US embassy cable - 05PARIS3225

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 003225 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM US MISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SCUL, UNESCO 
SUBJECT:  ROLE OF U.S. NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO 
 
Summary:  The role of the U.S. National Commission is to 
support the work of the U.S. Mission to UNESCO by drawing on 
the experience and expertise of its Commissioners and 
mobilizing the resources of US civil society.  To that end, 
the National Commission should, in consultation with the 
Mission and IO, develop a work plan that will advance the 
goals and priorities established by the USG for UNESCO.  The 
Commission will have five committees that parallel the five 
sectors of UNESCO.  Each of the committees should identify 
projects that will reinforce the work of the corresponding 
sector at UNESCO or of UNESCO as a whole. The Commission 
should also give advice to the US Mission on personnel 
issues, as well as provide strategic advice for the on-going 
negotiations on UNESCO's Convention on the Protection of 
Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions and the 
Declaration on Bioethics. 
 
End Summary 
 
1.  The US National Commission for UNESCO will hold its 
first annual meeting in Washington DC on June 6/7.  At that 
time the Executive Director of the Commission should propose 
a plan of action for the members of the Commission.  The 
plan should consist of possible projects for each of the 
five committees of the Commission that would reinforce the 
work of the US Mission by utilizing the substantive 
knowledge and strategic expertise of the commissioners.  The 
following are suggestions for appropriate activities. 
 
2.  The Education Committee could contact universities 
around the country to inform them about UNESCO's University 
Chair Program and the UNITWIN Program.  These programs 
encourage universities to develop initiatives that promote 
research and networking in areas that come within UNESCO's 
mandate.  Since these are programs for which the National 
Commission has direct responsibility, the Committee should 
be proactive in its approach.  It should generate high 
quality applications that adhere to the criteria already 
established by the Commission.  When applications arrive at 
the National Commission, the Committee should review the 
applications and make preliminary choices on which ones 
deserve to be sent on to UNESCO for final decisions. 
 
3.  The Education Committee could also focus on helping to 
advance the goals of the UN's Education For All initiative 
(EFA), particularly in the area of teacher training in 
Africa and post-conflict countries.  Many countries at 
UNESCO consider teacher training to be one of their top 
priorities.  The Committee could do research on effective 
teacher training programs, especially in the area of 
literacy and non-formal education.  It could work with ECA 
and the NEH on possible teacher exchanges or modeling 
programs.  It could help determine those characteristics 
that are common to all quality teacher-training programs, 
and those that are culture-specific.  Since Mrs. Bush is the 
Honorary Ambassador for the UN's Decade of Literacy, it 
would be appropriate to put a particular emphasis on the 
problem of illiteracy. 
 
4.  The Culture Committee could help reinforce UNESCO's new 
program on endangered movable objects.  This program, 
initially funded by the USG, focuses on building capacity in 
museums in developing and post-conflict countries in areas 
such as inventory creation, object identification and 
preservation, display techniques, and museum administration. 
The Committee could organize a meeting or conference for 
museum professionals to discuss this program and examine 
ways for them to share their expertise in these areas.  This 
might include identifying museums interested in partnering 
with museums in developing and post-conflict countries, and 
discussing the possible establishment of an information- 
sharing portal at UNESCO. 
 
5.   The Culture Committee could also strengthen UNESCO's 
World Heritage Program by providing expertise for the 
development of effective conservation and management plans 
for heritage sites in the developing world.   As one of 
UNESCO's flagship programs, the World Heritage Program needs 
to maintain a reputation for high quality.  Given the USG's 
interest in cultural and natural preservation, both 
nationally and internationally, it is appropriate to help 
this program deal with its current problems and challenges 
by getting actively involved with it. 
 
6.  The Culture Committee could also provide valuable 
cultural expertise and policy advice to the US Mission for 
developing effective negotiating and public relation 
strategies that would promote USG interests in the proposed 
Convention on the Protection of Cultural Contents and 
Artistic Expressions.  The most recent version of the 
proposed Convention, which would be a binding treaty for the 
USG, lacks clarity and contains elements that are 
unacceptable to the USG. The committee could also review 
small grant funding proposals through available through the 
Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity and identify possible 
financial resources for those proposals. 
 
7.  The Natural Science Committee could support the work of 
UNESCO's International Hydrological Program (IHP) by 
assisting in the re-establishment of the US National 
Committee for the IHP, and by developing criteria for 
proposed new water research centers in the US.  It could 
also identify ways to support the USG's efforts to be 
elected to the Governing Council of the IHP at UNESCO's 
General Conference in October 2005. 
 
