Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ANKARA946
2006-02-24 15:36:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

BMENA: DAD INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETING IN ANKARA,

Tags:  PREL KDEM KWMN XD XF XI TU 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHAK #0946 0551536
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 241536Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3490
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES PRIORITY
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 9902
C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000946 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2016
TAGS: PREL KDEM KWMN XD XF XI TU
SUBJECT: BMENA: DAD INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETING IN ANKARA,
MAY 22-23

REF: ISTANBUL 0211

Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner for Reasons 1.4 (b,
d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000946

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2016
TAGS: PREL KDEM KWMN XD XF XI TU
SUBJECT: BMENA: DAD INTERGOVERNMENTAL MEETING IN ANKARA,
MAY 22-23

REF: ISTANBUL 0211

Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner for Reasons 1.4 (b,
d).


1. (SBU) Summary. Turkish MFA BMENA Coordinator (and
Personal Representative of the OSCE CIO on Combating
Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims) Ambassador
Omur Orhun and MFA Policy Planning Staff BMENA Director
Levent Gumrukcu told us recently the GOT is preparing
invitations for a May 22-23 intergovernmental Democracy
Assistance Dialogue (DAD) conference in Ankara. The GOT
hopes minister or deputy minister level representatives from
BMENA participants will come and adopt the Final Statement
issued at the February Istanbul Symposium on Gender Equality
and Political Participation (reftel). The GOT may be looking
for additional funding to support civil society attendees.
The next DAD theme will likely be media freedom. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) Orhun and Gumrukcu briefed us separately February
21 and 24 on Turkey's preparations for an intergovernmental
conference in Ankara on May 22-23. The May conference, to be
hosted by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and State Minister
for Women and Family Nimet Cubukcu, will follow up on work
done at the June 2005 and February 2006 Istanbul NGO symposia
on women's issues. At the conference, governments will be
asked to endorse the Final Statement from the February
Symposium entitled "Gender Equality and Political
Participation." The GOT hopes to use the conference to
encourage states to restrict the scope of their reservations
to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and to further a
government-civil society dialogue on CEDAW implementation.
While the GOT will address its invitations, to be distributed
in early March, to ministers in relevant ministries, it
expects that most countries will send deputy ministers to the
conference. The GOT plans to invite civil society
representatives as well.


3. (C) Orhun confided to us that the Turkish DAD partner
NGO TESEV, responsible for inviting and supporting civil
society attendees, does not have sufficient funding at this
time for the May meeting. Orhun wondered if U.S. or UK
funding would be available to assist TESEV in this regard.
(Note. In this context, Orhun expressed some concern over how
the three partner NGOs get access to U.S. funding -- NFI. End
Note.) Orhun added that the GOT is hoping to hold a DAD
coordination meeting on the margins of the May event.


4. (SBU) Addressing future events, Orhun and Gumrukcu said
the GOT is looking forward to a late June conference in Sanaa
to evaluate the results of the Italian and Turkish DAD
efforts thus far. Yemen has also offered to organize a
smaller conference in late August where DAD partners can
discuss how to address the next likely DAD theme: freedom of
expression and media freedom.
WILSON