UNCTAD DEPUTY POSITION - SYG BAN TO CONSULT WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L GENEVA 000093


USTR FOR B HIRSH, D SHACKLFORD, STATE FOR IO, EB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2014
TAGS: EAID ECON ETRD UNCTAD
SUBJECT: UNCTAD DEPUTY POSITION - SYG BAN TO CONSULT WITH
NEW ADMINISTRATION


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: IN A JANUARY 12 MEETING WITH AMBASSADOR
TICHENOR, UNCTAD SECRETARY GENERAL DR. SUPACHAI EXPRESSED HIS
CONTINUED STRONG SUPPORT FOR HIS ACTING DEPUTY LAKSHMI PURI
(INDIAN) AND FRUSTRATION THAT SYG BAN KI MOON HAS NOT YET
APPOINTED HER TO THE POSITION. SUPACHAI SAID SYG BAN WAS
WAITING TO MAKE THE APPOINTMENT UNTIL AFTER HE HAD SPOKEN
WITH THE INCOMING U.S. ADMINISTRATION. AMB. TICHENOR STRONGLY
REITERATED THE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, POSITION THAT UNCTAD
NEEDS A DEPUTY FROM A DEVELOPED COUNTRY IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN
A BALANCED LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE AND FULFILL ITS CONSENSUS
BUILDING MANDATE. AMB. TICHENOR ALSO EXPRESSED FULL USG
SUPPORT FOR IO DAS GERRY ANDERSON,S CANDIDACY. WHILE
SUPACHAI EXPRESSED APPRECIATION FOR DAS ANDERSON'S ENGAGEMENT
WITH UNCTAD, THE AMBASSADOR'S ENTREATIES FELL ON DEAF EARS.
DR SUPACHAI RESPONDED THAT PURI HAS BEEN ACTING DEPUTY FOR
MORE THAN A YEAR AND IS "DOING THE JOB PERFECTLY" SO HAS
EARNED THE POSITION, AND THAT HE HAD SPOKEN WITH THE G-77 AND
THEY WOULD NOT ACCEPT AN AMERICAN AS DEPUTY. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) ON JANUARY 12, AMB. TICHENOR USED HIS FAREWELL
COURTESY CALL ON UN CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
(UNCTAD) SECRETARY GENERAL (SYG) SUPACHAI TO REINFORCE USG
SUPPORT FOR IO DAS ANDERSON,S CANDIDACY FOR DEPUTY AND TO
REQUEST AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE DEPUTY POSITION.

UNCTAD DEPUTY POSITION
--------------


3. (SBU) DR. SUPACHAI SAID THAT HE HAD TALKED WITH SYG BAN IN
DOHA ABOUT THE UNCTAD DEPUTY POSITION AND THAT BAN SAID HE
WANTED TO TALK WITH THE NEW U.S. ADMINISTRATION BEFORE MAKING
A DECISION ON THE APPOINTMENT. SUPACHAI MADE HIS MOST
FORCEFUL PITCH FOR LAKSHMI PURI TO DATE. HE SAID &LAKSHMI
HAS BEEN DOING THE WORK PERFECTLY FOR MORE THAN A YEAR AND
THAT WE CAN,T JUST OVERLOOK HER.8 IF SUPACHAI HAD BEEN
GIVEN A CLEAN SLATE (E.G. DONE A DEPUTY SEARCH WITHOUT
LAKSHMI ALREADY IN THE POSITION),HE COULD HAVE FOCUSED ON
GEOGRAPHIC BALANCE, AND HE OR HIS SUCCESSOR CAN LOOK AT THAT
BALANCE AGAIN AFTER LAKSHMI HAS COMPLETED HER TERM.


