KILLION METING WITH UNESCO DDG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS FR 002270 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2018 TAGS: PREL UNESCO AORC SUBJECT: KILLION METING WITH UNESCO DDG REF: (A) PARIS FR 2263; (B) PARIS FR 2227; (C) 2220 CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR LOUISE OLIVER FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Noting Brazil's reluctance to lose another international election, DDG Barbosa explained that when he feels there is adequate support, President Lula will throw Barbosa's name into the DG race hat. End summary. ¶2. (C) Senior U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) staff member, David Killion, met with UNESCO's Deputy Director-General, Marcio Barbosa on 9 December at UNESCO. He was accompanied by Ambassador Oliver and Mission political specialist, David Ostroff. ¶3. (C) Mr. Killion began the meeting by explaining the purpose of his trip to Paris, which was to express the serious concern of the HFAC regarding the candidacy of Egypt's Farouk Hosni for the position of Director-General of UNESCO. Mr. Killion said that the HFAC was advising President-elect Obama's transition team on UNESCO matters, and wanted to communicate to both Member State representatives and key Secretariat managers that the incoming Democrats are likely to share the Bush administration's belief that Hosni, as an individual, was unacceptable. Killion also said that UNESCO is likely to be seen as an important vehicle for the Obama administration to further its "soft power" agenda, though Hosni's election as DG would seriously compromise UNESCO's potential, as far as the U.S. is concerned. ¶4. (C) Barbosa said that the hard work done by DG Matsuura has created a solid base for UNESCO's future efforts, and he is extremely concerned that it not be dismantled by a new DG, in reference to the Egyptian candidate. Barbosa added that he believes that Matsuura has had some success at regaining UNESCO's credibility as an important player, but admitted that the game is not over, and that there is still much work to be done. ¶5. (C) Noting two areas where he has not succeeded, Barbosa mentioned the problems between the organization's field offices and headquarters, which remain unresolved. He also noted the organization's complicated human resources structure, which makes it difficult to bring in people with different skills as the needs of the organization evolve. ¶6. (C) Barbosa said that despite the frustrations, he has seen many major changes since his arrival. From dealing with rat infestations to having almost no computers less than seven years ago, Barbosa expressed his pride in moving UNESCO into the computer age, despite limited resources that continue to plague the organization's ability to carry out its mandate. ¶7. (C) Barbosa also said that structurally, UNESCO still operates on a sectoral basis, while he believes it must in the future develop an intersectoral approach if it is to maintain sustainable results. Ambassador Oliver agreed, noting that this kind of transformation would require a cultural change, but that people protecting their sectoral turf often made it difficult. ¶8. (C) In response to Ambassador Oliver's question about the current situation regarding Mughrabi gate, Barbosa said that the last "encounter" had been postponed at the request of the Jordanians, who had expected the Israelis to allow them access to take physical measurements of the site. The Israelis clearly were not going to accept this, although they have offered the measurements of their experts to the Jordanians. Barbosa said that ultimately this is a technical question and that the Jordanians would have to come to accept the validity of the data offered by the Israelis in order to advance. ¶9. (C) Barbosa said that the different visions for the reconstruction of the Mughrabi gate remain far apart. The Jordanians working on a design blending with the historical site, etc., and the Israelis designing a more modern structure, that could, Jordan fears, provide access to vehicles on the Temple Mount. Barbosa said that the Israeli experts are trying to convince the Israeli courts not to move forward on a design that UNESCO's world Heritage Committee would never accept. Barbosa added, proudly, that the UN Quartet sees UNESCO as a credible partner on this subject, given the fact that UNESCO has successfully brought the parties to the table numerous times and has a record of success for finding consensus on this extremely sensitive subject. ¶10. (C) Ambassador Oliver asked Barbosa about his recent statement regarding a role for UNESCO with biofuel research. Barbosa responded by saying that in terms of policy advice and capacity-building, he believes that UNESCO does have a niche to exploit on the subject. He added that he knows that the Russians and Arab states would not be pleased, but said that the C/5 already opens the door to such work, given its reference to UNESCO's role in connection with renewable energy. ¶11. (C) Changing the subject to the DG race, Barbosa said that Brazil's president Lula is reluctant to make a decision on a Brazilian candidacy given the fact that Brazil has been unsuccessful in several attempts to win a seat for its candidates in the UN UNESCOPARI 12152270 002 OF 002 system, including the recent loss of a seat in WIPO by one vote. Barbosa mentioned the Brazilian senator, Cristovam Buarque, who, he said was fired by Lula as his minister of education, and moved into the opposition party. Barbosa said that Lula would "never" support him. ¶12. (C) Barbosa believes that if Lula sees a reasonably adequate level of support for a Brazilian candidate, Lula will then put Barbosa's name forward. Barbosa added that if the Arabs, however, are united behind the Egyptian candidate, it will be very difficult to go against a unified regional group and win. However, he added, that if unity is not strong and cracks develop in the wall, there might be an announcement by Brazil in February or March. ¶13. (C) Bringing in a little history, Barbosa mentioned the case during the Matsuura election when the Saudis decided not to support Ismail Serageldin, the Egyptian candidate, even though the Egyptians had managed to gain the support of the African group. Once the Saudis had breached the dam, despite the claimed support of a unified regional group behind Egypt, the road became clear for Matsuura to win the election. OLIVER