CIVIL SOCIETY AND G8-BMENA GOVERNMENTS MEET AT SIXTH FORUM FOR THE FUTURE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 RABAT 000952



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SUBJ: CIVIL SOCIETY AND G8-BMENA GOVERNMENTS MEET AT

SIXTH FORUM FOR THE FUTURE



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1. (SBU) Summary. The Sixth Forum for the Future,

co-chaired by Morocco and Italy, was held in

Marrakesh November 2-3 and was attended by

representatives of the G8 and Broader Middle East

North Africa (BMENA) countries, international

organizations (IOs),and civil society groups. The

Forum focused on themes of Economic Reform,

Political Reform, and Human Development and Human

Security, as outlined in three preparatory workshops

held in Beirut (September 25-26),Rabat (October 5-

6),and Doha (October 12-13),but other issues also

arose, such as continued concern about the

Palestinian issue and a complaint from civil society

organizations that civil society leaders were

marginalized in this year's Forum, despite frequent

assurances by BMENA governments that they would not

be. Secretary Clinton led the U.S. delegation and

delivered a well-received speech following up on

President Obama's Cairo speech with specific

deliverables. However, there was an apparent

disconnect between many of the civil society

organizations and the BMENA governments, which seem

to have envisioned civil society groups as an

instrument for promoting government policies. End

summary.



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The Senior Officials' Meeting

--------------



2. (SBU) The Forum began on November 2 with a Senior

Officials' meeting opened by Moroccan Foreign

Minister Fassi Fihri, who complimented the work of

the three preparatory workshops. In his remarks, he

laid out several themes that would recur throughout

the Forum:



A) The Forum for the Future is unique because of its

cooperation between governments and civil society

organizations on the basis of joint responsibility.

(Note: The issue of civil society responsibility was

raised by several BMENA governments during Forum,

but by and large not by G8 officials or civil

society leaders. End note.)



B) Dialogue marked by mutual respect and tolerance,

as the Forum epitomizes, is the ideal framework for

working out reform efforts in the region.



C) The "trauma" of the global financial crisis meant

this Forum would be different from previous ones,

and it showed the need for cooperation to advance

the reforms needed to achieve peace, stability, and

prosperity.



D) There were "deep concerns" regarding the Israeli/

Palestinian conflict and actions against the holy

monuments of Jerusalem. Almost every BMENA

government representative, and many civil society

representatives, reiterated this point.



E) Democracy is not a "one-size-fits-all" model, but

an evolving process that will be different in each

country, based on each country's history and

specificities. (Note: As with the theme of civil

society responsibility, this was a frequent talking

point of BMENA government officials throughout the

Forum, but not of civil society representatives or,

with the exception of Russia, of the G8 governments.

End note.)



3. (SBU) Following Fassi Fihri's remarks, Italy's

Director General for the Mediterranean and Middle

East Luigi Marras said the Forum process heretofore

had not been as "tangible and concrete" as some of



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us would have liked. However, he declared that in

the last year Forum cooperation had produced

demonstrable results, and he specifically commended

the civil society delegations and non-governmental

organizations (NGOs) for the positive changes that

took place. He said better understanding between

governments and civil society had emerged in the

last year as a result of the preparatory workshops.

Marras stated that in the BMENA countries human

resources, in particular women and youth, are

abundant, but also present challenges. Creating

policies that properly harness these resources is

difficult but necessary because if the region fails

to meet these needs the results will be skepticism,

cynicism, and extremism. Echoing Fassi Fihri,

Marras said the Forum is a unique tool to work

toward coordinating policies regionally and

internationally.



4. (SBU) The Senior Officials' Meeting concluded

with a brief discussion of the declaration of the

2009 Forum for the Future that had been deliberated

at the Rome sub-ministerial meeting on October 23.

The chairs declined to open up the substance of the

declaration to amendments or modification, but

agreed to modify the Arabic translation on some

points. The chairs indicated that the declaration

would be presented in the Ministerial and would

provide the groundwork for the Forum going forward

into next year.



