REPLY TO BEYOND THE EXECUTIVE BOARD QUESTIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003101

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNESCO
SUBJECT: REPLY TO BEYOND THE EXECUTIVE BOARD QUESTIONS

REF: a) State 069712, b) State 070067


1. The following items respond to Department's questions in
reftels.


2. Next steps on Education for All Global Action Plan:
Peter Smith, UNESCO's Assistant Director General for Education, was
in New York City on April 27 for consultations on the EFA Global
Action Plan. He and his UNESCO colleagues met with three
representatives from the World Bank, one person from the UNDP, three
people from UNICEF, a senior director of UNFPA and Marie Helene
Gosselin from UNESCO NY. Following their New York meetings, a new
draft was circulated to the agencies for their input. ADG Smith and
his staff are working on revisions of the EFA Global Action Plan.
We expect to see a copy soon, and will forward it to Washington for
comments as soon as we get it.


3. Global Symposium on Promoting the Multilingual Internet, Geneva,
May 9-11: US Mission PAO, Caitlin Bergin, will be attending the
Geneva conference, and will provide a full report to Washington at
the end of the conference.


4. Second World Forum on Human Rights, Nantes, France July 10-13:
At this time there seems to be no direct involvement by UNESCO in
this conference, except that it is promoted on the UNESCO web site.
The description (and the Forum's own materials) cleverly refer to
the 2004 Forum as having been held "at the initiative and with the
support of UNESCO," leading all but the most precise readers with
the impression that these descriptions of UNESCO's involvement apply
to the 2006 Forum. UNESCO (ADG Pierre Sane) is a member of the
Scientific Committee (which reviews speakers and applications to
hold sessions).

As this is not a UNESCO meeting, Mission does not wish to give it
greater legitimacy through our official participation. At the same
time, we are considering recommending certain NGO speakers
participate to ensure a balanced presentation. While it is
difficult to know at this point what issues might be problematic for
us, Mission does intend to cover the Forum and will be reporting
back to Washington at its conclusion.


5. ICSECA Funds: Already in progress.


6. Staff portfolios:

Portfolios of the eight officers and staff of the US Mission to
UNESCO:

Ambassador Oliver
DCM Andrew Koss

John Hoff, Department of Health and Human Services, Attache
Mr. Hoff's UNESCO portfolio is principally related to health and
social matters. As such, he normally covers the following subjects
at UNESCO:
Social and Human Sciences
Ethics of Science and Technology; Bioethics
Philosophy and Human Sciences
Social Sciences, Research and Policies
In addition to his UNESCO responsibilities, Mr. Hoff also devotes
half his time covering health related issues at OECD.

Nancy Cooper, State Department, Science Officer
Ms. Cooper's portfolio is primarily connected to science issues.
She is currently responsible for the following subjects at UNESCO:
Natural Sciences Sector
Water and science issues
International Oceanographic issues
Basic Engineering and Sciences
Ecology and Earth Sciences
Sciences Analysis and Policies
World Heritage Issues
UNESCO governance

Michael Peay, State Department, Senior Legal Adviser
Mr. Peay is charged with providing legal support and advice to all
Mission officer regarding substantive and procedural matters that
arise within their respective areas of responsibility. In addition,
Mr. Peay assists the Ambassador and DCM in covering issues that are
considered highly contentious and politically volatile. In
particular he will be covering the following subjects at UNESCO:
Cultural Diversity
Human Rights
Internal Oversight
International Standards and Legal Affairs
Negotiation and other work related to treaties and other
instruments

Caitlin Bergin, State Department, Public Affairs Officer
Develops and manages the Mission Public Diplomacy (PD) program.
Plans PD activity, receptions and outreach. Other PD
responsibilities include the Mission website, Voluntary Visitor and
other exchanges, cultural, exhibit and speaker programs.
Coordinates with UNESCO's Bureau of Public Information on important
initiatives involving U.S. interests. Updates Mission on
UNESCO-related media and drafts updates on Mission events for the
U.S. National Commission for UNESCO newsletter. Fulbright scholar
liaison. PAO also tracks and reports on telecommunication and media
freedom issues in UNESCO's Information and Communication Sector
(WSIS, Information Society, Internet Governance, World Digital
Library, Memory of the World, Media Freedom, World Press Freedom Day
and Prize, Media in post conflict situations, International
Programme for the Development of Communication) and drafts reports
on developments as needed.

Sally Lovejoy, Department of Education, Education Attache
Ms. Lovejoy's portfolio will consist of responsibility for all
UNESCO education issues, including the "Education for All" program
and its Global Action Plan. She is due to arrive at post this
summer.
Basic Education
Secondary, Technical and Vocational Education
Higher Education
Promotion of Quality Education
Educational Policies and Strategies
AIDS/HIV education

David Ostroff, State Department, Political Assistant
Mr. Ostroff is the Mission's political generalist. As such, he is
responsible for keeping current on the hot issues covered by the
Mission officers, and backing them up as needed. He also is
responsible for covering the following subjects:

UNESCO personnel and American hiring
Extra budgetary funding and private sector funding
Executive Board and General Conference: Mission planning and
execution
National Commissions
Relations with NGO's
Relations with other delegations

Oliver