SPAIN ON UNESCO BIOETHICS DECLARATION

UNCLAS MADRID 002350

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PASS TO UNESCO COLLECTIVE; DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR
IO/T (WINNIE ROBERTS)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO SP UNESCO KSCI
SUBJECT: SPAIN ON UNESCO BIOETHICS DECLARATION

REF: SECSTATE 109242


1. ECONOFF passed reftel points June 14 to MFA UNESCO Unit
Chief Monica Ruiz, urging Spain to support the U.S.
position vis-a-vis the UNESCO Bioethics Declaration and to
consult with the U.S. delegation in Paris. Ruiz informed
ECONOFF June 16 that the Spanish Foreign Ministry had not
yet finished coordinating the Spanish position with the
Health Ministry and requested that we contact her again June
17 to obtain Spanish views. Ruiz did note that Spain would
be represented at the Bioethics Declaration negotiations by
University Carlos III Molecular Biology Center scientist
Carlos Alonso.


2. ECONOFF met with Ruiz on June 17 after she was able to
speak with contacts
in the Health Ministry. Ruiz said that the U.S. points were
vague and only
suggestions, so Spain had not formulated a response to any
specific position.
However, she did say that the U.S. outlook appears to be very
different from
Spain's vision on the bioethics declaration. Ruiz said that
the U.S. points
seem to indicate that the U.S. wishes to create too many
limits and suggest too
many modifications to the declaration, whereas Spain favors a
broader
declaration and does not want to suggest limits on research.

MANZANARES