FRANCE: DAS ANDERSON BILATS ON UN REFORM, WIPO, ICAO, UNEP,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 004201 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON UN ETRD EAIR FR SUBJECT: FRANCE: DAS ANDERSON BILATS ON UN REFORM, WIPO, ICAO, UNEP, IAEA ISSUES NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On October 3, DAS Gerald Anderson met with MFA PDAS-equivalents Marc Giacomini of the Directorate for UN and International organizations, and Jean-Hughes Simon-Michel of the Directorate for Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament. Anderson presented an overview of the U.S. transparency and accountability agenda in the context of UN reform. He heard positive reaction to UN reform and "One UN" country pilot projects, as well as GOF concerns about discussion of aircraft emissions in ICAO, political leadership on environmental issues and potential worries about the new U.S. Postal Act. He was also informed that an EU common position limiting the number of mandates that leaders of international organizations can serve could help justify EU opposition to another term for IAEA DG El Baradei. End of Summary. -------------- WIPO: NO EASY WAY OUT -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Marc Giacomini said the GOF concurred with the USG desire for a rapid solution of the scandal over the Sudanese WIPO Director General Kamil Idris' fraudulent practice of changing his birth date to obtain greater pension benefits. However, he worried that replacing Idris would be seen as targeting African countries, rather than as an effort to address a case of individual corruption. The issue needed to be handled diplomatically to keep it "from souring and becoming a North-South issue." Giacomini was interested in the possibility of naming another African to replace Idris, whether for a full or partial term in office, as one possible way to address this concern. He urged that the scandal not overshadow the otherwise "good results" of the WIPO organization's "success story." -------------- ICAO: AIRCRAFT EMISSIONS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Anderson raised U.S. concerns with the proposed EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for aviation. Giacomini observed that the proposal reflected the EU approach to climate change, which is oriented towards using tax schemes to encourage the airline industry to invest in emissions-reducing technology. He did not think the best solution to this problem was necessarily via ICAO, since it is "controlled by airlines." However, he did agree that technology was "at least part of the answer" to a better environment. -------------- NEW U.S. POSTAL ACT, UPU and EU -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Anderson described the December 2006 U.S. Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) with a view to the next Universal Postal Union (UPU) meeting in Nairobi in 2008. The PAEA, which was designed to increase competition and efficiency in the U.S. postal market, will require equal treatment between postal and commercial carriers. This will affect outbound international mail handled by U.S private carriers such as UPS, Fedex and DHL. Items determined to be "market competitive" (as opposed to "market dominant") under UPU's designation will need equal treatment with respect to customs clearance (which currently makes commercial express products much more costly). U.S. private carriers already provide advance electronic data on those items to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. In future such data might also be required for incoming shipments by foreign posts, depending on interpretation of the PAEA. Giacomini said such requirements would not pose a problem if the range of required data is limited to what is called for under EU regulations. Otherwise, he foresaw a problem with France's Data Protection Agency (CNIL),similar to that which arose over PNR. -------------- UNEP OR UNEO? -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Anderson noted that the United States had presented the U.S. view in favor of strengthening the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) at a conference attended by Environment and Sustainable Development Minister Jean-Louis Borloo last month in Brazil. Giacomini responded that France favored creation of a new United Nations Environment Organization (UNEO) to change the current fragmented and costly system into a more coherent and efficient one. Giacomini hoped the U.S. would be less "defensive" about France's suggested "improvements" to UNEP. He called for discussions on specifics, since the U.S. and France disagreed on the means for introducing change. He added that an opportunity was missed after the Cartagena decision on International Environment Governance adopted in 2002. Anderson and Giacomini agreed on the potential PARIS 00004201 002 OF 002 SUMMARY -------------- utility of discussing steps short of creating a new organization on which the United States and the EU might be able to find consensus. -------------- UN SYSTEM-WIDE COHERENCE -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Anderson indicated that the United States intended to track implementation of reforms suggested by the Secretary General's high-level panel on system-wide coherence to make the UN system transparent and accountable. He pointed to the urgency of management reforms at Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), which had become a "nightmare." Giacomini approved the principle of management reforms at FAO, but noted that it would be costly (citing a risk of double-digit budget increases for 2-3 years if there is a move to IPSAS norms at FAO). He doubted that the French Parliament would approve an increase in the MFA's international organizations budget any time soon. Anderson suggested the best tactic for achieving good management practices is adoption of the IEE first (to enshrine the principle),followed by adoption of a "survival" budget. Giacomini further noted that France was not optimistic about institutional changes in the UN system and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). However, France was hopeful for the One UN pilot projects. France has selected Vietnam and Cape Verde as its pilot countries. Six additional countries have volunteered to become One UN pilots: Albania, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uruguay. -------------- IAEA -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Anderson opened the meeting with Jean-Hughes Simon-Michel, Deputy Director for Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament, by noting the U.S. contribution to the IAEA's new work in the DPRK. Simon-Michel explained that France was exploring ways to obtain EU funding through joint action in the Second Pillar (Common Foreign and Security Policy). Queried on Israel's participation in the Western European and Other States Group (WEOG),Simon-Michel declared that France's current "cautious" stance was likely to evolve, but that it favored Israeli participation in more technical UN agencies, rather than in IAEA. ¶8. (SBU) On the issue of a new mandate for Mohamed El Baradei as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),Simon-Michel referred to an existing EU common position on the mandates of leaders of international organizations. Such mandates should be limited to 12 years, or two mandates. This would mean that the EU would not support a new term for El Baradei. Simon-Michel added that the IAEA was strategic for France in the context of growing global demand for civilian nuclear energy development. PEKALA