US embassy cable - 05ASUNCION1328

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASUNCION 001328 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, AND USAID (MAGAN) 
WHITE HOUSE FOR SONYA MEDINA 
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, KWMN, PA 
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY HOSTS LATIN AMERICAN FIRST LADIES 
CONFERENCE 
 
REF: ASUNCION 1063 
 
1.  (U)  SUMMARY:  From September 28-30, Paraguay hosted the 
13th Conference of First Ladies, Spouses, and Representatives 
of Heads of State and Government of the Americas.  The 
substantive theme of the 13th Conference was "Women and 
Family."  First Ladies from 11 countries attended, including 
Colombia, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and 
Chile.  Nine countries sent representatives in lieu of their 
country's First Lady. Ambassador to the UN Commission on the 
Status of Women, Ellen Sauerbrey, represented Laura Bush at 
the conference.   Local press highlighted the absence of 
Paraguay's MERCOSUR partners, as Brazil and Argentina sent 
only a representative and Uruguay did not participate in the 
conference.  Despite some debate during the second round of 
technical meetings that were held in advance of the First 
Ladies Conference, all attending delegates signed the Draft 
Declaration and approved the Action Plan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Preparatory Meetings Spark Debate 
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2.  (U)  Country delegations attended the second Technical 
Preparatory Meeting September 26 - 27 in order to reach 
consensus on a Declaration and a Action Plan prior to the 
arrival of the First Ladies.  (The first Technical 
Preparatory Meeting took place in Asuncion in July 2005.) 
The 2005 Asuncion Declaration was signed by each of the First 
Ladies and Representatives.  In the Declaration, they agreed 
to consider the issues of gender equality, education, health, 
remunerated work, gender-based violence, and trafficking in 
persons.  The Action Plan, which is an unsigned document, 
confirms the commitment of the First Ladies to promote and 
strengthen the purposes and principles contained in the 
Declaration.  The Action Plan proposes guidelines that the 
First Ladies and Representatives "may consider, depending on 
the role they play in their respective countries, according 
to national laws and practices." 
 
3.  (SBU)  Although consensus was achieved on both Conference 
documents, there was lengthy debate between the delegations 
on the appropriate role of a First Ladies Conference.  USDEL 
argued against attempts by other delegations, notably Ecuador 
and Argentina, to politicize the role of the First Lady and 
the Conference.  USDEL,s explanation that the U.S. First 
Lady does not have policy responsibility and the U.S. would 
not welcome a more politicized Conference was supported by 
the Costa Rican, Panamanian, and Canadian delegations. 
Efforts by the Paraguayan and Dominican Republic delegations 
to muster support for the adoption of a set of "General 
Rules" to codify procedures for future First Ladies 
Conferences also demonstrated significant disagreement among 
the delegates over the appropriate function of a First Ladies 
Conference.  The delegations eventually agreed to postpone 
discussion of the "General Rules" until the first preparatory 
meeting for the next First Ladies Conference to be held in 
San Salvador in 2007.  The delegates also agreed to begin 
referring to the "General Rules" as a guide rather than a 
legally binding document.  El Salvador promised to work on 
solidifying the "General Rules" prior to the 2007 meeting. 
 
4.  (SBU)  There was significant debate concerning mention of 
the role of the father in the Declaration.  Delegates finally 
agreed to recognize the "positive role of the father and his 
co-responsibility in the development of the family and 
society."  Other terms and phrases such as; "gender equity 
and equality", "remunerated domestic work," "values," and 
"sexual and reproductive rights" also sparked debate among 
the delegations.  Some discussion focused on which 
international conferences should be referenced in the 
Declaration.  The delegations decided to consider a 
comprehensive list of international conferences in the 
document with a caveat sentence, "respecting the reservations 
of some countries."  The inclusion of a paragraph on the 
impact of drug abuse on the family also generated some 
debate.  The rest of the discussion on the Declaration 
concerned language on sexual and reproductive health, which 
was ultimately contextualized "in the fight against HIV/AIDS, 
and other STIs." 
 
5.  (SBU)  Due to time constraints and the fact that 
delegates had not previously had an opportunity to address 
it, the Action Plan generated more disagreement among 
delegates than the Declaration.  Confusion over the process 
for reaching consensus and the purpose of the document added 
intensity to the debate.  With the assistance of Canada, 
USDEL was able to include an introductory paragraph to the 
Action Plan which clarified (for the first time) the purpose 
and intent of the document.  The delegations finally agreed 
on a general outline of themes and guidelines, and discarded 
the detailed prescriptions for action contained in the 
original draft Plan. 
 
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The First Ladies and Representatives Sign Off 
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6.  (U)  Each First Lady or representative provided a brief 
summary centered on the conference's theme, "Women and 
Family", which included highlights of programs and activities 
offered in their countries to aid the advancement of health 
care, education, reduction of poverty for women and children. 
 In her remarks, Ambassador Sauerbrey highlighted the 
importance of the family, improved access to health care, the 
importance of literacy for women, and U.S. AID programs 
throughout the region.  Ambassador Sauerbrey included a 
statement in her speech that language in the Conference 
documents referencing sexual and reproductive health was not 
understood by the United States to promote abortion.  All 
countries present signed the Conference Declaration and 
approved of Action Plan. 
 
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Comment 
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7.  (SBU)  There seems to be a movement on the part of 
several countries in the region to politicize the function of 
the First Ladies Conference as evidenced by a push from 
several delegations to include inappropriate policy language 
in the outcome documents.  There were also efforts to add 
political weight to the Conference itself.  In this context, 
attention should be given to preparations for the 2007 
Conference to see that procedures are not further codified by 
the adoption of a set of "General Rules."  It is also worth 
noting that several multilateral organizations took a more 
prominent role in this Conference than in previous years. 
 
8.  (U)  Ambassador Sauerbrey and the U.S. Delegation have 
cleared on this cable. 
 
KEANE