(U) UNESCO PRIZES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 004296

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CU VE UNESCO
SUBJECT: (U) UNESCO PRIZES

REF: A) Paris 2786, b) Paris 2138

Classified by Ambassador Louise Oliver, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is a guidance request, see para. 11.


2. (C) Summary. The awarding of prizes at UNESCO continues to
be done on an ad hoc basis and often with little advance notice.
This week's inclusion of Cuba in the announcement of UNESCO's
literacy prizes is but one more example of how easily determined
staff can bypass UNESCO's internal controls. The awarding of
one of the five UNESCO literacy prizes to the Cuban Youth and
Adult literacy and Education Chair of the Latin American and
Caribbean Pedagogical Institute and its "Yo se puedo" literacy
program follows the awarding several months ago of the Cuban
Jose Marti Prize to Hugo Chavez. The Cuban Government is
already milking the prize for its propaganda value. (End
Summary)


3. (C) At its spring 2005 session, the UNESCO Executive Board
passed a decision (171 EX/19) asking the Director General (DG)
to report, beginning in 2007, on a biannual basis, on the
implementation of the strategy and the development of the
overall situation with regard to UNESCO prizes. While awaiting
that strategy, UNESCO prizes continue to be awarded with little
transparency and on an ad hoc basis. The awarding of the Marti
prize to Hugo Chavez was the most egregious example of these
problem as well as an indication these prizes are becoming
increasingly politicized.


4. (C) Following the Chavez episode, the DG (after speaking
with Ambassador Oliver),in an effort to prevent another similar
occurrence, indefinitely postponed the awarding of the
Venezuelan Simon Bolivar Prize "for an activity contributing to
the freedom, independence and dignity of peoples and to the
strengthening of a new international, economic, social and
cultural order." Therefore, the announcement this week that
UNESCO will award the King Sejong Literacy Prize (supported by
the Republic of Korea) Cuban Youth and Adult literacy and
Education Chair of the Latin American and Caribbean Pedagogical
Institute and its "Yo se puedo" literacy program is very
troublesome. While other prizes went to Moroccan, Pakistani,
Indian and Turkish programs, the award to Cuba highlights the
problems with the whole system of prizes at UNESCO.


5. (C) While awaiting a new strategy from the DG, there is no
standard policy for prizes. The announcement of competitions is
done on an ad hoc basis, often with little advance notice, and
juries are often self-serving, self-selecting and very
independent. Moreover, there is no final vetting of awardees
before names are given to the DG for his final approval. During
the discussion of the Marti Prize, the DG indicated he is
unwilling to overturn the decisions of the juries.


6. (C) In the case of the Cuban literary prize, as occurred
with the Marti prize, UNESCO's internal controls were bypassed
by secretariat staff who clearly intended to get the prize
decision on the Director General's desk as quickly as possible.
In doing so, they failed to get clearances from the two senior
Americans at UNESCO, the ADG for Education and the Deputy ADG
for External Relations, both of whom were caught completely by
surprise by the announcement, as was the Mission's primary
contact within the DG's cabinet.


7. (C) There was likely a purposeful attempt to create mischief
on the part of two Education Sector staffers. Both currently
encumber positions that will be eliminated in the Sector's new
reorganization. Peter Smith, the ADG for Education, will be
asking the DG to terminate the employment of the two staffers.
At the very least, they were already scheduled under the
reorganization to be transferred to field offices.


8. (C) One of the annual literary prizes is supported by the
U.S.-based International reading Association (IRA) and was
established in 1979. The IRA prize was awarded to a Turkish
foundation. Alan Farstrup, the executive director of the IRA,
met with Ambassador Oliver when he was in Paris to serve on the
jury. At the time he told the Ambassador that a prize for a
Syrian organization had been turned down, but he made no mention
of the Cuban prize.


9. (C) Fortunately, Cuba is no longer on the Executive Board,
but that has not prevented the Cubans from creating mischief and
trying to undermine the U.S. re-engagement at UNESCO. While the
Marti Prize was probably the most egregious example of Cuban
behavior, Cuba also managed to get elected to the board of the
International Program for the Development of Communications (ref
a) (comment: this was a joke given the program's mandate for a
free press) and delivered anti-American broadsides in the final
session of the General Conference and during the Commission on
Recommendations at the last Executive Board (ref b). Cuba has
also been actively pushing "Yo se puedo" at UNESCO, and
organized a literacy conference in Havana in 2005 to highlight
the program. The last Executive Board deflected a draft
resolution to praise the Cuban program by taking the position
that there are many valid ways to approach literacy, and it
would be inappropriate to single out just one method. A report
from the Secretariat on the evaluation of "Yo se puedo" will be
on the agenda of the next Executive Board.


10. (C) The literacy prizes normally would be awarded on
September 8, just over a week before a major international
literacy conference to be hosted by First Lady Laura Bush in New
York. A contact in the secretariat has told us the Chinese
government is interested in hosting an awards ceremony in China
on Confucius' birthday, September 23 to publicize a new Chinese
literacy prize. The contact says that one unnamed recipient is
resisting. (Comment: we are a bit perplexed how the
Secretariat has already received a response from capitals so

SIPDIS
soon after the prize was officially announced.) Ambassador
Oliver has also been informed that the DG has a great deal of
flexibility in how these prizes are publicized and awarded. In
the past these prizes have been awarded in the recipient
countries, and we will push to ensure that the prizes are not
awarded at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Mission has also been
told that a memo will soon go out to the Secretariat instructing
that the DG be given a choice of awardees for future prizes, so
that he does not have to accept one choice from the juries.


11. (C) Comment and guidance request. The first indication
that something was up came when we saw stories on Monday in the
Cuban press accusing the United States of opposing "Yo se puedo"
and politicizing the fight against illiteracy with the
appointment of the First Lady as UN Ambassador for the Decade of
Literacy. While monitoring UNESCO prizes remain a top Mission
priority, and, thus far, difficult challenge, the reorganization
of the Education Sector should at least remove two of its most
anti-American staffers. The Mission requests guidance on how to
react to this prize.
Oliver