USUNESCO: REQUEST FOR GUIDANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 002713

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FROM USUNESCO PARIS
FOR IO/UNESCO - KELLY SIEKMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/16
TAGS: SCUL ECON UNESCO
SUBJECT: USUNESCO: REQUEST FOR GUIDANCE

REF: PARIS 341


1. C) This cable is classified by DCM Andrew Koss, for reason:
1.4 d.


2. (C) Summary and guidance request. The Director General (DG)
sent the Deputy Director General, Marcio Barbosa, to see
Ambassador Oliver on April 24 to pass the message that he has
chosen Francoise Riviere, the DG's "Chef de Cabinet" and a
French national as his choice for the new Assistant Director
General (ADG) for Culture. Riviere is a 20 year UNESCO veteran
who worked actively behind the scenes to promote the cultural
expressions convention. We are told that she was also
responsible for the note sent three months ago to members of the
secretariat telling them that the World Heritage Center would be

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losing its functional autonomy and would be coming under the
next ADG Culture. The Ambassador was told that the DG wants to
meet with her before making the announcement. We do not know
whether Riviere has been told about the DG's decision. Given
the Mission's previous instructions from IO not to take a
position on Riviere's candidacy, Mission requests immediate
guidance on how the Ambassador should respond when she speaks to
the DG. End summary.


3. (C) Mission has previously raised the possibility that
Francoise Riviere, a French national who is currently the DG's
"Chef de Cabinet" with the rank of Assistant Director General,
is likely to be chosen as the next ADG for Culture, replacing an
Algerian who retired in late February. Since that time, the DG
has assumed the culture portfolio himself. This position is key
to U.S. interests because the new ADG for Culture will be in
charge of promotion and eventually implementation of the
cultural expressions convention. We are told that Riviere
played a strong backstage role in pushing the convention
through, so there is little doubt where she would stand if
chosen for the job. France also pushed incessantly during the
last Executive Board for the DG and Secretariat to take a more
active role in promoting the convention and requesting UNESCO's
involvement in helping to get it ratified.


4. (C) Barbosa told the Ambassador that the final six
candidates interviewed last week in Paris include, besides
Riviere, Francesco Banderin, the Italian director of the World
Heritage Center; Katerina Stenou, the Greek director of the
cultural policy office (the office responsible for the
elaboration and implementation of the cultural expressions
convention); a Moroccan; a Kenyan and a Slovenian. He
indicated that the other candidates were all very weak and that
Riviere was the most qualified of the group. We were also told
separately that the French government withdrew its support for
another strong candidate and threw its support behind Riviere.
The Ambassador told Barbosa that she was amazed that out of 320
candidates, UNESCO was unable to identify a candidate with
strong professional qualifications in the field of culture for
one of the Organization's most visible and important positions.
(Note: Riviere has a degree in comparative literature and no
experience with any major cultural organization. She is a
competent and powerful inside bureaucrat.)


5. (C) Riviere has already been flexing her muscles. A recent
unpopular decision to more closely align the World Heritage
Center (which has operated with virtual autonomy until now) with
the Cultural Sector has been linked to Riviere. Riviere was
also responsible for the DG's statement on the Arab cartoon
issue, which upset the Arab states by leaning too far in favor
of press freedom. (Comment: we cannot argue with that
position, though the consequences were the protracted negations
during the Executive Board (EB). Riviere served as the DG's
representative on the EB's cartoon working group where she was
sensitive to U.S. concerns.) Barbosa also has been suggested
that the DG is leaning toward Riviere because he knows he can
work with her and thinks he can have more control in the area of
cultural diversity. (Comment: We doubt this.)


6. (C) Most things cultural at UNESCO are now being linked in
one way or another to cultural diversity. This includes a new
description of the U.S.-sponsored and funded museum program
which is now being referred to as museum partnerships for
cultural diversity. We suspect that numerous programs will end
up in the cultural diversity portfolio under the new ADG
Culture.


7. (C) There is precedent for reopening competitions at UNESCO.
This occurred when no strong candidate emerged during the recent
competitions for ADG Administration and the Director of the
International Bureau of Education. Even though we have avoided
making public comments on this issue, it has been suggested to
us that the choice of Riviere would be a setback to the U.S.,
given our strong opposition to the cultural expressions
convention. Although the DG is clearly worried about his
choice, he is under pressure from other countries like France to
fill this position quickly so that UNESCO can take a more active
role in promoting the convention.

OLIVER