8.  The Natural Science Committee could also help define 
what is meant by the term "sustainable development."  Given 
UNESCO's new role as the lead agency for the UN's Decade for 
Education for Sustainable Development, the Committee could 
identify appropriate ways that building capacity in 
engineering, water, and science education could contribute 
to promoting sustainable development.  Of particular 
importance are gender parity issues related to women in 
science, mathematics, engineering and education. The 
Committee could commission a series of background papers 
that might assist UNESCO in determining what its specific 
role should be in this initiative.  The Natural Science 
Committee should work closely with the Education Committee 
in this area. 
 
9.  The Natural Science Committee could also support the 
work that is being done at UNESCO with the Intergovernmental 
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) as it works to develop an 
international tsunami warning system.  It could help 
publicize the IOC's central role in this area and the work 
that the USG does as a member of the Governing Council, 
assuming that the US is re-elected in June 2005. 
 
10.  The Social and Human Science Committee could focus on 
the issue of youth and social transformation and the ethical 
challenges that youth face in a period of rapid social and 
economic change, particularly in developing and post- 
conflict countries such as those in the Middle East. 
Research papers on this topic could help UNESCO develop 
future initiatives in this area. 
 
11.  The Social and Human Science Committee could also 
provide expertise and policy advice to help develop 
effective negotiating strategies for the US Mission in the 
development of a UNESCO Declaration on Bioethics.  Although 
a UNESCO declaration is supposed to be non-binding, many 
countries have openly stated that the declaration is simply 
the first step towards a binding convention. 
 
12.  The Information and Communication Committee could 
identify ways to support UNESCO's role in the World Summit 
on the Information Society (WSIS) initiative. Although the 
International Telecommunications Union is the lead agency 
for WSIS, UNESCO has taken a strong stand on freedom of 
information issues, including freedom of the press.  The 
WSIS process began in December 2003 at the meeting in 
Geneva, and will be completed at a meeting in Tunis, 
November 2005.  The Committee could organize a conference 
before the Tunis meeting that could highlight USG positions 
on such issues as freedom of expression, internet 
governance, the digital divide, and the use of ICT's in 
education. 
 
13.  The Information and Communication Committee could also 
play an active role in UNESCO's International Program for 
the Development of Communication.(IPDC).  This program 
focuses on capacity building in local community-based media 
development by identifying small programs for potential 
funding.  The Committee could create a media press freedom 
fund to finance specific IPDC projects, as well as promote 
exchange and training programs with other USG agencies. 
Given the USG's interest in promoting freedom and democracy, 
particularly in developing and post-conflict countries, this 
program deserves support. 
 
14.  All of the commissioners serving on the National 
Commission's five committees could suggest names, when 
requested, of non-governmental experts who could be invited 
to participate in specific UNESCO events.  Although 
decisions on experts are usually made by UNESCO, the US 
Mission often gives names of experts to UNESCO in response 
to their requests.  Names of experts suggested by 
commissioners could be added to names provided to the 
Mission by IO and other USG agencies. National Commission 
members could also explore the possibility of identifying 
quality U.S. based NGOs that work on UNESCO issues and could 
benefit by closer relationships with UNESCO. 
 
15.  Commissioners could also be provided regular up-to-date 
information on available full time positions at UNESCO. 
Since the US is currently under-represented in full time 
staff positions at UNESCO, qualified Americans have an 
excellent chance of being hired.  Commissioners could use 
their professional networks to help recruit strong 
candidates for UNESCO positions.  In the future, 
commissioners could also play a valuable role in identifying 
talented young Americans for UNESCO's Young Professional 
Program, which has just been reinstated for next year. 
 
16.  An additional role for the National Commission is in 
the area of UNESCO prizes which are awarded to outstanding 
individuals, organizations, and institutions that support 
UNESCO's goals and objectives in specific areas.  The 
National Commission could establish a process for 
advertising and possibly competing for UNESCO prizes.  It 
could also establish a committee composed of selected 
Commission Members that could review all applications for 
prizes and provide recommendations to the appropriate 
individuals within the State Department. 
 
17.  The Executive Director of the National Commission plays 
a critical role in providing opportunities for the 
commissioners to play an important role in supporting the 
work of UNESCO, without overburdening them.  Commissioners 
should be reminded that except in areas where the Commission 
is directly responsible, such as the University Chair 
program, their ideas and suggestions are strictly advisory. 
In order to take full advantage of the knowledge and 
expertise of the commissioners, constant communication 
between the US Mission and the National Commission will be 
essential.  Appropriate communication procedures must be 
established within the Commission itself and between the 
Commission and the US Mission. 
 
Oliver