US embassy cable - 05PARIS8123

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 008123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
FROM US MISSION TO UNESCO 
 
E.O. 12958: NONE 
TAGS: KPAO, ECPS, ETRD, ECON, EINT, ETTC, UNESCO 
SUBJECT: USUNESCO: POST-WSIS READOUT 
 
REF:  Paris 7472 and 7677 
 
1.   (SBU) SUMMARY:  Mission met with Elizabeth 
Longworth, Head of the Information Society Division of 
the UNESCO Communication and Information Sector on 
11/23/05 and discussed WSIS follow up at UNESCO, UNESCO 
views on how Internet Governance was handled at WSIS, 
and the U.S. Library of Congress plans to work with 
Google to develop a digital library.  Longworth also 
raised UNESCO's discomfort with the media freedom and 
human rights in Tunisia, whether MIT's 100 USD laptop 
would impact development, and UNESCO public relations 
successes at WSIS.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------ 
WSIS Follow Up at UNESCO 
------------------------ 
 
2.   (SBU) Longworth described UNESCO's post WSIS role 
as a "mixed bag."   UNESCO had wanted a lead role in 
post WSIS implementation.  There were lots of different 
pieces to put together now, she stated.  She added that 
it would take time to sort out which WSIS stakeholders 
within the UN family wanted to be involved in post-WSIS 
implementation and which ones did not.  The main 
problem for UNESCO, she said, was now carrying out its 
facilitative work to implement WSIS decisions without 
resource implications.  All in all, she acknowledged 
that the "right compromise" was struck at WSIS.  UNESCO 
would lead on WSIS action lines on media and culture, 
but share all other action lines with various actors in 
the UN system. 
 
3.   (SBU) Longworth discussed plans to link WSIS goals 
with building "knowledge economies" that she and the 
head of the communication and information sector are 
devising in order to move beyond WSIS and the 
"knowledge society" to build "knowledge economies" 
modeled on Finnish, Irish, New Zealand, Australian, 
U.S. and U.K. efforts to create a more educated 
workforce.  The goal is to encourage UNESCO to think 
about how to encourage developing countries to build 
cognitive skills in their workforce.  Longworth has 
invited Amcit Louis Allardo to UNESCO for a workshop on 
this topic scheduled for January. 
 
-------------------- 
Internet Governance: 
-------------------- 
 
4.   (SBU) Longworth stated that she was "delighted" 
that the Internet Governance issue was resolved.  She 
noted that it was a "must" to set up a forum to avoid 
alienating countries from the current arrangement. She 
observed that the final compromise document was well 
drafted, subtle, and full of acknowledgements that made 
various member states feel included.  At the same time, 
she said she was equally delighted that the Internet 
governance negotiations went no further.  No one in the 
UNESCO Communication and Information sector, she 
confided, wanted the Internet in the hands of the UN. 
(COMMENT:  Assistant Secretary General for 
Communication and Information, Abdul Waheed Khan (an 
Indian national and Longworth's boss) was reportedly 
under extreme pressure from the Government of India to 
change his position on this issue but appears to have 
held firm.  END COMMENT.) 
 
5.   (SBU) Longworth divulged that she had moved to add 
the term "avoid fragmentation" to all UNESCO speeches 
and interventions on the subject of Internet governance 
leading up to WSIS because she wanted to highlight the 
point that if duplicate Internets were created, the 
value of the Internet would be lost.  She stated that 
"if the U.S. has not changed its position, certain 
countries would have been ready to start their own 
Internets the day after WSIS concluded."  Maybe, she 
speculated, the market would have soon corrected such 
moves as Internet users all gravitated to one net in 
particular, but nonetheless, she added, it would have 
been a retrograde step. 
 
-------------------------- 
LOC Digital Library Plans: 
-------------------------- 
 
6.   (SBU) We provided Longworth with a copy of the 
11/22 Washington Post article on this topic, which she 
had already seen.  We clarified that LOC's James 
Billington has gotten ahead of the process by engaging 
the press and we affirmed that the project was still in 
very early stages - eventually, the U.S. National 
Commission for UNESCO would be beginning to brainstorm 
ways in which to approach UNESCO about possible 
engagement.  Then, it would approach UNESCO.  Longworth 
understood that there was no action needed from her 
end, praised the project as "great news"  and something 
her office would be very interested in getting involved 
with, but noted that she would be concerned if access 
were to be sold to the items placed on the Internet 
through the program.  She asked us to convey to 
Washington that UNESCO had not been in contact with the 
LOC on this issue, as the article implied there was a 
connection. 
 
------------------------- 
Tunisia and Human Rights: 
------------------------- 
 
7.   (SBU) Longworth noted that UNESCO was "exceedingly 
uncomfortable" with the location of WSIS Phase 2 in 
Tunisia and the Government of Tunisia's (GOT) behavior 
toward journalists and NGOs.  An unhappy side effect of 
this, she observed, was to move the media spotlight 
from the good work being done at WSIS to the human 
rights abuses of the Tunisian government.  The GOT, 
Longworth stated, had missed an opportunity to show 
progress. 
 
--------------- 
100 USD Laptop: 
--------------- 
 
8.  (SBU)  Longworth said the mood at UNESCO on 
prospects for the new MIT-created 100 USD laptop 
designed to help populations in developing countries to 
access ICTs, was "cynical", but acknowledged that one 
has to start somewhere.  If the invention of this 
laptop, which was still not fully realized, eventually 
shook the market up and got people thinking about what 
a developing nation's environment demands from ICTs, 
she said, then it was a step in the right direction. 
 
-------------------------- 
UNESCO Visibility at WSIS: 
-------------------------- 
 
9.  (SBU) We asked Longworth what the biggest success 
of WSIS was for UNESCO.  She stated that UNESCO 
achieved great visibility through its exhibit stand and 
that she received formal approaches from Sun 
Microsystems and Cisco on future ICT partnerships.  She 
is also pursing leads with the Canadians, the World 
Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Office and several 
African governments.  UNESCO delegates were overbooked 
for speaking engagements and "doing a lot of business" 
at the conference, she enthused.  The trick now was to 
keep this momentum and communication going, she said. 
 
10.   (SBU) Longworth stated that a UNESCO workshop on 
ICTs for the Disabled had been a success, despite 
unfortunate logistical problems for attendees that, she 
suggested, caused some embarrassment for UNESCO.  (The 
venue was not disability friendly.)  While there were 
no specific member states or actors taking an active 
role on the issue right now, UNESCO has shone a 
spotlight on the issue and encouraged industry to 
anticipate the needs of the disabled, even if only as a 
market.  She noted that the topic was of high personal 
interest to the Assistant Secretary General. 
 
11.   (SBU) COMMENT:  We are pleased that UNESCO agrees 
with us that there should only be one Internet and that 
the compromise reached at WSIS is the best way to 
ensure this.  At the same time, we note with concern 
the resonance at UNESCO of arguments for an increased 
international role on Internet governance.  UNESCO's 
muted reaction to its more limited role in WSIS 
implementation is an indication of USG success at WSIS 
in ensuring that no one UN agency had a leading role. 
END COMMENT. 
 
KOSS