraph 26 on the "institutional
framework for decent work" (Ref A) because the only
references to fighting narcotics trafficking and terrorism
are in this paragraph. Similarly, Colombia, while sharing
U.S. concerns about the Plan of Action, does not want the
Plan to be shortened if references to narcotics trafficking
or terrorism will be eliminated.

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Uncertainty on Stand-Alone Declarations
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4. (C) Gonzalez, who had already received a copy of the
draft Joint Commercial/Labor Declaration from the Colombian
OAS mission in Washington, expressed concerns about the
document. While he believes the GOC would appreciate the
opportunity to discuss the issues raised in the draft at the
proposed follow-on Labor/Commerce Ministerial in 2006, he
fears that this draft statement will deflect attention away
from the Summit Declaration and the Plan of Action. He does
not think that ministers will have enough time to negotiate
and sign this draft declaration during the Summit. Gonzalez
did not have an immediate response to the draft Statement on
the Doha Development Round or the draft Statement on
Democracies in Transition. Post will report response septel.

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GOC Summit Delegation
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5. (U) Gonzalez confirmed the composition of the Colombian
official delegation to the Summit: President Alvaro Uribe,
Foreign Minister Carolina Barco, Commerce Minister Jorge
Botero, Minister of Social Protection Diego Palacio,
Colombian Ambassador to the OAS Alvaro Tirado, Colombian
Ambassador to Argentina Rodrigo Holguin and MFA Vice Minister
Camilo Reyes. Gonzalez, as well as other support staff, will
also attend.
WOOD