TURKMENISTAN: CENTRAL ASIAN DIPLOMATS ATTEND UN

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001542 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV UN ZK TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: CENTRAL ASIAN DIPLOMATS ATTEND UN SEMINAR ON PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for Internet distribution. ¶2. (SBU) The Ashgabat-based UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) conducted a seminar on preventive diplomacy for junior-level diplomats from the five Central Asian countries on November 3-6. The event was organized jointly with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR),which arranged for the speakers. The sessions aimed at strengthening knowledge and skills in conflict analysis and negotiation. According to UNRCCA Political Officer Armands Pupols, the goal of the seminar was to bring young diplomats from the five countries together for an exchange of views. Seven Turkmen officials attended, as well as three from Uzbekistan and five from each of the other countries. Uzbek participation was uncertain, as the Uzbek government provided names at the last minute. The Turkmen government provided no advance list of names, but Pupols said the Turkmen participants were surprisingly active and attended all the sessions. ¶3. (SBU) Pupols noted that a highlight of the seminar was the presentation by Vladimir Garayev, a UN civil servant who worked in Tajikistan during its civil war and stood behind efforts to establish the UNRCCA. He explained the origin of the UNRCCA as a proposed response in 1999-2000 to incursions by extremists in Kyrgyzstan's southern region. Garayev described how the concept for the UNRCCA was passed over by both Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan before it was accepted in Turkmenistan. He also talked about the peace process in Tajikistan to end its civil war, which the Tajik participants did not contradict, but supplemented with their own observations. Pupols characterized Garayev's presentation as "just on the edge of what he could say and get away with," given the audience. ¶4. (SBU) Experts from Essex University in the UK led a module on preventive diplomacy through support for human rights. A representative from the OSCE's High Commissioner for Human Rights focused on low-key engagement, so-called "silent diplomacy." An American from Falls Church-based Consilium International LLC conducted practical exercises, such as a mock UN Security Council and role playing, that did not involve regional politics and were detached from Central Asian reality. Pupols thought the practical exercises were a good contrast to the regional issues discussed by the experts from Essex. Also, the UNRCCA did not want the seminar to delve deeply into regional issues that might lead to problems since there were officials from all five Central Asian countries present. ¶5. (SBU) Pupols indicated that participant feedback was very positive and that the UNRCCA would like to hold more such events in future years. Next on the schedule is a May 2010 two-week seminar on international law for lawyers from the region's foreign ministries and presidential administrations. ¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: Seminars such as this one address two aspects of the UNRCCA's mandate: to build capacity for preventive diplomacy in Central Asia and to serve as a forum for the exchange of views among the region's governments. The UNRCCA's ability to organize such events, not an easy task in Central Asia, demonstrates its current and potential effectiveness as a mechanism for dialogue within the region. END COMMENT. ECKSTROM