4. (SBU) IN RESPONSE TO AMB. TICHENOR,S COMMENT THAT IT
SOUNDED LIKE &THE DIE IS CAST,8 SUPACHAI SAID THAT HE WAS
NOT SURE THAT SYG BAN WOULDN,T OVER-RIDE HIM BUT THAT HE
HOPED BAN WOULD MAKE A DECISION SOON. IF BAN WENT AGAINST
HIM, SUPACHAI SAID HE WOULD HAVE TO OPEN ANOTHER LONG PROCESS
TO FIND A DEPUTY AND THAT THIS WOULD BE VERY COMPLICATED
SINCE SUPACHAI,S OWN TERM WILL END IN AUGUST (MISSION
COMMENT: SUPACHAI,S TERM WILL END IN AUGUST 2009 UNLESS HE
IS ASKED TO EXTEND BY SYG BAN AND THAT EXTENSION IS APPROVED
BY THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY. END COMMENT). THEREFORE, SUPACHAI
CONCLUDED THE BEST THING WOULD BE TO ACCEPT PURI AS DEPUTY
FOR A ONE OR TWO YEAR TERM OR WHATEVER PERIOD THEY GIVE HER.

5. (SBU) AMB. TICHENOR EMPHASIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF A
BALANCED DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRY LEADERSHIP IN
UNCTAD SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THE ARGUMENT SEEMED TO FALL ON DEAF
EARS. SUPACHAI SAID THE OVERALL BALANCE WITHIN UNCTAD IS
TILTED TOWARDS GROUP B, AND THAT G-77 HAD REMINDED HIM THAT
THE G-77 WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING THE DEPUTY POSITION
BACK TO UNCTAD. SUPACHAI SAID HE LOOKED AT THREE FACTORS WHEN
CHOOSING HIS DEPUTY: GENDER, MERITS AND GEOGRAPHIC BALANCE.
&LAKSHMI PURI DOESN,T HAVE ONE OF THE THREE (GEOGRAPHIC
BALANCE) BUT THE OTHERS DON,T HAVE TWO OF THE THREE.8


6. (SBU) REGARDING IO DAS GERRY ANDERSON,S CANDIDACY,
SUPACHAI SAID HE CONSIDERED ANDERSON A FRIEND AND DESCRIBED
HIM AS "GOOD, KIND AND CONSTRUCTIVE." SUPACHAI SAID HE
APPRECIATED ANDERSON'S ENGAGEMENT WITH UNCTAD OVER THE YEARS.
HE ALSO EXPRESSED GREAT APPRECIATION FOR THE UNITED STATES
UNPRECEDENTED INTEREST IN UNCTAD BUT SAID THAT THE G-77 WOULD
NOT ACCEPT AN AMERICAN DEPUTY. (MISSION COMMENT: UNLIKE THE
UNCTAD SYG POSITION, THE DEPUTY POSITION DOES NOT REQUIRE
UNGA CONFIRMATION. SG BAN CAN APPOINT WHOEVER HE CHOOSES AS
DEPUTY. HOWEVER, IF SUPACHAI SUPPORTED A DEPUTY THAT THE G-77
REJECTED, THE G-77 COULD RETALIATE BY NOT SUPPORTING
SUPACHAI,S OWN REAPPOINTMENT AS SECRETARY GENERAL. END
COMMENT)

LOOKING AHEAD - UNCTAD
--------------


7. (SBU) SUPACHAI SAID UNCTAD'S FOCUS OVER THE NEXT SIX
MONTHS WILL BE LOOKING AT HOW THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IS
AFFECTING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, WHICH ARE EXPERIENCING, AND
WILL EXPERIENCE, THE CRISIS THROUGH REDUCED TRADE AND
INVESTMENT WITH DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. HE SAID IT IS CRITICAL
THAT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES KEEP THEIR MARKETS OPEN FOR
SOUTH-SOUTH TRADE. HE EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT COUNTRIES MAY
TRY TO MANIPULATE EXCHANGE RATES TO BECOME MORE COMPETITIVE.
SUPACHAI SAID HE IS LOOKING AT THE COPENHAGEN CONSENSUS
(DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS ADVOCATED BY ECONOMISTS TO 10 GROBAL


CHALLENGES) AS A SOURCE FOR EFFECTIVELY PRIORITIZING USE OF
OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE. SUPACHAI IS WORKING WITH THE
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION TO HELP ENCOURAGE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE FIRST COPENHAGEN CONSENSUS, RECOMMENDATION
(MICRONUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTS FOR CHILDREN, VITAMIN A TO ZINC).