5. (SBU) Comment: Both Italy and Morocco worked

extensively in the lead-up to the Forum to achieve a

consensus document that incorporated the principles

of the "Partnership Between G8-BMENA Governments and

Civil Society" document. At the last moment, a

number of countries in the region blocked efforts to

reach a consensus declaration. In the end, a

Chairmen's Statement of the Sixth Forum for the

Future was presented at the ministerial. End

comment.



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Forum Opening Session

--------------



6. (U) Opening the Forum on November 3, Fassi Fihri

said the Forum continues to be a necessary dialogue

between the G8 and BMENA countries that complements

other dialogue frameworks. He lauded the active

participation of civil society in this year's

process.



7. (U) In the context of describing Morocco's own

traditions of pluralism, Fassi Fihri saluted the

American vision expressed in President Obama's Cairo

speech, calling it a "harbinger to a new era" of

relations based on justice, tolerance, human

dignity, and working together to build bridges. He

said interfaith and intercultural dialogue will

strengthen the framework of relations between BMENA

countries and the West; such dynamics can revitalize

the Israeli/Palestinian peace process based on the

Arab Peace Initiative and lead to an independent

Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. He

repeated his previous condemnation of Israel's

involvement in recent events at the Al Aqsa Mosque

in Jerusalem, which he believes could fuel "demons

of extremism and violence" in the region.



8. (SBU) Fassi Fihri said that in Morocco, NGOs and

civil society actors are part of a comprehensive

partnership with the government to develop the rule

of law and human rights in keeping with the tolerant

values of Islam, leading to an open society



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cushioned against extremism. He discussed women's

rights but, as with his discussion of democracy on

November 2, in the frame of national and cultural

specificities and the appropriate pace of

development. He stressed the importance of good

local governance as a cornerstone of broader

national democracy that preserves national unity and

territorial integrity, adding "weak entities stand

no chance."



9. (U) Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini

described the Democracy Assistance Dialogue (DAD) as

a successful initiative of the Forum and called for

further concrete dimensions to the Forum. He

praised the three preparatory workshops for

generating proposals on developing the private

sector, education, youth empowerment, improving the

environment, human security, political

participation, economic and social reforms, and

women's empowerment.



10. (U) Frattini cited two significant proposals

that emerged from the three workshops, and that

should be addressed in next year's Forum: the

creation of a Gender Institute to be hosted by a

BMENA country and a consultative human security

initiative to "manage diversity."



11. (U) Frattini stressed the role of youth as a

resource and as one of the prime determinants of the

future. He called for bridging the "education gap"

in the BMENA region, and laid out the proposal for a

G8-BMENA Education Network to boost best practices

and exchanges between the G8 and BMENA countries.

He also stated that G8 countries should be able to

launch a visa facilitation policy for students. He

concluded his remarks by saying the partnership the

Forum represents should "put human beings at the

very core of policies that unite rather than divide

us."



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Secretary Clinton's Remarks

--------------



12. (U) Secretary Clinton lauded the

government/civil society partnership, saying it

should not be a rare sight and those present should

look for ways to work together for the peoples they

represent. She praised Morocco's reforms in women's

rights, saying women could help lead the way in

democratic institution building, economic growth,

and the enlargement of civil society.



13. (U) The Secretary reaffirmed the U.S. commitment

to broad engagement with Muslim communities around

the world and outlined steps the United States is

taking to follow up on the new beginning President

Obama laid out in Cairo. She said that "true

progress comes from within a society and cannot be

imposed from the outside, and we know that change

does not happen overnight." The Secretary made

clear that the United States is focused on

partnerships that promote civil society,

entrepreneurship and economic development,

educational opportunity, scientific and

technological cooperation, women's empowerment, and

interfaith cooperation. The Secretary stated: "Our

work is based on empowering individuals rather than

promoting ideologies; listening and embracing

others' ideas rather than simply imposing our own;

and pursuing partnerships that are sustainable and

broad-based." She also reiterated the USG

commitment to peace between Palestinians and

Israelis and affirmed that she and the President



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believe peace is attainable.



