NIGERIA: DEMARCHE ON UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL RACE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001615 SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO/UNESCO (KELLY SIEKMAN),AF/W, INR/AA; E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR UNESCO UNSC NI EG BN TZ SUBJECT: NIGERIA: DEMARCHE ON UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL RACE REF: STATE 82701 Classified By: Political Counselor James P. McAnulty for reasons 1.4. (b & d). ¶1. (U) POLOFF delivered demarche with U.S. views on the race for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Director-General to Nigerian Foreign Ministry Second United Nations Division Director Ambassador ¶M. K. Ibrahim on August 27. ¶2. (C) Without prompting, Ambassador Ibrahim raised the contentious candidacy of Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and his recent remarks about Israel, which he described as "unfortunate" and "careless." Ibrahim intimated that the Nigerian Government (GON) had real concerns about Hosni, whom he described as "a weak candidate," but felt trappeQby a "premature" African Union (AU) endorsement of his candidacy. He mentioned a potential legal complication, noting that the AU resolution that endorsed Hosni also contained the official AU endorsement of Nigeria for a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seat. Ibrahim said GON colleagues, therefore, believed that failure to honor the Hosni candidacy for UNESCO could undermine their own standing as the AU candidate for the UNSC, despite harboring qualms about Hosni. ¶3. (C) When POLOFF pointed out that voting would occur by secret ballot, such news pleased Ibrahim, who commented that this was the most welcome point POLOFF had made. Ibrahim volunteered that, if GON officials did not follow the AU endorsement, they would be more inclined to support the candidate from neighboring Benin, rather than from Tanzania or another nation. MCCULLOUGH