ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS REPORT DISCUSSED IN UNGA

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 002289

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM UNGA
SUBJECT: ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS REPORT DISCUSSED IN UNGA

REF: USUN NEW YORK 002245


1. Summary: On December 18, the General Assembly (GA) held
an "informal" discussion on the Alliance of Civilization
High-Level Group Report. Speaking at the GA were PM of
Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, PM of Spain Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero, UN Secretary General (SYG) Kofi Annan, President of
the GA Sheikha Haya, and delegates of Finland (for the EU),
Venezuela, Azerbaijan (for the OIC),Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and
Yemen. While the Report called for the creation of a new
High Representative for the Alliance to oversee the
implementation of the Report, SYG made no mention of this or
other specific next steps. The Spanish PM voiced his desire
to see such a High Representative created, the Egyptian
ambassador said Egypt would be introducing such a resolution
in the GA, and the GA President announced she intended to
convene an interactive GA debate in the summer of 2007.
Other delegates, including the EU, did not express firm
support for a new Alliance UN position. End Summary.

Secretary General Skirts Next Steps

SIPDIS
--------------


2. A High Level Group on the Alliance of Civilizations was
established two years ago, with the PMs of Turkey and Spain
as its co-chairs. Its Report was launched in November 2006
in Istanbul. As characterized by outgoing SYG Annan, "The
Report's proposals -- in the areas of politics, media,
education, youth and migration -- comprise an action plan to
improve cross-cultural relations." The Report includes a
call for the SYG to "appoint a High Representative for the
Alliance of Civilization to oversee the implementation of the
recommendations contained in the Report." SYG, however, made
no promises about the creation of a High Representative or an
office, or indeed about any specific next steps. He spoke in
general of the need for action and not losing momentum
created by the report. In addition to citing the UN as a
forum for dialogue, he also mentioned that action should take
place at the national level. (Note: It is unclear at this
juncture what steps, if any, incoming SYG Ban Ki-moon intends
to take vis-a-vis the Alliance Report's recommendations.)

Some Express Support
--------------


3. The Spanish Prime Minister went further than any other
speaker, saying that the Alliance will have a High
Representative and a forum for discussion, and asking that
the Friends of the Alliance (an informal group of countries
that meets in NY) be made operational. (Note: Technically,
it is not within the authority of the Spanish PM to appoint a
High Representative at the UN, or create a forum, so his
remarks should be seen as a statement of his desires, not a
statement of fact.)


4. The next most forward-leaning speaker was the Ambassador
of Egypt, who stated that the recommendations in the Alliance
Report need endorsement by the GA in order for them to be
implemented. (Note: Afterwards, an Egyptian delegate
confirmed to ECOSOC Officer that Egypt intended to bring to
the GA a resolution endorsing the appointment of a High
Representative and the creation of an office and a forum.
This will probably be done sometime before fall of 2007,
during one of the GA's resumed sessions.)


5. Additionally, the President of the GA Sheikha Haya Rashid
Al Khalifa (Bahrain) said, "I intend to convene an informal
interactive thematic debate of the GA in the summer of 2007."
In her speech, which quoted Diderot, Voltaire and Ibn
Khaldun, she broadly endorsed the concept of tolerance. The
representative of Saudi Arabia also spoke of operationalizing
the report's recommendations. The Azerbaijani delegate,
speaking for the Organization of Islamic Countries, said
politics, not religion, was at the root of the problem, and
expressed support for the Alliance.


6. Turkey's PM was mostly philosophical in his remarks,
underlining that Islam is a tolerant, non-violent religion.
The Yemeni delegate spoke along those same lines. The
representative of Venezuela spoke of tolerance, Spain's
historic role, and Turkey and Morocco's historic acceptance
of the Jewish Diaspora. Venezuela was the only country to
mention other religions besides Islam.

Others Less So
--------------


7. On behalf of the EU, the Finnish Perm Rep spoke against
extremism, said the EU "shared the goals" of the Alliance,
and was "ready to discuss" further recommendations. She
mentioned other similar initiatives for dialogue, including
the European Neighborhood initiative and the role of civil

society and the media. However, she made no commitments or
endorsements of the actual recommendations, such as a forum
or a High Representative.
WOLFF