Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08PARIS1930
2008-10-21 11:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

IO DAS ANDERSON DISCUSSES UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES

Tags:  PREL PHUM KAWC FR UN 
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VZCZCXRO7787
OO RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHTRO
DE RUEHFR #1930/01 2951156
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 211156Z OCT 08 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4581
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 001930 

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ROUTING)

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM KAWC FR UN
SUBJECT: IO DAS ANDERSON DISCUSSES UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES
WITH FRENCH MFA

PARIS 00001930 001.4 OF 003


Classified By: Pol/C Andrew R. Young for reasons 1.4 (B & D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 001930

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ROUTING)

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM KAWC FR UN
SUBJECT: IO DAS ANDERSON DISCUSSES UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES
WITH FRENCH MFA

PARIS 00001930 001.4 OF 003


Classified By: Pol/C Andrew R. Young for reasons 1.4 (B & D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: IO DAS Anderson discussed UN issues on
October 10 with French MFA IO-DAS equivalent Marc Giacomini
who expressed GOF support for the Immediate Plan of Action
reform package being proposed at the FAO conference in Rome
on November 19. He noted the importance of presenting a
unified front among major contributors on reform issues
leading up to the conference. Giacomini noted that a major
concern for the GOF was how funding for FAO reform would be
paid. The GOF believes that savings from reform would be
insufficient to pay for its implementation. The GOF is also
concerned about the FAO borrowing from private banks to fill
gaps in spending while waiting for contributions to come in,
and believe such practices hurt the financial wellbeing of
the organization. Regarding the UN budget and split currency
assessments at ICAO in Montreal, Giacomini said the GOF was
open to the idea but believed it did not always work well
when put into practice. The subject is also politically
sensitive within the GOF which believes that any currency
split be based on the euro, Giacomini said. Giacomini noted
that within the UN budget Special Political Missions and
Peacekeeping Operations typically cost more than originally
proposed, suggesting the need for realistic budget accounting
to control costs. The GOF are also encouraged by the
internal audit reforms being implemented at UNDP.


2. (C/NF) SUMMARY CONTINUED: Giacomini also commented on
several candidates for director general or secretary general
positions for several UN and international organizations.
Giacomini defended the French candidate for ICAO secretary
general Romain Benjamin whose public statements that he would
only seek one term were based on the desire to focus a single
mandate on reforming the organization. Regarding the IAEA
secretary general, Giacomini said the GOF supports the
Japanese candidate but realize the Iranians would most likely
oppose. On the controversial Egyptian candidate for the
UNESCO director general position, Giacomini said that due to
tensions between Cairo and Paris, the French would back the

U.S. in its opposition to the current Egyptian candidate,
Farouk Hosni, but were waiting until more candidates came
forward in 2009 before moving on the issue. The GOF is also
pleased with reform statements made by new WIPO Director
General Francis Gurry. The selection of a new UNCTAD
secretary general candidate is more difficult, Giacomini
said, because the GOF does not believe developing nations
will support a candidate from a major donor country. END
SUMMARY.


3. (SBU) IO DAS Gerald Anderson met with French DAS-IO
equivalent Marc Giacomini, DAS equivalent for economic
affairs Luc Asselin de Williencourt, and MFA IO budget
analyst Denis Quenelle in Paris on October 10.


FAO: Director General Candidates, Funding and Reform
--------------


4. (C) IO DAS Anderson began by thanking the GOF for its
cooperation and support on United Nations (UN) reform
efforts. Anderson noted among the most urgent area of UN
reform was regarding the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO),and the U.S. was hoping to work in concert with
like-minded allies leading up to the FAO November 19
conference in Rome. Anderson said that since January 2008,
under the leadership of new U.S. representative to the FAO
James Butler, the FAO administration has begun to take reform
of the organization more seriously. The USG, in conjunction
with the Swiss and participation of the French, had now put
forward a serious reform package that included significant
savings generated through reducing the number of top-level
staff by 50 percent. While successes have been noted in
these areas, the main problem for the FAO was how to fund the
reform, Anderson said. Giacomini agreed but cautioned that
the French were tired with the idea that reform must be
"costly." The GOF shared the view of the USG regarding the
overall approach of reform package, Giacomini said, but the
GOF wanted more details to sharpen the areas of "FAO
activities." Giacomini recommended that any reform be
examined to view its comparative advantage. The French also
did not agree with former UN Secretary General Kofi Anan's
view that reform measures could be paid for by savings
generated from reform, Giacomini said. The French were also
not responsible for initiating the current trust fund
proposal for FAO reform; in fact, Giacomini said, the idea
had been floating around for quite some time.


5. (C) Anderson said the U.S. hoped that during the November
conference there would be a resolution to endorse the reform
package without specific numbers for funding. He said the

PARIS 00001930 002.5 OF 003


USG believed voluntary contributions would be welcome -- such
as the case with Spain which was promoting voluntary funding
for the FAO -- but that the USG wanted to avoid discussing
this issue. If the reform package was only funded by a
handful of developed nations then it would not appear as
"real reform." Giacomini noted that a GOF consultant sent to
review the FAO in Rome, Mr. Fuller, said reform issues were
supported but considered sensitive by many member states
because they believed reform implied "choices." Anderson
noted that current FAO Director General Jacques Diouf had
similar concerns. For example, in recent meetings with USUN
officials in New York, Diouf said he was backing FAO reform
but concerned about resistance from within his own staff,
which Anderson noted was a legitimate concern.


