OAS NOTES 03/03/07

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 022040

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL OAS ECON ENRG EWWT
SUBJECT: OAS NOTES 03/03/07

REF: A. STATE 008642

B. STATE 169474

Classified By: WHA/USOAS J. ROBERT MANZANARES


1. (U) Summary: This message is a regular report regarding
current Organization of American States (OAS) issues that may
be of interest to overseas posts and domestic agencies. The
purpose of these roundup cables is to inform posts of
otherwise unreported developments in the inter-American
system. Info addressees include posts whose countries
maintain observer status at the OAS and that often provide
financial or other support for OAS initiatives. This edition
includes, among other issues: an announcement of the 2008
General Assembly theme; upcoming OAS meetings; a visit by
Secretary General Insulza to Bolivia; Insulza comments on the

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resignation of Fidel Castro; a commemoration of the Ottawa
Convention; a UN regional report on poverty alleviation; OAS
pressure on Haiti regarding delayed Senate elections;
progress on OAS partnership with civil society; a report on
OAS observation of Paraguay's Colorado primary; a donor
briefing on upcoming electoral observation missions; off-site
events on development and firearms trafficking; recent
inflammatory comments by Nicaragua; and continued rudderless
negotiations on discrimination and indigenous rights. End
Summary.

//COLOMBIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ARAUJO PRESENTS THEME OF 2008
OAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY//


2. (U) At the OAS Permanent Council on February 8, Foreign
Minister of Colombia Fernando Araujo presented Medellin as
the site and "Youth and Democratic Values" as the theme of
the June 1-3 OAS General Assembly. He was accompanied by
Mayor of Medellin Alonso Salazar Jaramillo. Citing mandates
from the Inter-American Democratic Charter, Araujo emphasized
that elections alone are not sufficient for democracy, but
that education, integral development, jobs, and access to
credit - key to enlisting youth - are needed for democratic
governance to succeed. Araujo heralded the February 4
anti-FARC marches in Colombia and throughout the world as
showing that youth are indeed willing to take an activist
role, saying the march was entirely a grass-roots initiative.


3. (U) Araujo also provided a strong defense of President
Uribe's policies, saying his emphasis on security, human
rights, investor confidence, and social development have
brought about a transformation in Colombia. Other Permanent
Representatives welcomed the Colombian presentation, and U.S.
Interim Permanent Representative J. Robert Manzanares took
the floor to quote the Secretary's recent praise of Medellin
(and Colombia) and to emphasize the importance of education
for democracy. Subsequently, OAS delegations began
considering the draft "Declaration of Medellin" at meetings
of the Agenda Subcommittee chaired by Colombian PermRep Amb.
Ospina.

//UPCOMING OAS MEETINGS//


4. (U) Information on these meetings is usually available on
the OAS website; using Google to search for the meeting is
often the quickest route.
- Energy for Sustainable Development: Washington, DC; March
3; USOAS POC ) Jean Clark
- Natural Disaster Reductions and Risk Management: Caracas,
Venezuela; March 26 ) 27; USOAS POC ) Sarah Hankins
- Port Security: Punta Cana, DR; April 7 ) 10; USOAS POC )
Jean Clark
- Improving Access to Safe Drinking Water and Basic
Sanitation: Caracas, Venezuela; April 10 ) 11; USOAS POC )
Jean Clark

//SECRETARY GENERAL INSULZA DISCUSSES VISIT TO BOLIVIA//


5. (C) In a January 28 meeting with U.S. Interim PermRep
Manzanzares, OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza
indicated that he had had a good meeting with Bolivian
President Evo Morales during his January 25-26 visit to that
country, and had emphasized to Morales that no member of the
international community, including the USG, was attempting to
destabilize his government. Insulza described the draft
constitution as a "bad document," but expressed the view that
it did not violate the Inter-American Democratic Charter,
despite opposition concerns about the flawed process that led
to the draft document. Insulza said it was unclear when
there would be a referendum on the draft constitution and
expressed skepticism that there would ever be a referendum on
Morales' leadership and the prefects. However, Insulza
confirmed that the OAS planned to observe any referendum that
did go forward. Insulza also noted the Bolivian Government's
concern regarding the status of both ATPDA and MCC
eligibility. Subsequently, USOAS learned that OAS Assistant
Secretary for Political Affairs Dante Caputo and Director of

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Electoral Observation and Cooperation Pablo Gutierrez plan to
travel to La Paz.

//PROPOSED DATES AND THEME OF SECOND OAS SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY MINISTERIAL//


6. (U) On February 11-12, the first working group meeting in
advance of the OAS Meeting of Ministers and
Highest-Authorities of Science and technology was held in
Mexico City. A proposal for the Ministerial to be held at
the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 27)28,
preceded by a civil society meeting on October 26, will be
formally presented soon. The theme for the Ministerial will
likely be "Science, Technology, and Innovation as Instruments
for Human Prosperity." To link the Ministerial to the 2009
Summit of the Americas, subtopics will likely include
sustainable development, energy security, governance, and
competitiveness.