14. (SBU) United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister

Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who co-hosted last

year's Forum, thanked Secretary Clinton for her

remarks, for her personal involvement in issues

dealing with women, youth, and employment, and

personally thanked her for appointing a

representative for Muslim communities. He also

stated that the participants should engage on

President Obama's openness policies, which he called

the best option to deal with pessimism in the

region.



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Three Major Themes, One Marathon Session

--------------



15. (U) Following the opening session, discussions

were organized into the three themes of the

preparatory workshops and included civil society and

governmental interventions.



A) Political Reform, with a focus on democracy and

local governance.



B) Economic Reform, with a focus on the impact of

the financial crises on the BMENA region



C) Social Reform, with a focus on human development/

human security and social issues.



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Political Reform

--------------



16. (U) Mounir Ben Salah, representing the NGO

Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (known by its

French acronym of OMDH),presented the outcomes of

the Rabat preparatory workshop, highlighting the

importance of broadening the role of civil society

in local governance and democracy, such as through

direct election of local representatives. A broader

role, based on pluralism, tolerance, and rule of law

can encourage these values to spread beyond the

local level to the regional and national levels.

(Note: OMDH and Italian NGO No Peace without Justice

served as civil society co-chairs of this year's

Forum. End Note.)



17. (SBU) The head of the French delegation, former

Foreign Minister (1978-1981) and current Senator

Jean Francois-Poncet, spoke next, describing local

governance as "the basic unit of infrastructure at

the local level of democracy" and calling for

decentralized cooperation among local government,

civil society, and national government. He also

stressed the necessity of involving women in

democratic processes. He said local governance is a

problematic issue for the Palestinians, and he

called the Israeli/Palestinian conflict a "stumbling

block" in the Middle East.



18. (SBU) The Russian representative followed,

saying that without an independent Palestinian state

and the return of the "occupied lands" and

resolution of the Palestinian and other regional

conflicts, democratic reforms in the region will be

incomplete and lopsided. He called for a WMD-free

zone in the region, and he discussed the already

robust educational exchanges between Russia and the

BMENA region. (Note: Uniquely among G8 countries,

the Russian representative echoed almost word for

word the language of BMENA governments regarding

democracy, saying it must take into account the



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specific history of the countries, and NGOs and

civil society should approach partnership with

governments in a "non-confrontational" manner, aware

of their role and their responsibilities. End

note.)



19. (SBU) Next, the Hungarian representative

stressed Hungary's positive post-Communist

experiences with democracy and civil society. He

recalled the role of local governance and activism

in the expansion of civil society and democracy in

Hungary and other central and eastern European

countries, adding that Hungary's participation in

foreign affairs was premised on Hungary sharing its

positive results of democracy building.



20. (SBU) Qatar's State Minister for Foreign Affairs

Ahmad ben Abdallah Al Mahmood began with praise for

his country's progress in political reforms and

civil society/government cooperation, especially on

issues of health and education. He stated that

Qatar appreciates President Obama's efforts toward a

sustainable and comprehensive two-state solution in

Palestine/Israel. He ended by formally announcing

that Qatar will co-host the seventh Forum with

Canada.



21. (SBU) Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign

Minister Riyad al-Maliki said reform should have

political, economic, and social objectives, and that

political reform is most likely to bear fruit if it

results from a commitment to reform from within a

society, as opposed to external pressure. He added

that a deep-seated conviction for reform requires

strong governance. He stressed that Israel's

policies curtail PA reform efforts, but nonetheless

felt that the PA has taken great strides in

political, economic, and administrative reforms. He

said the PA is pursuing a reform and development

plan with the private sector and NGOs - and is proud

to do so under difficult circumstances. He declared

a Palestinian state "inevitable" and called on

"international authorities" to bring about

Palestinian independence.



