UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL SUCCESSION: CONVERSATIONS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS FR 002202 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2018 TAGS: UNESCO PREL FR SW MX BR SUBJECT: UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL SUCCESSION: CONVERSATIONS WITH MEXICO, SWEDEN, BRAZIL, FRANCE, AND TURKEY REF: (A) PARIS FR 2144 (B) PARIS FR 2153 Classified by Ambassador Louise V. Oliver, reason 1.4 (b). ¶1. (C) Summary: The Mexican and Swedish UNESCO Ambassadors told Ambassador Oliver that their respective countries will oppose the candidacy of Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni for the position of Director General of UNESCO. The Mexican Ambassador also expressed misgivings about the possible candidacy of UNESCO's Brazilian Deputy Director General, Marcio Barbosa. The French UNESCO Ambassador told Ambassador Oliver that she expected that France would soon inform the Egyptian Government that France would be unable to support Hosni, but that it had not done so yet. The Turkish Ambassador to UNESCO told Ambassador Oliver that Turkey was also uncomfortable with Hosni's candidacy, but, since Turkey was not on UNESCO's Executive Board, it would not become very involved in the campaign for Director General. The Brazilian Ambassador told Ambassador Oliver that Brazil will very likely put forth a candidate, but they have not decided who that candidate will be. Thus far, Ambassador Oliver has not spoken with anyone at UNESCO who is positive about Hosni. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Ambassador Oliver met with the Mexican Ambassador to UNESCO, Homer Aridjis Fuentes, on December 1 to discuss the campaign for UNESCO's next Director General. Ambassador Fuentes said that Mexico had been lobbied by the Egyptians, but that the Mexican Government had refused to endorse Hosni. The Mexican Ambassador said that they do not think Hosni is the right individual to lead UNESCO, because they think he is too controversial and provocative. Ambassador Fuentes said that Hosni's comments on burning Israeli books, and his accusations that UNESCO's Moroccan Ambassador is an agent for the Jew, are evidence of Hosni's tendency to say things that are highly inappropriate. Mexico feels that UNESCO needs a Director General who is capable of calming tensions and is able to work with all countries. The Mexican Ambassador added that these qualities are particularly important after the terrorist attacks in India. ¶3. (C) Ambassador Fuentes also told Ambassador Oliver that the Saudi Ambassador to UNESCO, Ziad bin Abdullah al-Drees, agrees with these sentiments. Many of the more moderate Arab countries feel the same. The Mexican Ambassador was very pleased to be informed about the U.S. opposition to Mr. Hosni, as it would help Mexico resist Egyptian pressure. ¶4. (C) When Ambassador Oliver asked Ambassador Fuentes about the other candidates for Director General, he responded that he thought that neither the Ambassador of Lithuania nor the Ambassador of Bulgaria had the stature to lead UNESCO. He also said that Mexico would not support UNESCO's Brazilian Deputy Director General Marcio Barbosa. He said the Barbosa had not shown leadership qualities, and that he did not seem to be committed to raising the importance of Latin America within UNESCO. He said that during Barbosa's recent visit to Mexico, none of the senior government officials would meet with him. The Mexican Ambassador said that other Latin American countries, such as Chile and Argentina, agreed with this assessment, and that Brazil had said that it would not go ahead with Barbosa's candidacy without Mexico's endorsement of Barbosa. Ambassador Fuentes also said that the next Director General does not need to be from Latin America, but that he or she does need to be sensitive and supportive of Latin American issues. (Comment: The Latin American countries are unhappy about the fact that Africa, and increasingly the Arab region, seem to be getting most of the UNESCO's attention. His comments may also explain why Barbosa just announced that UNESCO would start to focus on the issue of bio-fuels, a top priority for Brazil. End Comment.) ¶5. (C) Ambassador Fuentes ended the meeting by saying that Mexico had not given much thought to identifying an alternative candidate, because it felt it was first necessary to end Hosni's candidacy. When Ambassador Oliver asked him what the most effective way to do that might be, Ambassador Fuentes said that he thought a few articles in the press, preferably not the American press, that discussed the Director General race, reviewed the current candidates, and highlighted Hosni's flaws, would accomplish that goal. (Comment. Mission agrees with the suggestions. End Comment.) ¶6. (C) Ambassador Oliver also met with the Swedish Ambassador to UNESCO, Mats Ringborg, on December 1. Ambassador Ringborg was very pleased to hear that the U.S. would not support Hosni's candidacy. Sweden does not think that Hosni is the right man for the position of Director General, especially as it has doubts that Hosni would keep freedom of expression and the press as a top UNESCO priority. Ambassador Ringborg was not very informed about the Director General race, and asked many questions about the process. The Swedish Ambassador said that it was obvious that the African countries would play an important role in the election, and offered to speak with the other Nordic Ambassadors to develop a strategy to approach some of the African countries. Ambassador Ringborg also said that he had expressed his doubts on Hosni's candidacy in an EU meeting the previous week. He added that he approved of the U.S. strategy to keep the U.S. position quiet for now, as it would not be good to turn SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2018 TAGS: UNESCO PREL FR SW MX BR SUBJECT: UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL SUCCESSION: CONVERSATIONS WITH