NETHERLANDS: URGENT DEMARCHE ON UNESCO CULTURAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 002758 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2015 TAGS: PREL OPDC SCUL ETRD NL UNESCO BHUM SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS: URGENT DEMARCHE ON UNESCO CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION REF: A. SECSTATE 184292 ¶B. SECSTATE 170909 ¶C. THE HAGUE 02584 Classified By: POLCOUNS Andrew J. Schofer for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (U) On October 7, Post delivered ref A letter on USG concerns regarding the draft UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions to Dutch FM Bot. On the same day, Charge and POLCOUNS delivered ref a demarche points, along with a copy of the letter, to Hugo Siblesz (Director General for Political Affairs, MFA). ¶2. (C) On October 11, POLOFF followed up with Hein van der Hoeven in the MFA's International Cultural Policy Division. Van der Hoeven's response echoed Monique Korzelius' (Deputy Head, International Cultural Policy Division, MFA) earlier reaction to ref B demarche on the same subject, reported ref ¶C. Unlike Korzelius, however, van der Hoeven acknowledged that the Convention ran the risk of impinging, rather than enhancing, cultural expression. He added that, while the Dutch think the present text of the draft Convention is "acceptable," they could have "lived without" the Convention altogether. BLAKEMAN