22. (SBU) Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Nasser Judeh, said reform should be "home-grown" and

requires the broad-based participation of

government, the private sector, and civil society

organizations. He said Jordan had made great

strides in reform, singling out the importance of

women's and youth issues. He said reform could be

broadened if a Palestinian state came into being

with Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with

international resolutions, stating that governments

need to "close ranks" regionally and internationally

around this issue in order to broaden reform. He

praised the commitment to the peace process of

President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Special

Envoy Mitchell, and quoted President Obama's remarks

at the United Nations General Assembly that the

"occupation must be ended." He added that all

present needed to support the PA government led by

President Mahmoud Abbas against "Arab opposition,"

presumably referring to Hamas and its supporters.



23. (SBU) Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh

referred to Lebanon's tradition of pluralism and

recent advances in democracy, stating that

international observers agreed on the transparency

and fairness of Lebanon's recent elections. He said

BMENA nations must codify democratic practices to

bring about the rule of law, an independent

judiciary, and equal rights for all, to include

decision-making positions for women in the private



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sector, government, and NGOs. He also said the

development of democracy in the region could not be

separated from the political climate, referring to

the Arab-Israeli conflict. He said the world cannot

continue to treat Israel separately from the

international system of justice, and he called for a

resolution to the Palestinian refugee problem by

helping refugees find their way back to their

"motherland," noting that Palestinian refugees

present a problem not just for Palestine/ Israel,

but for states with large refugee populations such

as Lebanon. Finally, he made positive note of the

conclusions of the recent United Nations Development

Program [UNDP] Arab Human Development Report.



24. (U) Algeria's remarks were largely confined to

reiterating prior themes of local governance, the

necessity for home-grown democracy, and women's

empowerment. The Mauritanian delegate made similar

points later in the meeting and added that democracy

should be seen not as an end, but as a means to

devise social and political policies. The

Mauritanian representative said the role of civil

society needs to have a legal framework "to ensure

complementarity, not confrontation." FM Fassi Fihri

spoke from the chair to agree with the Mauritanian

representative.



--------------

A Dissenting Note from an Egyptian Activist

--------------



25. (SBU) Noted Egyptian political activist Saad

Eddin Ibrahim made several key points during a civil

society intervention:



A) Civil society groups place high hopes in

Secretary Clinton's statements.



B) Civil society organizations consider democracy as

the primary concern. It is a facet of development,

stability, and peace. In apparent reference to many

of the remarks of BMENA governments (and Russia),he

was emphatic that democracy should not be played

down.



C) Democracy cannot be imported or exported, but can

be supported. The community of democracies should

support democracy. He said that "first world"

democracies should support democracy in the region,

and should not support unfair and unjust regimes for

the sake of stability, which "leads to a blind

alley."



D) Given the chance, the people of the Middle East

do not shy away from practicing democracy, citing

numerous elections in the region in the last few

years. He said civil society activists believe

elections are decisive not only for individual

countries, but for the region. He called for Forum

partner nations to put the upcoming Iraqi and

Egyptian elections on their agendas, and to ensure

that the elections are transparent and fair.



E) There are three forces facing democracy: unfair

and unjust governments, extremists, and civil

society. He called on governments to support civil

society as the force that stands between the

unfair/unjust governments and the extremists.



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Wrapping up the Political Session

--------------



26. (SBU) The Switzerland representative made brief



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remarks about the country's experience with

decentralized local government in the form of

cantons, and gave examples of involvement with

capacity building in the region but added that

violent conflict hinders UN Millennium Development

Goals. The Swiss also offered to support the Gender

Institute.



27. (U) Spain's Secretary of State Angel Losada said

the financial crisis should not change the agenda

for the Forum, which he linked to the UN Millennium

Development Goals.



28. (SBU) UAE State Minister Reem Ibrahim Al Hashimi

announced support for the creation of the regional

BMENA Gender Institute, and said the UAE will pay

for 50% of the Institute. (Note: While the UAE did

not offer to host the Institute during this

intervention, UAE officials separately told the U.S.

delegation the UAE would be willing to host the

Gender Institute. End note.)