6. (C) Anderson cautioned that the U.S. believed it was
better that funding for the reform package not be too
precisely defined during the November conference. Giacomini
said that for the GOF the main question was how the West
should decide between one-time and recurrent expenses.
Anderson said the U.S. did not support the idea of charging
the regular budget for "recurrent expenses" of the reform.
He noted that FAO budget analysts had shown there was a lot
of spare capacity in the organization, staffing-wise, which
was enough to cover reform expenses. But what was most
important was passage of the reform package at the November
conference. Regarding solvency of the FAO, Giacomini said
that the GOF representative to the FAO noted the organization
was preoccupied with delayed donor payments. As a result,
private banks were lending to the organization because of its
good credit rating, but that such a practice should not be
normal for the financial wellbeing of the organization, he
said.


ICAO: Concern about French Candidate for Secretary General
Post
--------------


7. (C) Regarding the secretary general post of the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),Anderson
said he would be meeting with French candidate Romain
Benjamin in Washington the week of November 13. Anderson
noted that Benjamin would be an improvement over current
Secretary General Taieb Cherif. The USG's concern with
Benjamin was news of his health problems and public
statements he made indicating he would only be willing to
serve one three-year term, which did not bode well for
ensuring the implementation of reform measures, Anderson
commented. Williencourt dismissed concerns about Benjamin's
health noting he had undergone only minor surgery. Easing
any doubts about Benjamin's willingness to serve two terms if
elected secretary general, Giacomini said Benjamin's public
statements on the issue centered on the candidate,s desire
to review his mandate after his first term. If his reforms
have been working, then Benjamin would seek a second term,
Giacomini noted.


UN Spilt Currency Assessments
--------------


8. (C) On UN financial matters, Anderson said the USG would
support the idea of a split currency assessment for the ICAO
if such a proposal was put in place for the 2010 budget,
since considerations would have to be made on costs and
equipment to implement the change. Other issues to consider
were the fluctuation in currency values that could cause big
differences in assessments. The French, said Giacomini, were
open to the idea of split currency assessments but noted that
they did not always work well when put into practice.
Furthermore, the subject was politically sensitive in France
which believed that any currency split be based on the euro,
he noted.


UN Special Political Missions and Peacekeeping Operations
Funding
--------------


9. (C) Giacomini noted that within the UN budget, Special
Political Missions (SPM) and Peacekeeping Operations (PKO)
always cost more than originally proposed. He said past
budgets were never realistic, and that the largest donors --
the U.S., Japan and the EU -- would have to always assume a
larger budget than advertised. Giacomini suggested that what
was needed was a realistic budget accounting for both PKO and
SPM to control costs. Anderson said the USG generally
preferred to avoid separate budgets for capital improvement,
as was proposed by the World Health Organization in the last

PARIS 00001930 003.4 OF 003


budget cycle. Giacomini noted similar problems for the
International Labor Organization's renovation and capital
investment plan which doubled during implementation after its
budget was separated.


IAEA: Director General Candidates
--------------


10. (C/NF) Regarding candidates for the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) director general position, Giacomini
said that he knew that the Japanese and South Africans had
offered candidates. While the GOF thought the Japanese
candidate was qualified, the Iranians would most likely
oppose the candidacy.


UNESCO: Concern over Egyptian Director General Candidate
--------------


11. (C/NF) The U.S. was concerned about the Egyptian
candidate for the director general position, Farouk Hosni,
Anderson noted. Aside from pending reform issues yet to be
resolved within the organization, the Egyptian candidate's
public statements against Israel and other anti-Semitic
remarks made it impossible for the U.S. to support such a
candidate. Giacomini said he was unsure how strongly the
Egyptians were pushing their candidate, but noted Morocco's
decision to withdraw its own candidates suggests Egypt is
seriously pursuing this position. The GOF is also
uncomfortable with the Egyptian candidate. In the short
term, France would take a wait and see approach until more
candidates came forward. Anderson said the U.S. was working
to promote the emergence of a more moderate candidate, for
example from Brazil, but that the Brazilians had still not
named anyone. Anderson noted that Egypt was lobbying the USG
hard for Hosni. For the U.S., a successful candidate would
have to be someone who could serve as a moderate to
effectively balance tensions between Israel and its Arab
neighbors, Anderson said. Anderson underscored the
importance of this issue, by noting the U.S. participation in
UNESCO could be called into question if Hosni was selected.
Giacomini said the GOF would help push Egypt to consider
other, less controversial candidates.


UNDP: U.S. Congress Pressing for More Reform
--------------


12. (C) Anderson reported on the Department's decision to
certify to the U.S. Congress that UN Development Program
(UNDP) was meeting appropriate transparency standards and to
releasing $20 million in withheld 2008 contributions. The
USG welcomed the UNDP's January 2008 change in the internal
audit review process to permit member states to review
internal audit reports, while noting there had only been a
short time since their implementation. The USG would welcome
French participation in reviews of such audit reports, and
would like to see similar practices put in place on across
the UN as a whole, Anderson said.


WIPO: Support for new Director General
--------------


13. (C) Giacomini indicated that the GOF, like the USG, had
no issues or objections to the election of new World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director General
Francis Gurry. Anderson noted that Gurry had promised a plan
to deal with personnel issues in the organization that was
"balanced and gradual."


UNCTAD: Possible Secretary General Candidates
--------------


14. (C/NF) Anderson and Giacomini discussed proposing a
donor country candidate to take over as secretary general of
the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) with
Giacomini noting some of the recipient countries would
probably balk at that having a major donor country Secretary
General.


15. (U) IO DAS Anderson has cleared this message.
STAPLETON