C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 001265

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR P, R, AF, DRL, NEA, DRL/IRF, AF/RSA AND AF/W
PARIS FOR POL - D,ELIA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2016
TAGS: SOCI PHUM PINS ECON KIRF KISL SMIG UNAUS IR
IZ, SG
SUBJECT: THIRD MEETING OF THE UN HIGH LEVEL GROUP OF THE
ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS CRITICIZES U.S. POLICY IN IRAQ
AND AFGHANISTAN

Classified By: Ambassador Janice L. Jacobs for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: President Wade opened the third meeting of
the 15-member UN High Level Group of the Alliance of
Civilizations on May 28. Like Turkish Minister of State
Aydin and former UNESCO Secretary General Mayor before him,
Wade spoke of both economic and religious divisions, warning
that the world is splitting into countries that have
petroleum and countries that do not. Wade said the
Islamic-Christian divide is growing wider, and he criticized
human rights abusers who claim to be an example for others.
Iqbal Riza, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General
(SYG), stated that Western-Muslim relations are marked by
hostility and fear and declared that Western governments,
actions in Palestine, Iraq and Chechnya have fanned Muslim
extremism. The three-day gathering will also hear from the
OECD Secretary General, the Islamic Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Director General, and the
Mayor of The Hague. The High Level Group will debate
approaches to creating employment, integrating immigrants,
combating extremism and radicalism, promoting global and
cross-cultural education, and using media to strengthen
collaboration between the Muslim and Western Worlds. The
Group will also recommend whether it should become a
permanent UN institution. The High Level Group,s final
statement criticizes U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The statement does, however, include an expression of concern
about Iran,s nuclear ambitions. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) On May 28, Turkish Minister of State Mehmet Aydin
opened the third meeting of the

UN High Level Group of the
Alliance of Civilizations. Minister Aydin noted that it was
appropriate that the meeting was taking place in Africa, the
birthplace of civilization. He acknowledged that the
continent faces many challenges, including unemployment,
poverty, social injustice, women,s inequality, and
illiteracy. He hoped that unlike the second meeting in Doha,
Qatar, which took place during the cartoon controversy, the
third meeting would be able to focus on global conflict.


3. (U) Frederico Mayor, former UNESCO Director General and
current President of the Culture of Peace Foundation,
followed Aydin. Mayor focused on the injustice of the world
economic system. Noting that Senegal,s Goree Island is
known worldwide because of the slave trade, Mayor suggested
that today,s economic system is a modern form of slavery
with inequitable distribution of wealth. He stressed
inclusion and peaceful resolution of conflicts.


4. (U) Iqbal Riza, Special Advisor to UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan, spoke third and broadened the discussion by
reminding the assembly, which included Senegalese officials,
UN officials and members of the diplomatic corps, that nation
states compete with media and non-state actors for influence
in today,s world. Riza stated that Western-Muslim relations
are marked by hostility and fear. Riza declared that the
actions of Western governments in Palestine, Iraq, Chechnya
and elsewhere have fanned Muslim extremism. He acknowledged
that genocide and religious violence as seen in Iraq,
Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo generally remained within the borders
of nation states. Riza challenged the High Level Group to
find ways to defuse mutual hostility and mistrust. Before
yielding the floor to Senegalese President Abdoualye Wade,
who received UNESCO,s Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize in Paris
two weeks ago, Riza noted that Senegal is an outstanding
example of religious harmony and of respect for differences.


5. (U) For his part, President Wade urged the High Level
Group to combat prejudice and misunderstanding. Wade opined
that the gulf between the West and the Muslim World is
growing wider, and he called upon the Alliance of
Civilizations to endorse the Islamic-Christian Dialogue that
is scheduled to take place following the Organization of the
Islamic Conferences (OIC) Summit in Dakar. Wade noted that
civilization existed before modern religions and that an
alliance of civilizations is not an alliance of religions.

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He stressed that religion should not be used for political
ends.


6. (U) Returning to Aydin and Mayor,s economic themes, Wade
declared that the price of oil is destroying countries that
do not have petroleum. He suggested that people need to
focus on achieving harmony with nature and with their
environment rather than accumulating material wealth. In a
slap at Western countries, Wade criticized nations that
pretend to be points of reference and that try to impose a
single global vision while violating human rights. He urged
countries to demonstrate generosity, and he emphasized that
education is critical for understanding and for development.


7. (U) Prior to the three-day Alliance meeting, the
Ambassador and EmbOffs had the opportunity to meet with two
of the three Americans on the High Level Group )- religious
historian Karen Armstrong and Rabbi Arthur Schneier,
President of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation. In fact,
Rabbi Schneier and his party met representatives of
Senegal,s major Muslim brotherhoods at the EMR. For many of
the Senegalese Muslims, it was the first time they had met a
Jewish leader, and they had an excellent discussion about
religious tolerance and human rights in Senegal, as well as
the purpose of the Alliance of Civilizations. A third
American, John Esposito, the Founding Director of Georgetown
University,s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and
Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic
World, was also slated to participate in the High Level
Group,s deliberations.


8. (U) The three Americans and their 12 non-American
colleagues -) Aydin, Mayor, former Senegalese Prime Minister
Moustapha Niasse, former French Foreign Minister Hubert
Vedrine, former Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas,
former Tunisian Education Minister Mohamed Charfi, South
African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Professor Pan Guang
from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Ibero-American
Secretary General Enrique Iglesias, Brazilian Rector of

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Candido Mendes University Candido Antonio Mendes de Almeida,
Moscow State University professor Vitaly Naumkin, and Special
Advisor to the UNSYG Nafis Sadik -- are slated to hear from
Abdulaziz Othman Al-Tuwaijiri, the ISESCO Director General;
Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, the Secretary General of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE);
and Wim Deetman, the Mayor of The Hague. The deliberations
are to recommend whether or not the High Level Group of the
Alliance of Civilizations should become a permanent UN body.
The 15 members will also debate approaches to creating
employment, integrating immigrants, combating extremism and
radicalism, promoting global and cross-cultural education,
and using media to strengthen collaboration between the
Muslim and Western Worlds.


9. (C) On May 29, Rabbi Schneier (strictly protect) told the
Ambassador that the High Level Group,s final declaration is
critical of U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. Schneier
added that he insisted that the statement take note of
Iran,s nuclear program, and he got it included but only
after a lengthy debate in which the majority of members
insisted that Iran is not an &extremist8 country.


10. (C) COMMENT: The language about Iraq, Afghanistan, the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and globalization is
disappointing. President Wade and Mayor,s remarks followed
a week in which illegal emigration, especially to Spain, has
dominated the local media. Hundreds of Senegalese seeking
employment have been intercepted as they prepared to depart
Senegal by boat, enter the Canary Islands by boat or enter
the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on foot. END
COMMENT.
JACOBS