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-

NGOs Assess Economic and Social Reform/Human

Security

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-



29. (SBU) Houda Chalak of the Lebanese NGO Civic

Action Coalition reiterated the need for cooperation

between civil society and the BMENA governments, the

need for support from the most industrialized

governments during the financial crisis, and the

important role women and youth play in the movement

toward a democratic society. She said human

development and human security require economic

development, rule of law, and sound educational

policies. She stated that to deal with the economic

crisis, regional initiatives supporting small and

medium enterprises were needed, and that in turn

these enterprises needed a climate of freedom to

bring about entrepreneurship, which she linked to

democratic participation and guarantees for the

rights of the people.



30. (U) Chalak outlined the two concrete proposals

from the Beirut preparatory workshop: establishing

a network for entrepreneurs to serve as a regional

forum for sharing expertise in specialized projects

and best practices; and developing, in cooperation

with existing institutes, a training center and

state of the art institute dedicated to small and

medium enterprises.



31. (SBU) Bakhtiar Amin, an ethnic Kurd who began

his remarks in Kurdish, represented Iraqi civil

society. He stated that the politicization of

religion was a threat to economic development. He

stressed the need to avoid violence, to develop

multi-lateral programs to develop human security,

and to make the most of cultural diversity, going

beyond tolerance toward active participation of

different groups in national and regional cultures

and citing as a goal the development of a regional

diversity center. He said democratic reform would

not be complete without a solution to the Kurdish

issue.



32. (SBU) Ali Bin Somaik Al Murri of the Qatari NGO

National Committee for Human Rights praised the

Forum, saying a new starting point was needed with

more achievements and accomplishments. He stressed

that democratic reform was the duty of all present

at the Forum. Al Murri said that against the



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backdrop of the financial crisis, the region needed

to adopt approaches centered on human security in

order to develop the BMENA region's great potential

and resources.



33. (SBU) Mohsen Marzouk, a Tunisian national who

heads the Qatar-based NGO Arab Democracy Foundation,

said a feasibility study on human security was

necessary. He said the Forum is a starting point,

but it needs to develop a short list of priorities

and approaches that use civil society as an actual

partner. It also needs to determine why civil

society is not currently a full participant in the

Forum.



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Governments, IOs Concerned about Economic Crisis

-------------- ---



34. (SBU) Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon

cited statistics from the IMF to make the case that

the BMENA region has weathered the world financial

crisis better than other regions and continues to

have good prospects for growth. He described

Canada's continued willingness to support both civil

society and governments in the region, including by

urging large banks to help the poorest countries.

He said the crisis shows that G8 and BMENA have no

choice but to work together in a forum such as

Forum, and stated that Canada was looking forward to

co-chairing the Forum next year.



35. (SBU) The Yemeni government representative drew

a distinction between local governance - of which he

approved - and separatist movements, which he said

violate the territorial integrity of countries.



36. (SBU) Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed

Al Khalifa said sustainable economic growth in a

secure framework is essential and warned that the

effects of the world financial crisis will linger

and affect employment, access to capital, energy

costs, and corporate governance. He said the region

requires a flexible, well-trained work force and a

stable regulatory framework to protect economies

from future shocks. To this end, he explicitly

called for education reform and free trade in the

BMENA region in order to create jobs and harmonize

regulations. He said civil society can assist

governments by encouraging popular support for these

initiatives.



37. (SBU) The representative of Japan (co-host of

the 2008 Forum) highlighted the country's

contributions to the IMF and other international

organizations to alleviate the effects of the global

economic crisis. The Japanese delegate spoke about

the need for the region to work to combat climate

change, a theme some other speakers briefly touched

upon. Japan was also the only government to stress

BMENA and G8 cooperation to combat piracy off the

coast of Africa and Yemen.



38. (SBU) The Netherlands delegate reacted

positively to the proposal for the Gender Institute,

pledged support, and said that the Netherlands would

donate USD 1 million to the Foundation for the

Future. The delegate from Denmark praised civil

society and NGO involvement, speaking as well about

climate change with reference to the December 2009

meeting in Copenhagen and the issue of water

resources in the BMENA region.



