US embassy cable - 05CAIRO2691

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 002691 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR NEA, NEA/ELA, NEA/PPD, AND DRL 
NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS 
USAID FOR ANE/MEA (DUNN), ANE/TS (GOLD), AND DCHA/DG 
(SCHULZ) 
TUNIS FOR MEPI (MULREAN) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KMPI, PREL, EG, PDEM, Democracy Reform 
SUBJECT: PROGRESS OF DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE ASSISTANCE IN 
EGYPT 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 2524 
 
     B. CAIRO 2198 
     C. CAIRO 1703 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (SBU)  Post is moving to implement an ambitious program 
of directly-funded democracy and governance (D&G) activities 
in Egypt, using USAID and other resources.  Implementation of 
MEPI-funded D&G projects is a key component in this process. 
Post signed a new directly-funded D&G grant on March 3 using 
USAID funds (ref C).  With NEA/PI support, post has finalized 
the five MEPI grants that were also announced on March 3. 
The range of D&G activities underway and planned here has the 
potential to play a significant role in supporting political 
reform.  In a related development, post and GOE 
representatives convened the first meeting of the 
eight-member Democracy and Governance Consultative Group on 
March 24 (ref B).  Per our agreement with the GOE, 
establishment of the Consultative Group provides an advisory 
forum for consultations on direct U.S. funding of democracy 
and governance activities by Egyptian civil society 
organizations.  We would welcome the Department sending a 
representative to observe the next Consultative Group 
meeting.  End summary. 
 
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MEPI Support for D&G 
-------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU)  With the assistance of visiting NEA/PI Grants 
Officer Marie Moser, post finalized grants for the five 
MEPI-funded civil society projects that Ambassador Welch 
announced March 3.  (Four of the grants were signed April 
4-5, and the fifth grant will be signed April 10 when the 
responsible NGO official returns to Cairo.)  These D&G 
activities can now move to implementation.  Post looks 
forward to working with NEA/PI to identify additional MEPI 
programming opportunities in Egypt, especially in the 
democracy arena. 
 
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Additional D&G Plans 
-------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU)  Post directs and coordinates USG resources and 
plans for D&G assistance in Egypt using our long-standing 
Institutions of Democracy Working Group (IDWG), which is 
chaired by the Charge with the active participation of USAID, 
Public Affairs, and our combined Economic-Political (ECPO) 
Section.  The IDWG is currently devoting particular focus to 
USG promotion of free and fair elections in the presidential 
and parliamentary polls scheduled for September and November 
2005.  Drawing largely on USAID-Egypt resources, post is also 
proceeding with direct funding to civil society organizations 
in a number of areas related to D&G.  Using its Annual 
Program Statement mechanism (APS), which is advertised on the 
USAID website, USAID-Egypt has solicited 40 concept papers, 
which, if funded, would have combined value of $17.5 million. 
 The concept proposals by civil society organizations focus 
on media monitoring, human rights training, promoting 
women,s political engagement, training the next generation 
in democratic thought, NGO capacity building, 
decentralization, and promotion of free and fair elections. 
As of April 4, USAID had reviewed 31 concept papers and is 
exploring funding for 13 of them.  It is giving priority to 
elections-related proposals, including election monitoring. 
USAID is also providing assistance to Egyptian civil society 
organizations for proposal preparation and development of 
necessary financial systems. 
 
4.  (SBU)  Looking ahead to this year's elections, 
USAID-Egypt has developed a scope of work in consultation 
with USAID Washington to solicit proposals for elections 
technical assistance.  The scope of work notes that 
conditions in Egypt are fluid, but that openings might exist 
to provide technical assistance on voter education, candidate 
training, strengthening of the yet-to-be established election 
commission, and election monitoring. Based on the situation 
at the time of arrival of the contractor, Embassy Cairo would 
determine the activities on which the contractor would work. 
The technical assistance will occur under an Indefinite 
Quantity Contract, a pre-competed procurement instrument. 
USAID will soon share the scope of work with the two 
potential bidders, Development Associates International and 
the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.  This 
activity should begin by late May or early June. 
 
5.  (SBU)  The GOE is also reviewing USAID's proposal under 
the D&G Strategic Objective Agreement to fund additional 
governance activities in criminal justice, family justice, 
and comparative legal education.  USAID is also seeking an 
implementing partner for a proposed media program (with 
training and election reporting components), and is 
developing a decentralization of local governance program. 
USAID-Egypt plans to obligate these activities with the GOE 
during the current fiscal year through amendments to the 
Strategic Objective Agreement. 
 
