THE CONSULAR ROLE IN TRANSFORMATIONAL DIPLOMACY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAKAR 000668 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR CA, AF, AF/PDPA, AF/RSA AND AF/EX STATE PLEASE PASS TO AFSA FSI FOR DIRECTOR WHITESIDE, LMS, SLS AND SPAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CMGT APER CASC CVIS KPAO PHUM PTER SG SUBJECT: THE CONSULAR ROLE IN TRANSFORMATIONAL DIPLOMACY SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. This year Embassy Dakar devoted our Consular Leadership Day (CLD) to exploring the consular section's role in transformational diplomacy. Drawing on input from several American citizen wardens, staff from the Public Affairs Section (PAS),CA's PDAS, Charge and, most importantly, the consular section's staff, we concluded that consular employees play an central role in transformational diplomacy. We identified several areas in which the consular role is most important -- modeling democratic values, providing and highlighting the provision of citizen services, promoting mutual understanding, and combating terrorism, especially through the visas viper process. We discussed what additional training consular employees need in order to be more effective, focusing on public speaking, "beyond 3/3" language training, cross-cultural training, mutual understanding and demonstrating democratic values. END SUMMARY. APPLYING TRANSFORMATION DIPLOMACY TO CLD -------------- ¶2. Encouraged by the "think outside the box" nature of transformational diplomacy, we decided to expand our 2006 CLD to include three American citizens who serve as Consular Wardens and who have decades of experience in education, cross-cultural understanding and Africa. We also engaged the Charge, the Acting DCM and several officers and FSNs from the Public Affairs Section (PAS), who helped design and attended the training. In his introduction, the Charge tied consular activities to seven of the eight Mission Performance Plan (MPP) goals. CA PDAS Wanda Nesbitt featured in a lively, well-received digital video conference, providing the view from Washington and responding to questions and comments developed by the CLD attendees. As a result, we had very fruitful discussions and generated several novel approaches to consular-related public diplomacy that we are already implementing here in Dakar. We also determined how consular sections play a role in transformational diplomacy and identified additional training that would strengthen this role. Since transformational diplomacy is still new, we wish to share our conclusions and suggestions with the Department and FSI. MODELING DEMOCRATIC VALUES -------------- ¶3. CLD participants all agreed that the consular section's most important role in transformational diplomacy is to serve as a model of democratic principles such as transparency, freedom of speech, rule of law, fairness, equality and respect for individuals. Actions often speak louder than words, particularly in traditional societies such as Senegal. While many local nationals are exposed to democratic values through the media and public outreach, the consular section is one of the only places most people will see these policies in action. SERVING OUR CITIZENS -------------- ¶4. The way consular sections treat American citizens and the type of customer service we provide to visa applicants demonstrates how democratic governments serve their citizens and how citizens have a voice in their governments. Consular employees demonstrate this to host government officials every time we intervene on behalf of an American citizen in trouble. By including government officials in our distribution of warden messages and consular newsletters, we illustrate how a democratic government assists its citizens through the provision of information and how we strive to ensure there is no double standard. Expanding consular newsletters to include frequently asked questions and soliciting feedback on our service would reveal how U.S. government officials are open to questions from citizens and do their best to provide appropriate answers. ¶5. CLD participants agreed that our greatest challenge is balancing openness with security needs. We found that by limiting the number of individuals who need to come to the embassy (by encouraging online registration, shifting inquiries to a user-pays visa information service and responding to e-mails in a timely fashion) fewer people are exposed to the embassy security procedures. By taking the embassy on the road through public outreach on consular issues, we can also display our openness and DAKAR 00000668 002 OF 003 availability without our constituents having to visit the embassy. For those who do visit the embassy, a welcoming and well-trained consular employee can work at the embassy entrance to direct those who need information to the appropriate resource and authorize entrance only to individuals who need to enter the consular section. MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING -------------- ¶6. Consular sections play a critical role in "mutual understanding," which is a MPP goal and a key aspect of transformational diplomacy. Consular employees interact with more local nationals on a daily basis than any other embassy staff. In order to make informed visa decisions, consular officers are obliged to learn about the local cultures and communities, ranging from commercial to religious to political groups. Visa interviews, even those lasting two or three minutes, provide excellent opportunities to learn more about a local culture issue or for a consular officer to demonstrate his or her own awareness of cultural norms through the nature of questions posed. ¶7. How we communicate with applicants, whether