BACKGROUND AND COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) BACKGROUND: IN NOVEMBER 2007 THE DIRECTOR OF THE TRADE
DIVISION AT UNCTAD, LAKSHMI PURI, BECAME THE ACTING DEPUTY
AND HAS SERVED IN BOTH POSITIONS SINCE THEN. IN JUNE 2008,
DR. SUPACHAI ASKED DEVELOPED COUNTRIES TO PUT FORWARD
CANDIDATES FOR THE UNCTAD DEPUTY POSITION AND SPECIFICALLY
TOLD THE US AND EU THAT HE INTENDED TO APPOINT A DEVELOPED
COUNTRY CANDIDATE AS DEPUTY. IN SEPTEMBER 2008, DR.
SUPACHAI,S SENIOR ADVISOR KOBSAK INFORMED MISSION OFFICERS
THAT DAS ANDERSON WAS THE BEST OF THE FIVE GROUP B AND EU
CANDIDATES, BUT THAT UNCTAD'S MEMBERSHIP WAS NOT READY FOR AN
AMERICAN DEPUTY; INSTEAD SUPACHAI HAD CHOSEN THE ACTING
DEPUTY LAKSHMI PURI (INDIAN) FOR THE POST. THE US INFORMED
GROUP B OF THIS DECISION, WHICH GENERATED LETTERS OF PROTEST
FROM THE EU, GROUP B AND JUSCANZ THAT UNCTAD SHOULD HAVE A
DEPUTY FROM A DEVELOPED COUNTRY IN ORDER TO: MAINTAIN A
BALANCED LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE, FULFIL UNCTAD,S CONSENSUS
BUILDING MANDATE, AND ATTRACT VOLUNTARY FUNDING. THE AFRICA
GROUP AND LATIN AMERICA GROUP ALSO INFORMED SUPACHAI THAT
THEY HAD NOT BEEN CONSULTED REGARDING THE G-77 EXPRESSION OF
SUPPORT FOR PURI AND THUS THERE WAS NO CONSENSUS G-77
POSITION ON LAKSHMI PURI,S CANDIDACY FOR DEPUTY.


9. (C) IN SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS ON THIS ISSUE, DR. SUPACHAI
CHANGED HIS RATIONALE FOR CHOOSING PURI FROM HER BEING THE
DEFAULT, SINCE AN AMERICAN WAS UNACCEPTABLE TO G-77, TO HER
BEING THE BEST CANDIDATE, TO IN THE JANUARY 12 MEETING, HER
DOING HER JOB PERFECTLY. END BACKGROUND.


10. (C) COMMENT: DR. SUPACHAI IS RUMORED TO BE INTERESTED IN
A SECOND TERM AS SECRETARY GENERAL OF UNCTAD BUT TO GET THAT
HE NEEDS SUPPORT FROM NOT ONLY SYG BAN BUT ALSO THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY. LAKSHMI PURI'S HUSBAND, HARDEEP SINGH PURI, IS A
SECRETARY IN THE INDIAN MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND PURI
HAS USED THAT CONNECTION TO PROACTIVELY PROMOTE HER
NOMINATION AND THREATEN ANY DELEGATE WHO HAS SPOKEN AGAINST
HER NOMINATION. THE INDIAN PRIME MINISTER HAS EXPRESSED
SUPPORT FOR PURI TO SYG BAN AND SYG SUPACHAI. THE FINAL
DECISION ON THE POSITION RESTS WITH SG BAN. HOWEVER, BASED
ON SUPACHAI'S COMMENTS, EVEN WERE BAN NOT TO BACK PURI THAT
WOULD NOT MEAN DAS ANDERSON'S APPOINTMENT BUT RATHER A
REOPENING OF THE SEARCH PROCESS, (WHICH WOULD EFFECTIVELY
LEAVE PURI IN THE DEPUTY POSITION THROUGH THE END OF
SUPACHAI'S TERM THIS AUGUST). END COMMENT.

STORELLA