FAO DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL BRIEFS ON PRIORITY AREAS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 UN ROME 000004

SENSITIVE
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MEXICO CITY FOR AG/ECON/SCIENCE OFFICES, FBI FOR HENSLE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: FAO UN EAGR EAID PREL PTER
SUBJECT: FAO DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL BRIEFS ON PRIORITY AREAS


1. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for
dissemination outside the USG.



Summary

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2. (SBU) The Deputy Director General (DDG) of the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO),Jim Butler, told the DCM on
January 13 that U.S. leadership on global food security had set
an extremely positive tone with FAO senior staff and other FAO
Members. He was very pleased with his own late-December
meetings in Washington and noted that Director General Diouf
would visit Washington in mid-March. Butler confirmed that he
would continue to exercise overall responsibility for FAO's
reform plan with the establishment of a second DDG for
Operations and welcomed Mission's strong commitment to ensuring
the plan's complete implementation. Butler also welcomed
Mission's efforts to promote gender equality within the FAO and
ensure greater American citizen employment. However, Butler is
frustrated over attempts to organize separate conferences on
biotechnology and "agro-terrorism," and sought Mission help to
ensure their success. Butler is currently ruminating over plans
for his own departure from FAO, and Mission believes explicit
encouragement for him to serve out his contract (through CY
2010) is in order. End summary.



Washington Meetings

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3. (SBU) During a January 13 meeting with the DCM and Poloff,
FAO Deputy DG (DDG) Jim Butler characterized his late-December
meetings in Washington as exceptionally positive and productive.
He ascribed the new atmosphere at FAO and among member states
to strong U.S. leadership in reaching agreement in November on
FAO's budget for the coming biennium, and, more broadly, to U.S.
leadership in promoting global food security. Butler clearly
understands from his meetings with State/IO that USG support for
the increased 2010-11 budget should not be interpreted as a
change in U.S. policy regarding strict budget discipline for UN
agencies.



Diouf to Washington

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4. (SBU) Diouf has asked Butler to return to Washington in late
January or February to lay the groundwork for the DG's March
22-24 visit. Butler will seek Mission help to secure
appropriately senior meetings at State, USAID, Agriculture and
the White House. Diouf also intends to visit with Congressional
leaders, including members of the Black Caucus and the Hunger
Caucus. Butler pledged to remain in touch as details of the
DG's travel plans emerge.



FAO Reforms, IPA, UNTAI

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5. (SBU) The DCM raised FAO reform, emphasizing that the USG
would carefully scrutinize the progress made by FAO in
implementation of its reform plan, the Immediate Plan of Action
(IPA),which is fully funded from the regular budget in the
current biennium. Butler replied that he would continue to
exercise overall oversight of the IPA reform portfolio, but
noted that many of the crucial reform areas, including human
resources, would be under the purview of new DDG for

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Operations, He Chang Shui, who starts work this month. Butler
characterized Mr. He as a "consummate professional" who is
personally committed to the reform process. FAO staff, he said,
were working on an internal document tallying progress on
implementation of 14 key reform projects under the IPA and
offered to share the report, once completed, with the Mission.
Stressing the urgency and importance of meaningful FAO reform,
the DCM highlighted the USG's UN Transparency and Accountability
Report, and recalled the eight key areas where the Mission would
direct particular attention in coming months (Comment: Septel
discusses in detail the status of FAO/UNTAI issues and Mission's
efforts to promote improved results. End Comment).



Hiring American Citizens, More Women

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6. (SBU) The DCM told Butler that the Mission would continue to
insist that FAO hire qualified American citizens as Americans
continue to be under-represented in the organization, and would
also press FAO to hire more women of all nationalities to senior
professional ranks, as FAO's performance in that area was
noticeably weak. Butler welcomed the initiatives and encouraged
the USG to press these issues in future meetings throughout the
organization. On hiring Americans, Butler said an
"anti-American" bias among some senior staff serving the
Director General may be partly responsible for the situation and
encouraged the Mission to continue to strongly advocate for
qualified American candidates, early in the hiring process and
especially for more senior positions.



Biotech Conference

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7. (SBU) Butler noted that planning for a March
"bio-technology" conference in Mexico was proceeding slowly, and
was a source of personal "frustration," as support from all
quarters was not forthcoming. Butler said he would press for
Mexico to be more proactive in encouraging participation. FAO
staff, he said, would brief Member representatives "next week"
on conference planning efforts. While noting the delicate
"political balance" associated with the substance of the
conference, Butler welcomed additional U.S. efforts to ensure a
successful conference, including demarches in capitals to
encourage strong support and attendance.



Ag Terror Conference

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8. (SBU) Butler said that the FBI was pressing FAO to organize
a conference on "bio-terrorism" to highlight issues where member
states can tighten controls on chemicals and biological agents.
He encouraged his FBI interlocutors to work through USUN Rome on
next steps, and Mission will follow up. The Director General,
however, had cautioned Butler to step back from Conference
planning, lest his interest/nationality be too closely
identified with support for U.S. government policy. Butler said
he agreed and had established a working group within FAO to
organize the conference.



Comment

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9. (SBU) Butler was in very good spirits, but is not certain at
this point how much longer he will remain in his current

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position. His contract runs through the end of 2010, and he
said he would be happy to serve out that contract - if the USG
desired. However, he has some other options available and may
leave earlier. If he were to leave before the end of the year,
he believes the DG would not replace him but rather have someone
serve in his position on an acting basis until the next DG
appoints new senior leadership after his/her election in June

2011. Mission believes Butler should be encouraged to serve out
his full contract through CY 2010.
COUSIN