//NICARAGUAN PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE BLASTS UNITED STATES IN
SANDINO COMMEMORATION//


7. (U) Nicaraguan PermRep Amb. Denis Moncada used the 67th
anniversary of the death of Augusto Cesar Sandino to launch a
lengthy attack on the United States at a February 20 meeting
of the Permanent Council. He recited U.S. interventions in
Nicaragua and elsewhere in Latin America from the mid 19th
century through the 1980s. The Venezuelan, Bolivian, and
(surprisingly) Uruguayan delegations expressed strong support
for Nicaragua's presentation, with Uruguayan PermRep Amb.
Maria del Lujan Flores lauding Nicaragua's long struggle
against foreign domination and observing that Sandino's cause
was taken up by "later generations of Nicaraguan idealists"
culminating in the Sandinista victory in 1979. No other
delegations commented on the Nicaraguan presentation, and
USOAS did not respond.

//SECRETARY GENERAL ISSUES PRESS RELEASE ON CASTRO
RESIGNATION//


8. (U) Traveling on an official visit to Mexico on February
19, Insulza stated "that decision is no small matter given
the Cuban leader's importance in his country and in the Latin
American region for almost five decades." While failing to
make any reference to the OAS Charter or the Inter-American
Democratic Charter, Insulza expressed hope that in Cuba "se
produzcan cambios que permitan la plena incorporacion de esta
Nacion hermana, al seno de nuestra Organizacion." He added
that "it should fall to Cubans themselves, through free and
peaceful dialogue and without external interference, to find
the most appropriate path to the wellbeing of the people."
The release notes that the current Cuban government was
suspended at the Eighth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers
of Foreign Affairs, in January 1962.

//OAS CELEBRATES MINE-BAN TREATY, U.S. SINGLED OUT AS
NON-SIGNATORY AND DONOR//


9. (U) During a January 30 commemoration of the Tenth
Anniversary of the Ottawa Convention to eliminate
anti-personnel mines ) to which the United States is not a
signatory - Panamanian PermRep Amb. Aristides Royo noted that
"33 of the 34 OAS member states" are signatories. Bolivian
PermRep Amb. Reynaldo Cuadros condemned the use of landmines
by state actors as well as illegal groups, and Argentine
PermRep Amb. Rodolfo Gil urged adoption of Ottawa by
non-states party. Nicaragua stated that industrialized
countries produce landmines and require
"consciousness-raising," but also cited the U.S. as a major
donor to Nicaragua,s demining efforts. USOAS informed the
Permanent Council that the USG is one of the largest donors
to demining efforts in the Americas and joined Colombia in
urging the Council to promptly adopt a resolution condemning
landmine use by illegal armed groups in Colombia, an effort
that has been stymied by Argentina and Venezuela.

//UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION PRESENTS REGIONAL REPORT ON
POVERTY ALLEVIATION//


10. (U) Executive Director of the UN Commission on Legal
Empowerment of the Poor Naresh Singh delivered a regional
report to the OAS Permanent Council on January 30 regarding
the Commission's efforts to expand economic opportunity,
universalize access to legal recourse, and strengthen respect
for property rights. The Commission is hosted by UNDP, and
was launched in 2005 by a group of developing and
industrialized countries; Canada and Guatemala are the
founding countries from the Americas. Peru and Costa Rica
welcomed the report and asked the OAS to consider further the
issue of possible OAS-Commission cooperation. USOAS
underscored the positive U.S. agenda in combating poverty and
advancing social justice in the Americas. Venezuela raised
concerns that the usage in OAS and UN fora of the word
"empowerment" hinders direct state action to fight poverty;
Nicaragua stated that the poor should be more deeply involved
in "direct" and "popular" decision-making through
constitutional means.

//HAITIAN AMBASSADOR TO OAS CRITICIZES PREVAL ON ELECTIONS//


11. (SBU) On January 31, Haitian OAS Ambassador Duly Brutus
informed the Group of Friends of the SYG on Haiti )
including several OAS member states, international financial
institutions, and EU countries ) that he was gravely
concerned over the delayed Senate elections, and said he
regularly urged President Preval to hold them as soon as
possible. This is the first time Brutus has publicly stated
his position, though he has shared it with USOAS informally
several times since elections were postponed. OAS Assistant
Secretary Albert Ramdin organized a February 14-17

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ambassador-level visit to Haiti, in which we participated, to
review the status of OAS civil registry and electoral council
projects as well as meet with high level officials.

