US embassy cable - 04ROME1340

UNCLAS  ROME 001340 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR IO/EDA KOTOK 
USAID FOR CUMMINGS 
USDA/FAS FOR SHARPLESS, REICH AND HUGHES, USDA FOR U/S 
BOST 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION TO THE UN AGENCIES IN ROME 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: AORC, KUNR, EAID, EAGR, ETRD, KHIV, XA, FAO 
SUBJECT:  FAO Twenty-Third Africa Regional Conference 
 
 
1. (SBU)  Summary: The subject conference was held in 
Johannesburg, South Africa, March 1 - 5, 2004, and was 
attended by USDA U/S Eric Bost and staff, by Ambassador 
Mattie Sharpless, and by Mission to the UN Agencies in 
Rome DCM Michael Cleverley and Agricultural Minister 
Counselor.  Conference host South Africa pulled out all 
stops to ensure that the event ran smoothly, but the 
conference struggled to engage on concrete problems. 
This was particularly evident in South African President 
Thabo Mbeki's remarks that eloquently indicted the 
continent's political class for implementing a new 
colonial order, but failed a single mention of HIV/AIDS. 
FAO DG Diouf followed suit with only a brief two-sentence 
reference to the epidemic - thereby encapsulating in his 
own remarks the conference's shortcomings.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) The first three days of the conference were 
devoted to the "technical committee."  Subjects covered 
fell into two general categories, a) the coordination of 
activities on the continent to address agricultural 
development issues, and b) specific problems. 
 
3.  (U)  The first category included useful discussions 
of how international mechanisms such as the New 
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the 
Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program 
(CAADP), the Maputo AU Declaration, can be used to 
advance a development agenda.  Many interventions were 
given to support cooperation and broad national 
interaction in these fora. These plans will prove their 
utility when married with positive donor responses. 
 
4.  (SBU)  The interventions on specific development 
problems took on an eerie, disturbing, quality as time 
ran short and issues were conjoined.  This process 
resulted in comments on the HIV/AIDS crisis being 
interspersed with participant comments on the bush meat 
crisis.  The labeling of both these subjects as "crises" 
seemed inappropriately to place them in the same category 
of importance.  The interventions that followed were, 
sadly, predominately on the bush meat issue.  In this 
context it was particularly important that the US, as an 
observer at the conference, made clear the importance we 
place on facing this scourge.  U/S Bost made a strong 
intervention on the need to focus on the HIV/AIDS crisis 
and the actions and resources that the USG is taking and 
devoting to this cause.  Sadly, it elicited no follow-up 
comments. 
 
5.  (SBU)  The Plenary session consumed the last two days 
of the conference.  Similar to the first three days, 
there was little "discussion" during this phase.   There 
were many interventions and the process of having a 
meeting overwhelmed the subjects.  This is, 
unfortunately, too often the norm in FAO member meetings. 
FAO has recognized the lack of interaction in member 
meetings and has tried, in Rome, to overcome this by 
introducing informal "roundtables" to provide the chance 
for open exchange of ideas on issues. 
 
6.  (SBU)  The highlights of this conference were 
contained in what was and was not said in the key 
speeches.  President of South Africa Mbeki in the 
plenary's opening session made a powerful speech on the 
meaning of development.  He opened with Nobel-Prize- 
winner Joseph Stiglitz's remarks on development: 
"Development is not about helping a few people get rich 
or creating a handful of pointless protected industries 
that only benefit the county's elite: it is not about 
bringing in Prada and Benneton, Ralph Lauren or Louis 
Vuitton, for the urban rich and leaving the rural poor in 
their misery."  Continually coming back to this theme, 
Mbeki added, "We cannot afford to pay less attention to 
the peasant question, seeing these peasant masses as 
nothing more than voting cattle to return our parties to 
power, with no other role."  Mbeki referred to the "new 
colonial order" in which the African ruling class ignored 
the "disempowered people in the rural areas, who 
constitute the majority of the masses and working 
people," as today's rulers worked from capitals "to 
reproduce and maintain the colonial order in everything 
from economics to culture."  Mbeki received a warm 
applause, but his remarks didn't bring the house down. 
 
7.  (SBU)  As strong a speech as it was, Mbeki's remarks 
did not contain one single reference to the continent's 
devastating scourge - HIV/AIDS.  FAO Director General 
Jacque Diouf's opening statement followed suit, as he 
spent only two sentences referring to the impact of 
HIV/AIDS on Africa's farm workers.  Although the subject 
of HIV/AIDS was on the conference agenda, we were told 
that FAO had decided to give today's biggest 
developmental issue in Africa short billing in deference 
to the conference host - a reflection on the 
effectiveness of the conference more. 
 
8.  (U)  This cable was not cleared by U/S Bost nor 
Ambassador Sharpless. 
 
HALL 
 
 
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 2004ROME01340 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED