US embassy cable - 05PARIS6752

UNCLAS PARIS 006752 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
E.O. 12958:     N/A 
TAGS: SCUL, ETRD, CJAN, SZ, UNESCO 
SUBJECT:  UNESCO: CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION: SWISS 
UNESCO AMBASSADOR LENDS UNQUALIFIED SUPPORT TO ITS 
OCTOBER 2005 ADOPTION 
 
REF:  Bern 1420 
 
1.  The Swiss Ambassador to UNESCO, Ernst Iten, gave a 
ringing endorsement of the June 2005 preliminary draft 
Convention on Cultural Diversity during his 20 
September speech to UNESCO\'s 58-member Executive Board 
and urged the Director General to submit it for 
adoption to the October 2005 UNESCO General Conference. 
This step would also expedite ratification of the 
Culture on Intangible Convention, he said, as both 
Conventions are necessary to build a solid foundation 
for international law concerning culture.  (Note. 
UNESCO Director General Matsuura is particularly 
determined that the Convention on Intangible Cultural 
Heritage be ratified by member states and implemented 
as quickly as possible.  End note.) 
 
2.  Begin rough translation of excerpt from speech: 
 
The most important current item (\"l\'actualite\") in the 
field of Culture remains for the Swiss -- as for many 
others - cultural diversity.  Switzerland has thus 
supported the procedure of elaboration of a Convention 
on the protection and promotion of the diversity of 
cultural expressions, and has taken an active part in 
the work.  Switzerland supports the preliminary draft 
of the Convention that was adopted on June 3, 2005 at 
the end of the third session of the Intergovernmental 
meeting of Experts and subscribes to the recommendation 
formed by the aforementioned meeting to the Director 
General to submit the preliminary draft in this state 
(\"en l\'etat\") to the General Conference in view of its 
adoption (with several formal technical changes of the 
Secretariat).  Switzerland hopes that the Executive 
 
SIPDIS 
Counsel will transmit an explicit recommendation to the 
General Conference along these lines.  My authorities 
are convinced that this step will facilitate the 
procedure of ratification of the Convention on 
Intangible Heritage of 2003, inasmuch as the \"bouquet\" 
of international law as regards cultural matters would 
then be complete. 
 
End rough translation of excerpt of Iten 20 Sept 
speech. 
 
3.  Comment: Can Swiss have it both ways? They want to 
sign on to the convention while still entering into a 
bilateral free agreement. 
 
 
Oliver