39. (SBU) The delegate from the Gulf Cooperation

Council (GCC) said participants need to have



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creative and flexible ideas about reform. Without

naming names, he said some countries have double

standards when it comes to reforms, and others are

genuinely helpful. He then spoke at length about

the Palestinian cause. Finally, he spoke in favor

of increased opening of markets between the BMENA

countries and the G8, and of the need for continued

scientific research, development, and education. He

was followed by a speaker from the Arab Monetary

Fund, who spoke in general about the effect of the

global economic crisis on the BMENA region, noting a

50 percent loss in petroleum revenues and placing

responsibility for the origins of the crisis on

western countries. He said the savings of the oil-

rich nations of the BMENA are alleviating the impact

of the crisis, and these BMENA governments should

pursue a monetary policy of injecting liquidity into

and consolidating regional banks. He found the

current efforts not sufficient, and called for

greater coordination on these issues through the

Forum to recover economic growth.



40. (SBU) The Egyptian delegate described shrinking

growth rates in Egypt. He called for national

control mechanisms (e.g., job creation programs) for

the economy to support the social safety net,

although he added there should not be any

overregulation or exaggeration. He called for the

liberalization of trade and the speeding up of

reform of financial institutions, especially early

warning systems. Like the Bahraini delegate, he

spoke of civil society as a sector with which

governments could partner to reach out and promote

reform. He called for the G8 to correct financial

and monetary systems, taking into account emerging

and developing countries and putting aside the

principle of reciprocity in trade. He spoke of

increased cooperation with the G8 in health care and

poverty alleviation, saying these steps would make

developing countries part of the solution, and not

just a part of the problem.



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NGOs Unhappy with Pace of Dialogue

--------------



41. (SBU) The representative of the Arab Network of

Democracy was the next speaker. He said that six

years after the founding of the Forum, a true

partnership mechanism had yet to be developed

between BMENA governments and civil society. Thus,

civil society organizations cannot be held

responsible for problems of process. Echoing

Egyptian political activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, he

said democracy was not at the center of the Forum

process and that there have been some steps backward

with respect to democracy's place within the Forum

process. He called for a dialogue without

restrictions on civil society organizations, not one

among "deaf and dumb." He said governments should

not fear civil society organizations, which are not

trying to revolutionize but to contribute to the

rule of law along with governments.



42. (SBU) A representative of the Al-Kawakibi

Democracy Transition Center (Arabic acronym KADEM)

spoke next, saying the Forum Partnership Document

was important, but that it was too often ignored by

BMENA governments. He also said they had attached

too many restrictions to it. He implored the G8

governments to keep promoting the document. This

prompted a reply from the Bahraini delegation, who

insisted that government/civil society dialogue had

made achievements and that there was no "dialogue of

the deaf and dumb." FM Fassi Fihri also disagreed



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passionately with the civil society speakers, and

claimed all BMENA governments were in direct

dialogue with civil society. He said that if civil

society groups feel that in some countries or areas

there are delays in the dialogue, he wanted to

reassure them that dialogue exists to develop

society and strengthen democracy.



43. (SBU) The next speaker represented the

Mauritanian NGO "Intellectual Club for Democracy."

Noting differences in elections in the region - and

differing levels of transparency in those elections

- he called on the G8 and other organizations to

build civil society capacity. Following this, a

speaker from the Bahrain Transparency Society hailed

Secretary Clinton's speech and declared that a lack

of transparency helped explain the collapse of the

world economy in 2008. He called on government

ministries, legislative assemblies, civil society,

and the private sector to come together and act to

enhance transparency.



--------------

Final Interventions

--------------



44. (SBU) Government representatives made a few more

remarks, mostly reiterating themes mentioned above.

The Sudanese delegate said the country was

considering reforms in various areas and preparing

for elections in 2010 under delicate circumstances.

The delegate said no peace would be possible if the

people of Darfur were not living stable lives.