it's our standard refusal letter or how we explain a decision, all contribute to mutual understanding. When we explain our application of U.S. immigration law in a way applicants can understand, they are more likely to appreciate and want to adopt our commitment to rule of law. We are redrafting all of our written material, particularly our 214(b) refusal letter, to more accurately communicate our policies to applicants. We are also developing standard talking points that consular employees, and other embassy staff, can use to explain visa refusals and other visa policies. ¶8. By keeping American citizens safe and informed, we expand the access local nationals have to American culture. For example, Senegal has one of the largest groups of university exchange students in Africa. By being actively engaged in the student exchange program through town meetings and outreach events, these programs are encouraged to expand and bring even more American students to Senegal. Our proactive outreach in this regard will also, hopefully, favorably contribute to more eligible Senegalese students choosing to study in the U.S. OPEN DOORS AND SECURE BORDERS -------------- ¶9. A major aspect of transformational diplomacy is the policy of open doors and secure borders, and consular sections directly impact the implementation of this policy. Every day, consular officers have to make informed and timely decisions about who is and is not eligible for a visa to ensure our doors are open to legitimate travelers and closed to those who wish us harm. Even in a two-minute visa interview, they can often detect criminal or terrorist related issues that are passed to the appropriate embassy officers and U.S. agencies for follow up. By coordinating the Visas Viper Committee, consular officers ensure that all embassy sections and agencies are sharing information and cooperating on counter-terrorism efforts. MEDIA AND PUBLIC OUTREACH -------------- ¶10. Effective use of the media and public outreach is critical to transformational diplomacy. Many embassy personnel can gain access to an organization or senior officials, or reward a key contact, by bringing along a consular employee who will speak about U.S. visas. Media events and interviews are excellent opportunities not just to distribute information but to also reinforce values such as honesty and individual responsibility. Consular sections have access to an excellent network of American citizens who often live throughout a country and can help organize embassy outreach activities outside of the capital. TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF FSOS -------------- ¶11. Since all entry-level generalists are required to serve one consular tour, consular sections are literally training the next generation of FSOs. By working in a consular section, these FSOs develop a myriad of skills, including interview techniques, representation and contact development, language skills, decision making, public speaking, leadership, crisis management, reporting and how DAKAR 00000668 003 OF 003 to juggle multiple tasks and priorities. Consular sections also teach FSOs to think outside the box. Given our increased workload demands and limited resources, consular officers are often forced to explore innovative ways of doing business. We are often now at the cutting edge of technology in areas such as call centers and Internet based communication and applications. Hopefully, FSOs will continue this culture of creativity throughout their careers, even if they never work in a consular section again. TRAINING NEEDS -------------- ¶12. In order to maximize consular sections' contributions to transformational diplomacy, CLD participants identified several areas in which consular employees would benefit from additional training: public speaking and working with the media, superior language skills, cross-cultural understanding and democratic principles. ¶13. Public speaking and media: We suggest that FSI consider developing courses for consular officers on public speaking and working with the media. Training on making presentations, holding press conferences and conducting radio and television interviews would encourage consular officers to aggressively pursue outreach and media opportunities that are key to effective transformational diplomacy. ¶14. Beyond 3/3 Language Training: Having sophisticated language skills is directly linked to the ability to conduct outreach and work with the media. For example, while a 3/3 in French is sufficient in Dakar to conduct effective visa interviews, more advanced French skills are necessary to conduct effective media interviews and outreach activities, and to discuss complex consular issues with local government officials. Unfortunately, funding for post language programs is limited and rarely available for language training for officers who already have the minimum required proficiency in a language. We suggest that CA consider providing MRV funding for beyond 3/3 language training for consular officers. ¶15. Cross-Cultural Understanding: Organizations, such as the Baobab Center in Dakar, specialize in cross-cultural training and place American students with local host families. Consular sections could take advantage of this expertise to train new consular personnel and arrange host family linkages for newly arrived consular officers. We suggest that CA consider providing MRV funds for cross- cultural training programs for consular staff. ¶16. Modeling Democratic Values: It is hard to explain and model democratic values without a good understanding of what these values are. We encourage FSI to include training on democratic values in its consular courses, including FSN training courses. Jackson