ARGENTINA STILL UNDECIDED ON UNESCO

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000938 SIPDIS IO/UNESCO FOR KELLY SIEKMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: UNESCO PREL AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA STILL UNDECIDED ON UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL ELECTION REF: A. SECSTATE 82701 ¶B. BUENOS AIRES 817 ¶1. (SBU) Acting PolCouns raised reftel points with Argentine MFA International Organizations Directorate Christian Hotton and asked if Argentina had decided which candidate it would support in the September elections for UNESCO Director-General. Hotton indicated that Argentina had not yet decided for whom it would vote, especially given that so many countries announced candidates at the last minute. He said their decision was further complicated by the fact that Argentina had nominated ex-Minister of Education Daniel Filmus to serve as President of UNESCO's 35th Conference. On that election, Hotton noted that GRULAC was having a hard time reaching a consensus on whom to support, since both Argentina and the Bahamas have nominated candidates for the UNESCO Presidency. Hotton said the GOA is still working on reaching a consensus candidate but predicted that the UNESCO Executive Board would likely have to make the decision. KELLY