//OAS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL OFF-SITE//


12. (U) On February 5, El Salvador PermRep Amb. Abigail
Castro de Perez hosted an off-site meeting for all 34 OAS
member states to discuss the Organization's role in the area
of development and whether it is appropriately responding to
its members' needs. Secretary General Insulza and ASYG
Ramdin participated in the meeting and presented a partial
reorganization plan of the Inter-American Council of Integral
Development (CIDI),the part of the OAS that handles
education & culture; science & technology; trade & tourism;
sustainable development; social development & employment.
Member states agreed that there is a need to focus
development priorities to attract external funds from
observer states and the private sector. Consensus was
reached for greater collaboration between the OAS and other
international organizations, including the Inter-American
Development Bank. Since Canada is no longer participating in
the OAS development fund, delegations were particularly
pleased to hear that the United States would continue
contributing to the fund. Members agreed to continue
discussion in ongoing meetings of the Permanent Executive
Committee of CIDI.

//OAS MOVES FORWARD ON MARCH 2008 "CIVIL SOCIETY PARTNERSHIP
WEEK"//


13. (U) Despite numerous objections by Venezuela and
Nicaragua, on February 8 the OAS Civil Society committee
approved the agenda for a March 14 Special Permanent Council
meeting with civil society, as mandated by a resolution
presented by the United States at last year's OASGA in
Panama. In addition, the committee forwarded to the
Permanent Council four applications from Venezuelan NGOs
seeking to participate in OAS activities. Venezuela argues
that these NGOs, which have received NED/IRI/NDI funding,
intend to overthrow the Chavez government. Debate will
continue at the Permanent Council regarding these
applications.


14. (U) In conjunction with a number of other NGO-focused
events during the week of March 10-14, the Permanent Council
will hold two special meetings to discuss best practices and
growing challenges faced by NGOs in the Americas. The OAS
Summits Secretariat will also host its annual pre-OAS General
Assembly roundtable with civil society during the week of
March 10-14, focused on the GA theme of "Youth and Democratic
Values." The U.S. and Canada are supporting these events
through financial contributions.

//OAS REPORTS ON COLORADO PRIMARY ELECTORAL OBSERVATION
MISSION IN PARAGUAY//


15. (SBU) On February 13, Pablo Gutierrez of the OAS
Political Secretariat presented his report to the Permanent
Council on the OAS electoral observation mission (EOM) that
monitored the December 16 Colorado primary. Gutierrez, who
led the Paraguay EOM, reported that there were no serious
problems related to the primary and concluded that the vote
followed the "laws and norms applicable to this type of
election." He noted, however, that the results were not
finalized by the official date established by the Colorado
party and recommended that oversight of Paraguayan primaries
be transferred from the parties to a "higher electoral body."
USOAS urged a more thorough EOM for the Paraguayan national
elections in April, noting that the EOM to Paraguay had not
spent enough time on the ground to offer a definitive report
on the conduct of the primary. Paraguayan PermRep Amb.
Manuel Caceres Cardoso thanked the OAS for carrying out the
EOM, and the USG and Canada for funding the mission. He
confirmed that the OAS has been invited to monitor the
national elections in April 2008.

//OAS BRIEFS DONORS ON UPCOMING ELECTORAL OBSERVATION
MISSIONS//


16. (SBU) Pablo Gutierrez of the Secretariat for Political
Affairs briefed USOAS, Canada, and Spain (the three leading
donors for EOMs) on February 14 regarding OAS plans for EOMs
in 2008. Gutierrez said the OAS has been invited to monitor
elections in Paraguay (April),the Dominican Republic (May),
Nicaragua (November municipal elections),and Grenada, as
well as Ecuador's eventual constitutional referendum. El
Salvador asked the OAS to arrive in Fall 2008 to help
organize a comprehensive mission for the 2009 elections.


17. (SBU) Bolivian officials indicated their desire for the
OAS to monitor any referenda organized this year. USOAS
thanked Gutierrez for providing detailed EOM plans for 2008
and expressed USG interest in helping fund the EOMs but
pressed for the rapid release of the many pending EOM reports
for 2006 and 2007 and stringent OAS adherence to
international EOM principles.

//BOLIVIA CHAMPIONS COCA USE DURING PRESENTATION OF ANTI-DRUG
REPORTS//


18. (SBU) On February 13, the Inter-American Drug Abuse
Control Commission (CICAD) distributed this year's
Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) reports, which are
the result of a peer-review process and contain
recommendations for each member state. A Bolivian
representative protested the MEM's "unfair criticism" of
Bolivia's coca cultivation, citing a hemispheric
"misunderstanding" of the difference between cocaine and coca
) the latter, he said, is a key element of indigenous
Bolivian culture. He further complained of an "arbitrary
distinction" that made coca illegal while tobacco and
amphetamines were legal and said this penalized poor
countries. According to the representative, in 2006 coca
eradication in Bolivia resulted in over 150 deaths. He
urged that further eradication of the coca plant be strictly
voluntary.