MEXICO, SWEDEN, BRAZIL, FRANCE, AND TURKEY the Director General race into a public contest between Egypt and the U.S. ¶7. (C) Ambassador Oliver spoke with the Turkish Ambassador to UNESCO, Ali Tinaz Tuygan, on December 1 about the campaign for Director General. Tuygan said that Turkey is not happy with Hosni. The Turkish Ambassador specifically mentioned Hosni's interview in the November 27 issue of Egyptian magazine al-Ahram, and said that the allegations of corruption are disturbing. He added that, since Turkey is not on UNESCO's Executive Board and, therefore, cannot participate in the September vote, he will not become actively involved in the campaign. ¶8. (C) Ambassador Oliver engaged France's UNESCO Ambassador, Catherine Colonna, on December 1. The French Ambassador said that she had met with the Egyptian Ambassador to UNESCO, Shadia Kenawy, on November 28 at the Egyptian Ambassador's request. When asked about French support for Hosni, Ambassador Colonna responded that France is looking for the best candidate possible, one with a real vision for UNESCO. Ambassador Colonna told Ambassador Oliver that since she had been told to be imprecise, she could not say anything more direct than that. The French Ambassador went on to say that the real French message on Hosni's candidacy is supposed to be delivered at a much higher level. She said that France's position will be that despite their excellent bilateral relations, France will not support Hosni's candidacy. Ambassador Colonna also said that France will say that because of French support for an Egyptian for a high level post at the IMF; France has paid its debt to Egypt and does not owe them anything more. ¶9. (C) On December 3, Colonna telephoned Ambassador Oliver to say that the French Ambassador in Cairo is trying to push back on the French decision not to support Hosni by saying the French have already made a commitment to Egypt. She also said that the French Ambassador in Cairo had said that there seemed to be some doubt about the U.S. position as he understood that it is not yet "official." She asked if the U.S. could speak to a high level member of the French government to encourage them to stick to their decision not to support Hosni. (Comment: Mission strongly supports this suggestion, which we feel should be done as soon as possible. End Comment.) Ambassador Colonna added that it would be a very good idea for the U.S. Ambassador in Egypt to speak directly to the French Ambassador in Cairo to clarify the U.S. position, if she has not already done so. (Comment: Mission also supports this suggestion, which should also be done as soon as possible. End Comment.) ¶10. (C) Ambassador Oliver met the Brazilian Ambassador to UNESCO, Joao Carlos de Souza-Gomes, on December 3. Ambassador Souza-Gomes said it was very likely that Brazil would submit a candidate for the Director General position, although Brazil has not decided who that candidate should be. One possibility is UNESCO's Director General Marcio Barbosa, but many countries are not enthusiastic about his candidacy. Barbosa recently lost support at UNESCO when he said that UNESCO should focus on bio-fuels, a top priority for Brazil. Another possibility is Cristovam Buarque, President Lula da Silva's first Minister of Education, who is mobilizing the Brazilian Senate in support of his candidacy. The Brazilian Ambassador said that he thought that Senator Buarque wanted to force Lula into supporting his candidacy, as it would be difficult for the Brazilian President to oppose the Brazilian Senate on this issue. ¶11. (C) Ambassador Souza-Goumes told Ambassador Oliver that he had met with many UNESCO ambassadors, and that he had learned that there was a lot of support for a Brazilian candidate. He also said that there was enthusiasm in a number of African states. Ambassador Souza-Gomes said that a number of Arab states, especially the Gulf states, are uncomfortable with Hosni, but that the situation is very awkward for them, given the statement by the Arab Foreign Ministers. The Brazilian Ambassador added that the Saudi Ambassador to UNESCO had said that the Americans would probably oppose Hosni. When Ambassador Oliver told him that the U.S. had in fact formally notified the Egyptians that it would not support Hosni, Ambassador Souza-Gomes was very pleased. He also agreed that the U.S. should keep its position quiet for the moment. ¶12. (C) Comment: The Egyptians seem to have exaggerated the number of countries that they claim support Hosni. It also seems that many countries that supposedly support Hosni are doing so very reluctantly, and would like to see an alternative. The problem is that the U.S. and other countries from the North, must continue to move quietly and carefully in order to prevent Egypt from turning the election into a North-South battle, which would allow Egypt to rally support not on the basis of having a good candidate but on political grounds. Ensuring that the French communicate their opposition to Hosni is the most important thing that the U.S. can do at this time. Encouraging the Brazilians to submit a candidate is also important, as it will send a strong signal to the rest of the UNESCO community that Hosni's election is not inevitable. This would threaten the entire Egyptian strategy, as the Egyptians do not want more candidates to enter the race, since they know their candidate is weak. Egypt is trying to use its power as an influential Arab country to force countries to endorse Hosni. It is quite significant, SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2018 TAGS: UNESCO PREL FR SW MX BR SUBJECT: UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL SUCCESSION: CONVERSATIONS WITH MEXICO, SWEDEN, BRAZIL, FRANCE, AND TURKEY however, that Egypt has not formalized Hosni's candidacy. French opposition, combined with an additional candidate, would make it more difficult for the Egyptians to move forward with Hosni, and to claim that it is simply the U.S. that is opposing him. Oliver