FRANCE ON UNDEF PRIORITIES

UNCLAS PARIS 001368

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL FR UNGA
SUBJECT: FRANCE ON UNDEF PRIORITIES

REF: STATE 33441

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE TREAT ACCORDINGLY


1. (SBU) Deputy Polcouns discussed reftel points March 3
with MFA IO DAS-equivalent for human rights and humanitarian
and social affairs Beatrice le Fraper du Hellen. Le Fraper
said France's position tracked well with that of the U.S.,
although there were a few minor differences of emphasis. Her
perception was that the U.S. was focused more on election
projects, whereas France believed it was also important to
incite governments to implement their international human
rights commitments. She cited the case of certain transition
countries which may schedule elections regularly and keep up
basic democratic appearances, but which do not accept fully
the Western model and the need for human rights protections.
France saw a need for balance between media support and
elections, and respect for human rights. As an additional
nuance, she stated that France preferred the broader term
"participation in democratic processes" to "elections."


2. (SBU) Asked for French views on how UNDEF will operate,
le Fraper read from an instruction cable to make the
following points: (1) France believes the group should be
chaired by a country from one of the geographical regions
rather than by one of the larger donors, as the latter could
evoke the criticism that only money talks; an alternative
would be to choose a prominent personality as chair. (2)
France will insist on translation into French; she did not
specify whether she was referring to translation of documents
or interpretation of discussions, or both. (3) Noting
reftel's references to the UN Department of Political Affairs
and UNDP, she advocated a role for the High Commissioner for
Human Rights as well, given that her mandate included a focal
point on democracy; le Fraper insisted that this should not
be controversial. (4) France shares the U.S. view on the
importance of concrete projects, but worries that the
calendar for implementing them may be too tight. (5)
Finally, she said the current minimum threshold for a project
was USD 100,000. Based on its experience in small African
countries where there was often no involvement by
Western-based organizations, France believes it is possible
to support local civil society institutions with as little as
USD 50,000.

Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
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Stapleton