NEW ZEALAND ON UNESCO CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION

UNCLAS WELLINGTON 000647 SIPDIS STATE FOR IO/UNESCO-JCOWLEY, EB/TPP/MTA-TNISSEN AND EAP/ANP-DRICCI STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR-CAROL BALASSA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD NZ UNESCO WTO SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND ON UNESCO CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION REF: STATE 149077 Post on August 18 delivered reftel demarche to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). James Hartley of MFAT's Legal Division reported August 24 that the ministry still was consulting with various government agencies before developing a final position on the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. A Cabinet decision on the government's position is likely to be required . New Zealand hopes to send Crawford Falconer, its ambassador to the WTO, to the August 25 informal meeting to discuss the convention, but his schedule has not yet been confirmed. Burnett