USUNESCO - ADEQUATE MISSION STAFFING

UNCLAS PARIS 000915 SIPDIS FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS FOR: IO A/S SILVERBERG AND DG STAPLES E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: APER UNESCO SUBJECT: USUNESCO - ADEQUATE MISSION STAFFING ¶1. I am very concerned about this mission's continuing ability to support the Secretary's program of transformational diplomacy after the departure this fall of our remaining reporting officer, Nancy Cooper. At that point the only Foreign Service Officers on my staff will be the DCM and the PAO. When the U.S. Mission to UNESCO was established, we were assigned two reporting officers. Given the large number of international instruments negotiated at and administered by UNESCO, we have already had to sacrifice our political officer position to fill the vital position of legal adviser. ¶2. Ms. Cooper, the mission science officer, is deeply engaged in transformational diplomacy. She is working with UNESCO's science sector to strengthen developing countries' ability to build local capacity in basic science, engineering, disaster prevention, water management and the expansion of the international tsunami warning system to all the world's oceans. Her portfolio also includes tracking a massive reorganization of UNESCO's two science sectors so that they can better serve the transformational needs of developing countries. Not long ago I added the monitoring of UNESCO's high profile and increasingly politicized World Heritage Center to Nancy's already considerable burden. But Nancy is doing much more than science and the World Heritage Center; she is in effect doing most of our political reporting and is supporting one of IO's most important transformational diplomacy policy approaches of "promoting administrative and management reforms that ensure good stewardship of precious resources." As our sole remaining reporting officer, Nancy covers such vital issues as UN reform and management as well as the UNESCO budget. I am concerned that a detailee from another agency will be focused on either the science portfolio or the World Heritage portfolio. However, the biggest problem is we would face not having another FSO on staff who understands the culture of the Department, knows how to do political reporting, and is experienced in diplomacy. This would dramatically reduce my mission's ability to carry out transformational diplomacy. ¶3. I am aware of the extraordinary pressures on the Foreign Service and the sacrifices being made by so many serving in difficult posts. I understand and support the need for the GPR, but I also feel we must disaggregate this position from its physical location in Paris. Frankly speaking, IO missions are mostly located in nice locations like Paris and Geneva, but IO's work, wherever it is carried out, is vital to U.S. interests and a crucial part of transformational diplomacy. Our vigorous presence at UNESCO allows us to leverage the organization's resources to tackle serious global issues such as illiteracy, while still curbing UNESCO's impulses to pursue policies that harm U.S. interests. UNESCO also supports the GWOT by carrying out education projects in places where forces hostile to the United States are trying to brainwash children and preventing direct USG engagement with schools. Just this week UNESCO announced a 3.4 million dollars education project with the Pakistani government funded by USAID. We have now been re-engaged with UNESCO for over three years, and if we expect positive results from that re-engagement we must commit the human resources necessary. For this reason, I request that IO and HR revisit the decision to eliminate this Mission's remaining reporting officer position. Oliver