UNESCO - GROUP I MEETING PRE-EXECUTIVE BOARD

UNCLAS PARIS 000529 SIPDIS FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNESCO SCUL SUBJECT: UNESCO - GROUP I MEETING PRE-EXECUTIVE BOARD ¶1. Summary: The US candidate for the IPDC Bureau was endorsed by Group I at its first Israeli-chaired meeting. Other candidates for IPDC and IFAP were also approved by the Group. Norway briefed the Discussion Group on Executive Board issues, with special mention regarding procedures for the election of the next Director General. End summary. Electoral Group I and Group I Discussion Meeting Highlights ¶2. The key decisions taken at the 17 March 2008 meeting were the selection of Group I candidates for the Bureau of the IPDC (International Program for the Development of Communication) Intergovernmental Council, which are the United States and Switzerland. Switzerland will run for Chair of the IPDC Intergovernmental Council at the upcoming IPDC meeting from March 26 to 28, while the U.S. will run for the Group I seat. Member states also chose Austria for the Group I IFAP (Information for All Program) Bureau and it is expected this will be confirmed at the next IFAP Intergovernmental Council meeting on April 2. The second half of the meeting was devoted to an informal discussion of Executive Board issues, chaired by Norway, in its capacity as Vice Chairman (representing Group I) on the Executive Board Bureau. ¶3. At the meeting, the United States was the only Group I member that had signaled its interest in the IPDC Bureau seat. The Danes had informally expressed their interest in running for the Bureau earlier in the week, but did not declare their candidacy during the meeting. ¶4. Ambassador Oliver spoke briefly, noting the qualifications of the U.S. candidate, Marguerite Sullivan. Israel's Ambassador, David Kornbluth, then quickly got the Group's approval to endorse the US candidacy for the IPDC Bureau of the IPDC Council, which meets March 25-26. ¶5. The Swiss Ambassador then asked if he could present a candidate, Walter Fust, the Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, for the Chairmanship of the IPDC Council. Ambassador Oliver clarified that Group I had previously had two representatives on the IPDC Council, confirming that it was normal practice for Group I to support two candidacies. Chairman Kornbluth, after checking the room, quickly agreed, and accepted the Swiss candidacy as well. ¶6. The second issue raised was the Vice Chair position for the IFAP Council. Austria was the sole candidate, and was also quickly endorsed as Group I's choice for the post. The Austrian candidate is a Dietrich Schuller, Director of the Austrian Academy of Sciences' Video and Sound Archive in Vienna, and has already served on the IFAP Bureau. ¶7. The French, earlier in the day, had circulated a formal request for Group I's consideration of their candidate as chairman of the Second General Assembly for the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention, Mr. Cherif Khaznadar, former Director and current Chairman of the Maison des Cultures du Monde. ¶8. Ambassador Kornbluth suggested that, given the lack of lead time and the fact that the meeting is not scheduled until mid-June, a decision on this position should be deferred to a later Group I meeting to give other Member States time to reflect on the subject. Ambassador Oliver suggested that perhaps only those Group I countries that had ratified the Convention should take part in the selection process. The French representative nodded vigorously in approval. Kornbluth then suggested that the French talk to the other Group I members who have ratified the convention prior to making any decisions. ¶9. The Electoral Group I meeting was then closed, and became a Group I Discussion Group, separating policy questions from electoral matters. Ole Briseid, Norway's Deputy Permanent Representative, in his capacity as Group I Vice Chair on the Executive Board Bureau, chaired the discussion. ¶10. He began by explaining how Norway plans to carry out its work in the Bureau of the Executive Board, and how it will interact with Group I members. Briseid said that he will report to the nine Group I members on the Executive Board and to Chairman Kornbluth, who then, should he wish, may communicate the report to the other Group I members. Briseid also said that he hopes to hold informal meetings from time to time, as needed, to hear the views of other Group I members on key issues. ¶11. Regarding the upcoming Executive Board, Briseid said that Norway is looking carefully at the methods of work of the Executive Board, aiming at increasing the number of issues that will be raised in joint committees, reducing the number and length of documents, adopting more issues without discussion, and including a paragraph from the Secretariat on each item outlining its financial and administrative implications. ¶12. Briseid spoke briefly about the Thematic Debate, mentioning that despite having a clear mandate from Group I, the decision by the European Union to put forward a separate proposal created confusion. Ambassador Oliver used the opportunity to reinforce the point of having informal discussions so to better understand the sense of where different countries are coming from on particular issues. Several other countries present echoed the same sentiment, with Portugal, in particular, noting that synchronizing our positions will be a "challenge". ¶13. Briseid then mentioned several issues that will be of importance in the upcoming 179 th Executive Board meeting. Among them, he noted that UN Reform is moving forward, that the United Nations in New York has been advancing and providing a clearer mandate to carry on. He added that results from the pilot projects are positive, and that some elements are already being put into action in other countries. He also said that the Secretary General has appointed two coordinators (Ireland and Tanzania) to handle One UN issues. Briseid said that UNESCO has an opportunity to be pro-active in regard to One UN issues, and that this Executive Board may provide the chance for us to demonstrate our support of UNESCO's active role in this important change within the UN system. ¶14. He then switched subjects to Climate Change, noting that UNESCO has a role to play, particularly within the Education Sector and Social and Human Sciences. Briseid also spoke about improving the General Conference, and the need to identify and propose new mechanisms to ensure that it is improved and more efficient in the future. ¶15. Moving on to other subjects, he mentioned the upcoming report from the External Auditor, and the question of excessive publications and wasted money within BPI. He also said that human resources issues, including making the rotation of personnel a standard practice, needs to get more attention. Briseid concluded by mentioning that we should continue to pay attention to the Brasilia office, the rolling C/4, the IFAP program, which has been poorly run. Several Group I member states made comments on each of this issues, generally noting the need to remain attentive to these subjects. ¶16. Finally, Briseid raised the matter of the election of the new Director General. He said that he had reviewed the process going back to the first elections. Overall, he believes that the process is good, but that we must ensure that the Executive Board puts a formal procedure into place before next fall's Executive Board. Briseid raised the point that waiting, given the fact that at least one candidate has already been announced, turns any discussion regarding process into political and personal debates, when the process should remain clear and transparent to all. Ambassador Oliver noted that Egypt, which has put forward its Culture Minister as a DG candidate, also sits on the Executive Board Bureau, making their input into Bureau discussions on the subject less than disinterested. ¶17. Turkey also suggested that the Secretariat's Legal office report on the legal question regarding geographic rotation for the DG job among the Groups, noting that Egypt believes it is, without question, the Arab Group's turn to hold the position. ¶18. Chairman Kornbluth then closed the meeting, promising to hold another when needed. OLIVER