PORTUGUESE RESPOND TO COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L LISBON 000509 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR G, DRL, IO, EUR/WE, AF/S E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2018 TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL PO SUBJECT: PORTUGUESE RESPOND TO COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES ACTION GOALS REF: SECSTATE 14246 Classified By: Dana M. Brown, Pol-Econ Officer Reason 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Portugal has several suggestions and goals to ensure active participation in the Community of Democracies (CD),clear missions with results, and reforms to reinvigorate non-Convening Group member states, according to MFA Deputy DG Antonio Ricoca Freire. Nevertheless, the MFA has yet to unveil its action plan publicly. After offering positive, encouraging feedback on how to best utilize the CD's Permanent Secretariat and the working groups, Ricoca Freire cautioned that establishing a CD mission to support Angolan elections would be difficult at best. Overall, Portugal seems interested in creating a constructive term, but it has yet to put its plan into action. Our ongoing focus and encouragement will likely prompt the GOP to get underway within the next few weeks. End summary. ¶2. (C) In response to reftel demarche points, Deputy Director General for Political Affairs Antonio Ricoca Freire underscored Portugal's intent to make its chairmanship of the Community of Democracies both proactive and focused. In particular, he cited several areas of concern that Portugal hopes to address over the next two years, such as a decline in momentum within the CD and a lack of useful working group input. He said the Portuguese embassy in Washington planned to gather Convening Group representatives together to officially launch Portugal's chairmanship, to outline Portugal's goals over the next two years, and to offer suggestions to nations about making the group more interactive. He acknowledged that Portugal was months into its tenure without yet launching these initiatives, but claimed that the EU Presidency had distracted the Portuguese from action until now. ¶3. (C) Ricoca Freire reported that the MFA was selecting a high-level official, perhaps a retired ambassador, to head up the GOP efforts in the Community of Democracies on a day-to-day basis. That person would be tasked with overseeing a small unit within the MFA, coordinating the twelve meetings of the Convening Group in 2008 and 2009, and with engaging the Permanent Secretariat in CD business. Ricoca Freire also stated that the GOP seeks to establish two specific democracy "missions" over that same time period and suggested hosting workshops or conferences with civil society as possibilities. Evolving the Organization -------------- ¶4. (C) Expressing concern regarding the CD's current functioning, Ricoca Freire confided that he saw a decrease in productivity and enthusiasm for the group overall. He added that, although the Convening Group (CG) was a good vehicle for leading the group, it tended to discourage other members from contributing. He proposed encouraging participation from non-CG nations through the working groups and open discussions. To that end, Ricoca Freire suggested revising the makeup and focus of the CD working groups to be more proactive and functional. In particular, he proposed establishing one or two ad hoc working groups during Portugal's CD term to focus exclusively on a set project, such as one of the missions, and then disband once they have completed their work. He stressed that the GOP would be open to any ideas to make the working groups more effective and involved. ¶5. (C) Ricoca Freire viewed the Permanent Secretariat as another possible vehicle to encourage ideas and involvement in the CD. He stated that the Secretariat seems open to any mission at this point and lacks a clear direction. Portugal would appreciate its assistance in setting up a coordinated website, database, and list of CD contacts to facilitate the CD's work, but cautioned against a broader leadership role for the Secretariat. Ricoca Freire stressed that, if the Secretariat assumed a leadership role, it could make the CD SIPDIS less consultative and more opaque. To combat that possibility, he proposed that members of the Convening Group with embassies in Warsaw send diplomats on secundment to the Secretariat. Such international representation would help SIPDIS develop a more diverse, rich organization, he suggested. ¶6. (C) Regarding international participation, Ricoca Freire also commented on Portugal's interest in stimulating Geneva's role in CD business, particularly the UN Democracy Fund. He stated that the goal is to see Geneva match New York's current participation and to encourage more robust UN engagement overall. He also commented that, although Portugal welcomed Lithuania's offer to chair the Convening Group from 2009-2011, the back-to-back leadership of two EU member states would probably discourage other regional activism in the group. CD and the Angolan Elections -------------- ¶7. (C) In response to reftel points on possible CD involvement in Angola's elections this September, Ricoca Freire declared that "Portugal has no pull with Angola at all." He said the Convening Group had recognized Angola's progress at Bamako and proposed CD involvement but had not yet received a response from the Angolan government. He doubted that Angola would be interested in the mission since it could request observers from several more established international groups such as the UN, EU, AU, or Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP). Portugal will prepare a proposal that suggests that Angola initiate the request, according to Ricoca Freire, to allow the GOA to direct any CD involvement. Comment: At the Helm but Not Steering -------------- ¶8. (C) Portugal assumed leadership of the CD three months ago and has several ideas to improve the group but has yet to start any concrete activities. We have stressed our interest in seeing an action-oriented tenure at all levels in the MFA and reiterated our support for Portugal's leadership, however the GOP continues to drift without an announced policy. The Ambassador encouraged FM Amado in a February 14 meeting to take note of the CD's work and mentioned the possibility of CD involvement in the Angolan elections. Amado noted that State Secretary Cravinho would take the lead of the Community of Democracies activities and would consider the suggestion. Nevertheless, if the goal is to have the CD participate in voter education or election preparations in Angola by or before September, it seems that the USG will need to continue to press the Portuguese at every opportunity as well as consider approaching the Angolan government directly. End comment. Stephenson