Canada Strongly Supports U.S. Approach to OAS Reform,

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 000095 NOFORN SIPDIS AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFE AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO AMCONSUL QUEBEC AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO APP WINNIPEG E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/26 TAGS: PREL KDEM OAS AORC CA SUBJECT: Canada Strongly Supports U.S. Approach to OAS Reform, Mandate for Next Secretary General REF: STATE 16528 CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Bellard, Political Minister Counselor, Ottawa, POL; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C/NF) Canada "strongly supports" the U.S. approach to OAS reform and the mandate for the next OAS Secretary General (reftel), according to Jeff Marder, Director of South American and Inter-American Relations at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). Marder added that Canada intends to be a "forceful voice" for reform during the March 3 Permanent Council meeting. He noted that Canada has also already spoken privately with Secretary General Insulza about his vision for reform and mandate for a second term, as well as Canadian priorities for the OAS. Marder shared that Canada "was happy" with SYG Insulza's responses and told him privately that Canada "will vote for him." Marder requested we keep Canada's support for Insulza confidential. ¶2. (C/NF) Marder underlined that Canada told Insulza that they want to see him push for "a more robust implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter" and "really tackle management reforms." He shared that Canada believes that the OAS needs a "strong, competent, and professional" secretariat and expressed his surprise at "how much it does with so little." Anna-Karine Asselin, Deputy Director of Inter-American Affairs, added that Canada very much supports the idea of "costing out the mandates" of all OAS resolutions. She commented that it might be useful to discuss whether the Assistant SYG should "perhaps be a technocrat, rather than a political figure." She noted that, in her own recent experience working with the OSCE, this "arrangement worked very well." However, she affirmed that "real reform will require real 'buy-in' by the Secretary General and the secretariat." ¶3. (C/NF) Blair Bobyk, OAS Coordinator, acknowledged that Canada and the U.S. need to find a coalition of likeminded hemispheric partners to create a "chorus" in favor of a more "robust approach" to reform. He commented that Canada and the U.S. cannot be the only "voices calling for reform." He singled out Chile under its new president as being particularly promising to act as a leader, but reiterated that many voices are the key to success. He lamented that Canada "felt very much alone" during the recent OAS debate on Venezuelan television station closures, and expressed the hope that the same will not occur during discussions on March 3. JACOBSON