DEMARCHE: IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL ELECTION

S E C R E T STATE 046302 E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2024 TAGS: AORC KNNP IAEA PREL SUBJECT: DEMARCHE: IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL ELECTION REF: UNVIE 189 Classified By: IO A/S JAMES B. WARLICK, ACTING FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Department requests Embassy to urge host government to vote for Ambassador Yukiya Amano of Japan for Director General (DG) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Ambassador Amano is the best qualified candidate for Director General and the USG's preferred choice to lead the Agency. End summary. OBJECTIVES -------------- ¶2. (C) Department instructs post to pursue the following objectives with an interlocutor that post deems appropriate; Department recommends the equivalent of the IO and ISN Assistant Secretaries: -- Inform host government that the United States supports the candidacy of Yukiya Amano of Japan for DG of the IAEA; -- If unknown, inquire as to which candidate host government plans to support in the second round of voting; -- If necessary (according to voting line-up in paragraph 8), urge host government to vote for Amano or, if appropriate, (according to the voting line-up in paragraph 8) express appreciation for host government,s commitment to vote for Amano and confirm their continued support for Amano in the next round. -- If host government will not support Amano, the Department requests that it report the identity of the likely decision-maker. --For Embassy Pretoria only: Acknowledge receipt of South Africa,s dip note requesting our support for Minty and convey that the United States will support and lobby on Amano's behalf. REPORTING DEADLINE -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Embassy should report results of efforts by cable to IO/T Matthew Goldstein by open of business in Washington Monday, May 11. BACKGROUND -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The last round of balloting in March for IAEA DG ended in a stalemate with neither Amano nor Abdul Minty of South Africa garnering the requisite two-thirds vote of the Board of Governors to be elected. Thus, the slate was wiped clean and new candidates were invited to join the race for a second round of voting probably in mid-June. ¶5. (SBU) The current field of candidates includes the re-nominated Amano and Minty, as well as Luis Echavarri of Spain, Ernest Petric of Slovenia, and Jean-Pol Poncelet of Belgium. Of the five candidates, Amano is the clear frontrunner and the most electable, as he only lost the last election by one vote. ¶6. (C) To bolster support for Amano before informal straw polls in late May designed to encourage weak candidates to withdraw from the race, the USG is launching a lobbying campaign in Vienna, Washington, and Board Member capitals. We have decided not to pursue a public lobbying strategy, which we assess could be counterproductive, and instead will work quietly in key countries to bolster Amano's support. For this reason, we will not confirm our support for Amano with the news media. ¶7. (SBU) We support Amano because of his experience as a Permanent Representative to the IAEA, leadership as prior Chairman of the Board of Governors, chair of the 2007 Prepatory Committee meeting for the 2010 NPT Review Conference, and like-minded views on nuclear non-proliferation issues. This background has contributed to his comprehensive technical knowledge of the Agency and its culture, as well as the nuclear nonproliferation regime. Moreover, as Director General of Arms Control and Scientific Affairs for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he proved his strong management capabilities. We believe that, if elected as the IAEA Director General, Ambassador Amano serve the fundamental objectives enshrined in the IAEA Statute, that is, the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including technical cooperation, and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. For these reasons, Ambassador Amano is the best qualified candidate who is also electable (having lost in the prior round by only one vote) and stands the best chance of obtaining diverse support from the Board. ¶8. (S) Thus far, the following Board Members have committed support for Amano: Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Canada, Ecuador, France, Germany, and New Zealand. We expect that Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Finland, Ghana, Iraq, Ireland, Lithuania, Romania, Switzerland, Turkey, and Uruguay will also support Amano, since they supported him during the last round, but this needs to be confirmed. We suspect Algeria, Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, Malaysia, and the Philippines will again support Minty. The voting intentions of the remaining Board Members are unconfirmed. POINT OF CONTACT -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Please contact IO/T,s Matthew Goldstein at (202) 647-4196 or via email for any necessary further background information or argumentation to meet our objectives. CLINTON