CZECH REPUBLIC: ENGAGED ON COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES

UNCLAS PRAGUE 001087 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS G FOR JOAQUIN FERRAO, DRL/MLGA FOR GIANNI PAZ, S/P FOR DAVID SOKOLSKY, AND EUR/NCE FOR ALEX TRATENSEK, EAP/TC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EU EZ KDEM PGOV PREL UNGA SUBJECT: CZECH REPUBLIC: ENGAGED ON COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES REF: STATE 129764 ¶1. (SBU) The Czech government continues to be very engaged on how to best advance the work of the Community of Democracies. They took note of the October 1, 2:30pm meeting to be hosted by Mali on the margins of the UNGA, which they currently are planning to attend at the FM level. Czechs Support UNDF Financially -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Czech government contributed to the UN Democracy Fund last year, and will contribute this year at the same level (50,000 USD last year). Both Director Gabriela Dlouha of the Human Rights and Transition Policy Department and Olga Hajflerova, with the same department, stated that the Czechs are firmly committed to the work of the UNDF and noted that they have been pleased to see it fund some excellent NGO projects. Bamako Declaration and CD Working Groups -------------- ¶3. (SBU) According to Hajflerova, who presently handles Community of Democracy issues for the Czech MFA, the Czechs found the initial draft Bamako declaration to be an excellent, solid starting point. The Czechs made numerous suggestions this summer on how to strengthen the document. Their primary concern remains that they believe the document places quite a heavy obligation on governments to provide for empowerment of the poor. They would like to see these issues delinked. Olga noted that the Czechs look forward to seeing the document that comes out of the convening group discussion September 20. Because of their interests and involvement in reshaping this declaration, of the four working groups (civil society, democracy and development, regional and interregional cooperation, and threats to democracy),they expressed an interest in perhaps taking an active role in the working group on democracy and development. The Challenge of Restrictive NGO Laws -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Czech officials heartily concurred with our assessment that restrictive NGO laws are a serious challenge to democracy promotion in many countries today. They noted our interest in having like-minded countries speak to this issue and stated that they would see how they could incorporate this into some of the Foreign Minister's comments on democracy issues. Interest in Including Taiwanese NGO -------------- ¶5. (SBU) As a side note, the Czech officials flagged for praise the work of the NGO "Taiwan Foundation for Democracy." They noted that this NGO has worked cooperatively with the Czech NGO "People in Need" in Burma and that they would be willing to support its inclusion at Community of Democracy events. They also noted that the Taiwanese Foreign Minister is quite involved in the work of this NGO. GRABER