//MEXICO CALLS ON UNITED STATES TO RATIFY FIREARMS
TRAFFICKING CONVENTION AT CONFERENCE OF STATES PARTY//


19. (U) At the February 20 opening ceremony of the Second
Conference of States Party to the Inter-American Convention
against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in
Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials
(CIFTA),OAS SYG Insulza and Mexican Foreign Minister
Patricia Espinosa called on the seven remaining OAS member
state signatories to ratify the Convention. On three later
occasions, the Mexican delegation took the plenary floor to
explicitly call on the United States to ratify the
convention, citing the issue,s "utmost importance." The
U.S. delegation expressed its support for the Convention's
role in addressing the threat of illicit trafficking in
firearms, and provided information on related U.S. assistance
programs.

//THIS YEAR'S OAS DISCRIMINATION CONVENTION NEGOTIATIONS OFF
TO ROCKY START//


20. (SBU) At the first 2008 negotiation of the Inter-American
Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and
Intolerance on February 13, even the "streamlined" document
that Brazil drafted with input from the OAS Secretariat could
not quiet concerns that the document continues to be far too
broad. This has been the U.S. position since negotiations
began. Canada took the lead in calling for a reduction in
number of prohibited bases of discrimination in the text.
Honduras and Costa Rica echoed this, marking the first time
any of the Latin American group of countries has done so.
Canada has told us that if their "final push" to improve the
text fails, they will cease active negotiation; Costa Rica
said privately that they were considering the same. The
United States, in attendance but not sitting in the chair per
interagency understanding, is currently the only member state
not participating in negotiations.


21. (SBU) A February 22 second round of negotiations
addressed definition of terms, scope of application, and
protected rights. Delegations continued to clash over the
scope of the treaty, with Canada attempting to limit the text
to racial discrimination and Mexico proposing to remove
"racism" from the title in order to further broaden it.
Canada received no support for its repeated requests to
delete entire paragraphs on the grounds that they were broad
and incapable of implementation. Contacts at Canada's DFAIT
are willing to work with the U.S. on a joint public diplomacy
event at the OAS highlighting Canadian and U.S.
implementation of the CERD.

//FRUSTRATION APPARENT IN DISCUSSION OF INDIGENOUS RIGHTS
NEGOTIATION PROCESS//


22. (SBU) The first round of formal negotiations in 2008 to
draft an Inter-American Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (DRIP) will take place April 14-18 in
Washington. The U.S. will seek to avoid line-by-line debate
and focus instead on a public diplomacy event. To date, the
DRIP working group, chaired by Bolivian PermRep Amb. Reynaldo
Cuadros, has met three times in 2008 and continues to stumble
along in a rudderless fashion.


23. (SBU) In response to Cuadros' repeated urgings in the
working group and at the Permanent Council that member states
submit long-overdue responses to the outcome document of the
Reflection Session held November 26-28, several countries
publicly decried the lack of progress on the draft
Declaration while some privately expressed skepticism about
the direction of DRIP negotiations. In particular, Mexico
told USOAS that they would respond to Bolivia's call for
comments, but viewed it as a repetitious waste of time.
Panama and other delegations charged that the OAS should be
"ashamed" of 10 years of negotiations without consensus, and
Nicaragua called the lagging DRIP negotiations an
"existential crisis" at the OAS. USOAS continues to oppose
use of the UN DRIP as a reference or baseline for the OAS
text, while urging broader discussion of concrete member
state actions to improve the lives of indigenous in the
hemisphere.

//USOAS LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR NEXT PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
CONFERENCE//


24. (U) USOAS and L/PIL attended a conference in Tegucigalpa
on February 28 and 29 on the subject of registries for
secured transactions in CAFTA countries. The OAS General
Assembly has mandated that the next Inter-American Conference
on Private International Law (CIDIP-VII) devise a model
registry for possible adoption by OAS member states.
CIDIP-VI devised a model law on secured transactions that is
being used as the basis for laws adopted or under
consideration in Central American countries as they gear up
for CAFTA.


25. (U) Registries remain almost non-existent in the region.
When enacted, they would allow lenders quick and reliable
information on the existence of liens on property put up as
collateral by borrowers. Good laws on secured transactions
and properly instituted registries would increase the
availability of credit to businesses and individuals in
emerging economies, grow economies and create jobs.


26. (U) The Conference was sponsored by the Millennium
Challenge Account ) Honduras, the Association of Honduran
Banking Institutions, and the National Law Center for
Inter-American Free Trade, based in Tucson, Arizona.
RICE