6.  (SBU)  Supplementing MEPI and USAID resources described 
above, post's IDWG also will soon have the ability to draw 
upon a 632(a) transfer (formerly known as the Participating 
Agencies Support Agreement--PASA--funds) from USAID to the 
Embassy to provide additional small grants in support of D&G 
and other MPP goals.  The 632(a) funds ($900,000 for the 
current fiscal year) have been delayed due to technical 
problems in the interagency transfer process, but we are 
working with USAID to resolve this issue.  Also using the 
632(a) funds, we will be able to expand public diplomacy 
exchange and information activities that support USG D&G 
goals in Egypt, including 2005 elections activities. 
 
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DRL Activities in Egypt 
----------------------- 
 
7. (U)  Thanks to a recent visit by DRL's Ramiro Martinez, 
post has gained an improved understanding of DRL-funded 
projects in Egypt, which currently include innovative efforts 
by the American University in Cairo aimed at supporting 
Egyptian human rights groups; a Catholic Relief Services 
program designed to promote rural women's rights; and an 
Internews project aimed at strengthening regional media. 
Post looks forward to continued coordination with DRL to 
determine additional DRL funding opportunities. 
 
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First Meeting of the Consultative Group 
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8.  (U)  In a development related to the March 3 announcement 
(refs A and B), all members of the Consultative Group 
(complete list in ref B), with the exception of Dr. Abdel 
Moneim Said, attended the March 24 meeting.  USAID Director 
Ellis represented the USG.  Ellis provided the March 24 
meeting with a briefing on the purpose of the Consultative 
Group and the agreement between the GOE and USAID on direct 
funding of democracy and governance assistance to Egyptian 
non-governmental groups.  Ellis reiterated that the 
Consultative Group was an advisory body that had no 
decision-making power.  He said that the Consultative Group 
is a channel for sharing Egyptian ideas about democracy and 
governance programming with the USG, and vice versa.  Ellis 
noted that USAID would not be able to implement all of the 
ideas generated by the Consultative Group, nor would it be 
the only source of USG D&G ideas for Egypt.  The members of 
the Consultative Group appeared completely in agreement with 
Ellis's description of their task. 
 
9.  (SBU)  The Consultative Group agreed that Mona Zulficar 
will act as group rapporteur during the first year of 
operations.  The Consultative Group plans to meet on the last 
Tuesday of each month for sessions lasting 90 minutes to 2 
hours.  Post encourages the Department to send a 
representative to observe the April 26 or May 31 session of 
the Consultative Group. 
 
10.  (SBU)  USAID Director Ellis agreed to provide the April 
26 meeting with an overview of USAID D&G activities in Egypt. 
 MIC,s Ambassador Badr clarified for the Consultative Group 
that its consultations will focus on USG direct-funding of 
non-governmental organizations, and not the entire D&G 
portfolio of USAID-Egypt. 
 
11.  (SBU)  The establishment of the Consultative Group 
removes a procedural objection that the GOE had voiced about 
USAID direct funding of D&G activities by Egyptian civil 
society.  The Consultative Group can potentially serve as a 
source of innovative ideas for democracy activities, as well 
as allay the concerns of the GOE about the implications of 
USG direct funding of these activities.  The actual utility 
of the Consultative Group will only be revealed in the 
outcome of future meetings; regardless, its establishment 
supports our goal of rolling out a wide range of 
directly-funded D&G activities, which should in turn 
strengthen Egyptian civil society. 
 
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Looking Ahead 
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12.  (SBU)  Post believes that activities and plans described 
above in paragraphs 2-7 represent significant progress during 
recent months as the USG has sought to support political 
reform in Egypt.  In the months ahead, we will need to 
consolidate and build on this progress, by working to ensure 
the success of the existing activities and developing new 
initiatives to respond to the evolving political environment 
(ref A).  Post believes that additional progress in 
developing civil society D&G initiatives in Egypt will 
complement and build on existing GOE reform measures (such as 
the Alexandria Reform Conferences, which have emphasized the 
important role of civil society).  In addition, media 
coverage of USG support for civil society in Egypt, even when 
negative, draws considerable attention in the rest of the 
Arab world. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. 
 
GRAY