UNESCO: MEETINGS ON MIGRATION, "RIGHT TO THE CITY," AND THE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 004258

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION TO UNESCO PARIS

NAIROBI FOR KAREN LEVINE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SMIG UNESCO UN IOM
SUBJECT: UNESCO: MEETINGS ON MIGRATION, "RIGHT TO THE CITY," AND THE
HUMAN SECURITY PROGRAM



1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY. On June 14 DCM and HHS Attache met
with members of the UNESCO secretariat to discuss UNESCO's Migration
without Borders and the Right to the City programs. Paul de
Guchteneire, Chief of the International Migration Section, and
Wataru Iwamoto, Director of Social Sciences Research and Policy,
discussed UN SG Kofi Annan's proposal for a forum on International
Migration and Development, as well as UNESCO's possible role in the
forum. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and
UNESCO will hold a conference of experts on migration museums; U.S.
delegates discussed Ellis Island as a model. The conversation then
turned to the "Right to the City." A UNESCO program specialist
explained the meaning of the expression and revealed that the staff
has been trained to take a rights-based approach in all their work.
In a separate meeting, Mr. Hoff met with Rene Zapata, of UNESCO's
Bureau of Strategic Planning, to discuss the Human Security Program.
END INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY.

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION: A UN FORUM, A UNESCO CONFERENCE


2. According to de Guchteneire, the Secretary General is organizing
a High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in
New York on September 14-15, 2006 and is recommending the creation
of a UN Forum on the subject. De Guchteneire also said UNESCO is
working on a document that will set out the role UNESCO seeks to
play in the forum, and noted that it will involve the relationship
between cultural diversity and integration of immigrant populations
(social cohesion). He felt this was key issue that the cultural
diversity convention had failed to address. The UNESCO Secretariat
will consult with Member States on UNESCO's role.


3. De Guchteneire added that UNESCO and the IOM will work together
to promote development of a new type of museum on migration that
does not just take an historical approach. U.S. delegates spoke of
the Ellis Island Immigration Museum; Mr. de Guchteneire was aware of
the site but not of the interactive project that has been created
there. IOM and UNESCO will hold a conference of experts about
migration museums in Rome, most likely October 23-25. As a
follow-up to the meeting, Mr. de Guchteneire sent the U.S.
delegation a draft of the organizational document for the meeting,
which cites the Ellis Island Immigration Museum as the example for
migration museums worldwide. (Comment: The High Level Dialogue on
September 14-15 in New York may be an opportunity to showcase the
Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Mission will try to insist that a
U.S. expert be invited to the Rome meeting.)

"RIGHT TO THE CITY" AND A RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH TO EVERYTHING


4. The meeting turned to the subject of the "Right to the City."
U.S. delegates expressed their continuing concern with the phrase,
which, they noted, is being used in connection with the World Urban
Forum 3 (which is taking place June 19-23, 2006 in Vancouver). Mr.
Iwamoto introduced Brigitte Colin, a UNESCO program specialist on
the issue. She explained the ideas behind the wording, saying that
it had to do with the rights and obligations of the citizens of a
city. Ms. Colin also mentioned that the UN had provided training
for members of the section by the United Nations System Staff
College in Geneva that emphasized that UN staff should use the
concept of a "rights based approach" rather than a "needs based
approach" (the language that accompanies the problematic
questionnaire sent out on the Right to the City). When questioned
on what basis they were claiming the need to use a rights based
approach, she said she was told the language was included in last
fall's World Summit outcome document. (Comment: We have looked at
the document and do not find where it says this.) U.S. delegates
also expressed concern about the phrase Inclusive City (which
UN-Habitat uses),stating that it could be interpreted to imply a
socialist agenda.

THE HUMAN SECURITY PROGRAM: AN UNCLEAR APPROACH


5. HHS Attache Hoff later met with Rene Zapata, of the UNESCO
Bureau of Strategic Planning, to discuss the Human Security Program.
Zapata emphasized the inter-sectoral nature of human security. He
said the USG intervention at the December meeting was extremely
helpful, and changed the approach UNESCO was taking. However, the
way in which the approach had changed was unclear to Mr. Hoff. Mr.
Hoff expressed concern about the possibility of UNESCO's having
consultants write the upcoming report without Member States' review,
and stressed the U.S.' concern over the inappropriate political
statements in the book on Arab security. The next concrete steps
for the Human Security Program are regional meetings: ASEAN, Arab
league (preceded by experts meetings),and then, but somewhat
delayed, Africa. Mr. Zapata also touched on the effect of UN reform
on human security.


6. Comment. The Social and Human Sciences Sector is appearing to
be responsive to U.S. concerns-it recognizes the validity of U.S.
concerns about "Migration without Borders" and has deleted that
phrase from their website; and it has downplayed use of "Right to
the City," although the phrase is still being used, particularly in
connection with the World Urban Forum. However, the mind set behind
these terms is still of course worrisome, and each discussion
reveals new expressions of it (such as the information about
training to use "the rights based approach." We will continue to
oppose particular initiatives that are based on this rights based
approach (but given the Mission's limited resources it is difficult
to keep up with all of them). But this has to be addressed
systemically, in particular by opposing efforts by the Secretariat
to promote or create these rights by new normative instruments or by
expanding existing ones. We can only hope that the present review of
natural and social science programs at UNESCO will redirect these
programs in a more positive direction.


7. Comment continued. Since we cannot find a mention of the need
to take a rights-based approach in the summit outcome document, we
are curious on what basis the United Nations System Staff College in
Geneva is conducting this training and if they are doing the same
thing in other UN organizations. One bright note, UNESCO's appraisal
of the cultural diversity convention's failure to address social
cohesion may also provide a good opportunity to point out one of the
convention's most serious flaws.
OLIVER