HONDURAS: Item Inscribed/Working Group Formed

UNCLAS PARIS FR 001382 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR IO AND WHA E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: SCUL PREL UNESCO SUBJECT: HONDURAS: Item Inscribed/Working Group Formed ¶1. (U) Summary: The Plenary of the General Conference today approved inscription of a Honduran item on the General Conference's agenda after extensive negotiations led by General Conference President Hepburn. The item was immediately referred to a working group charged with preparing a resolution text that will be debated in the Education Commission. The working group is likely to deadlock, and it is possible that no resolution will be adopted. End Summary. ¶2. (U) With the agreement of Brazil and the U.S., the President of UNESCO's 35th General Conference, Davidson Hepburn (Bahamas), rapidly gaveled a decision through the Plenary of the General Conference this morning that inscribed an item on Honduras on the agenda of the General Conference. Hepburn explained to the Plenary, however, that there had been no consensus in the General Committee that an agenda item on this topic was necessary, and he announced that he was assigning the item to the Education Commission and appointing a working group to deal with the resolution text. ¶3. (U) The working group will be made up of six members and a chairman. Brazil will name three members, and the U.S. will name three members. A neutral Chair acceptable to both Brazil and the U.S. will also be named. (Note: It is likely that Brazil, Chile and Jamaica will make up one side of the working group. Canada has agreed to be on the other side, and the U.S. Mission has asked Colombia and St. Lucia to join it as well. The Colombians have said they must receive permission from Bogota to proceed. Zimbabwe has been suggested as possible Chair). ¶4. (U) Comment: Given the strong opinions on both sides of the issue, the working group may be unable to find a consensual position to forward to the Education Commission for approval. Colombia, in particular, believes strongly that UNESCO should not involve itself in this issue. If the working group deadlocks, as expected, we may be able to keep the Honduras issue bottled up with no action by UNESCO at all. In any case, we are in a strong position to bargain both in the working group and in the Education Commission to ensure that nothing more than an anodyne text is adopted. End comment. KILLION