DEMARCHE ON U.S. PRIORITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY OF

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001934 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR G:JOAQUIN FERRAO, DRL/MLGA:GIANNI PAZ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PHUM PREL UNGA PGOV GT SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON U.S. PRIORITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES REF: STATE 129764 ¶1. POLOFF delivered reftel demarche on the Community of Democracies (CD) to Luis Carranza, Director of Multilateral Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ¶2. Carranza said that the GOG, together with Chile and other Latin American countries, can offer political support to Mali for the Bamako Ministerial but that it would be difficult to offer logistical support. He said that he would find out whether a representative from the Guatemala Mission in New York would be able to participate in the Ministerial. ¶3. Regarding the proposed CD Secretariat, Carranza said he would need to gather additional information and consult with the Minister of Foreign Affairs before expressing GOG support. ¶4. With regard to working groups, he noted that during last year's Vice Ministerial in Chile, the GOG did not commit to participating in any of the groups due to budget constraints in funding the travel of delegations to meetings overseas, which continue to be a challenge for Guatemala. He believed that financial constraints would be an obstacle for many other CD participants, especially small countries, unless the working group meetings are held in New York, Washington, or Geneva where they have permanent missions. He recommended that the meetings be held in places where Guatemala and other CD participants have a diplomatic presence to minimize travel costs for their delegations. ¶5. Carranza said that Guatemala will express support for NGOs that promote democracy as well as support initiatives that embrace CD principles to build a global democracy network but would do so on a case-by-case basis. ¶6. Regarding the UN Democracy Fund, Carranza said it will be difficult for the GOG to make a monetary contribution. Nevertheless, he said the GOG would consider making a small, token contribution. He noted that the GOG has already contributed to UNHCR and UNHCHR in Geneva and that Guatemala participates in the UN Democracy Caucus in cooperation with other democratic nations. Derham