DIRECTOR GENERAL ELECTION: BRAZIL SEEKS VIEW OF THE NEW

UNCLAS PARIS FR 000219 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL UNESCO BR SUBJECT: DIRECTOR GENERAL ELECTION: BRAZIL SEEKS VIEW OF THE NEW U.S. ADMINISTRATION REF: 08 STATE 130914 ¶1. (SBU) Brazil's UNESCO Ambassador Joao Carlos de Souza-Gomes asked to see Charge urgently February 11 to discuss the UNESCO Director-General race. Ambassador Souza-Gomes had a copy of the talking points in our December demarche on this issue (reftel) and wanted to know whether the assessment in them of Farouq Hosny, the Egyptian candidate, represented the view of the last Administration or the new one. He said Brazil is seriously considering whether or not to enter a candidate in the race, but does not want to do so until it is confident the new U.S. Administration will maintain U.S. opposition to Hosny. The Ambassador felt that a Brazilian candidate could get the support of Japan, India, China, South Africa, the Lusophone African states, as well as some countries in Latin America and Western Europe, but the key country is the U.S. ¶2. (SBU) Charge undertook to inform Ambassador Souza-Gomes as soon as the Administration has come to a view on this subject. He agreed that support for Hosny is soft and could well fall apart under pressure. He added that whatever endorsement the African Union Summit may have given to Hosny may not have much effect on how Africans vote in a secret ballot. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: We think Ambassador Souza-Gomes was "rounding up" a bit when he enumerated states that would be likely to support a Brazilian candidate. However, he is not wrong in saying many of the largest states and most influential donors (e.g., Japan, Russia, China, India, Brazil, and most European Union members) do not support Hosny and cannot easily be ignored. ENGELKEN