Tunisia held itself up as a model of development and

social and educational reform; the Tunisian delegate

also briefly touched on legal protections and NGO

involvement with the disabled. The UK delegate

supported the Danish comments on climate change and

acknowledged BMENA requests for more equitable

outcomes. He also stressed global health and infant

mortality reduction, supported the creation of the

Gender Institute given that there are still

restrictive laws towards women in the BMENA region,

and detailed the hundreds of millions of pounds the

UK spends on civil society development in the region

(including trade unions). The UK delegate gave

support to U.S. efforts on the Palestinian/Israeli

conflict, saying that this was "last best chance"

for peace in this generation.



45. (SBU) The delegate from Afghanistan stressed the

country's advances despite its difficult

circumstances, saying it had just completed a

challenging electoral process and would now focus on

forming an inclusive government, fighting corruption

at all levels, and extending the hand of peace and

reconciliation, all with the support of the

international community and keeping in mind

realistic goals.



46. (SBU) The Yemeni NGO "Human Rights Information

and Training Center" (HRITC) representative said he

was surprised to hear other delegates positively

discussing civil society participation in the Forum,

because this year civil society had only a minor

role. Unlike this year, civil society could in the

past reach decision-making levels within the Forum,

he said. He reiterated the need for equal and

constructive dialogue, unlike this year's passive

dialogue. He said more than rhetoric is needed,

because building the future is a shared

responsibility between governments and civil

society.



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Confusion and Anger as Session Draws to a Close

-------------- --



47. (SBU) Going off agenda, Moroccan FM Fassi Fihri

started to give closing remarks. He said that no

single model can be exported from north to south,

and he reiterated themes of exchange and dialogue.

He made reference to the "unhelpful" situation in

Palestine, implying this as big a hindrance to

regional reform as the global economic crisis.



48. (SBU) Fassi Fihri ended his remarks by saying he

was duty-bound to listen to the civil society

representatives' opinions and take them as partners.

Much to the surprise of the delegates and the

remaining speakers, including the two civil society

co-chairs for the Forum and Canada as the next G8

president, he proceeded to thank the participants

and close the ministerial. After some confusion,

the error was pointed out to Fassi Fihri and he

opened the floor to the remaining speakers, but by

that time many delegations had left.



49. (SBU) The head of No Peace Without Justice,

former Italian and EU Senator Marco Pannella, was

clearly perturbed and limited his brief remarks to

expressions of thanks to the Italian government and

the Government of Morocco, and he suggested that

perhaps he would be given more time to speak at next

year's Forum. The speaker from the Moroccan

Organization for Human Rights (OMDH) also was

agitated and spoke in an angry tone. She said she

would have liked to discuss the civil society

meeting in Casablanca, as actual and effective

partnership is supposed to be crystal clear. She

was particularly upset that the "Partnership Between

G8-BMENA Governments and Civil Society" document was

not formally submitted at the Forum. The final

substantive remarks came from the Canadian delegate,

who said the priorities outlined in the Forum

Chairmen's Statement would help Canada determine the

themes for next year's Forum. He ended by stating

that Canada calls for a lasting and just peace in

the Middle East.



--------------

Comment

--------------



50. (SBU) There was a significant disconnect between

many of the civil society organizations and BMENA

governments at this year's Forum. Talk of civil

society responsibility and accountability seemed to

be a call for civil society groups to censor

themselves and avoid confrontation with governments.

Talk of "home-grown" models of democracy suggested

that BMENA governments were restricting the meaning

of "democracy" in a self-serving fashion. Civil

society organizations were upset with this tone, and

many openly complained of what they perceived to be

a diminished role for civil society in this year's

Forum. They cited as lack of tangible progress in

advancing the civil society/government partnership

the failure of the Chairs to formally approve the

Partnership Document. While the BMENA governments

praised dialogue with civil society, they clearly

envisioned an instrumental use for civil society

groups to serve as intermediaries to promote

government policies. End comment.





JACKSON