US embassy cable - 03HALIFAX119

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HALIFAX 0119 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PARIS FOR BRIAN AGGELER/HENRY KELLEY 
OTTAWA FOR DAVID BURNETT 
GENEVA FOR USMISSION AND USTR MISSION 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, KPAO, SCUL, UNESCO 
SUBJECT:  HALIFAX CULTURAL DIVERSITY SEMINAR 
 
 
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Summary 
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1.  The Department of Canadian Heritage hosted a seminar on a 
proposed International Instrument on Cultural Diversity (IICD) 
in Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 27-28, 2003. Most of the 
discussion focused on audiovisual trade issues.  Culture 
ministry officials and NGO representatives argued that a new 
instrument was necessary to promote and preserve their 
countries' cultural diversity and counteract "the corrosive 
effects of globalization."  The U.S. delegation and trade 
ministry officials in other delegations noted 
that WTO disciplines have proved sufficiently flexible to 
address legitimate cultural concerns in the audiovisual sector. 
(This cable was prepared by Dan Clune and Eliza Koch of 
EB/EPPD/PA, who participated in the Halifax seminar.)  End 
Summary. 
 
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A Focus On Audiovisual 
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2.  Representatives from 20 countries (vast majority from the 
Western Hemisphere), 8 multilateral organizations, and 17 civil 
society organizations participated in the Experts Seminar on 
cultural diversity.  USG attendees included Daniel Clune and 
Eliza Koch of the State Department's Economic Bureau and David 
Taylor of the Library of Congress.  The seminar was designed to 
"further informal discussions and facilitate an exchange of 
views" on cultural diversity, particularly among trade and 
cultural officials.  Many foreign government representatives who 
were present at the Experts Seminar are also members of the 
informal group of culture ministers called the International 
Network on Cultural Policy (INCP).  In February 2003, the group 
met with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 
Organization (UNESCO) Director General Matsuura and asked UNESCO 
to assume responsibility for a cultural diversity instrument the 
INCP had drafted.  Many representatives of the non-governmental 
arm of INCP, called the International Network for Cultural 
Diversity (INCD) also participated in the seminar. 
 
3.  Although the term "cultural diversity" embraces concerns 
ranging from the right to express one's culture to preservation 
of languages and indigenous artifacts, the discussion was 
focused almost entirely on the rules governing trade in 
audiovisual goods and services.  James Early of the Smithsonian 
Institution, who attended the meeting as an NGO representative, 
told participants they needed to broaden the discussion to 
matters such as cultural diversity within nations and across 
national borders and to the representation of indigenous people 
in cultural institutions and at the seminar itself. 
 
4.  David Taylor of the Library of Congress gave a presentation 
on several U.S. institutions, which are responsible for the 
collection, documentation, preservation, celebration, and 
display of the multi-cultural expressive traditions of the 
United States.  Taylor highlighted the programs of the National 
Endowment for the Arts, Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian 
Institution.  He also explained that state and local 
involvement, as well as NGO participation, play an important 
role in preserving and promoting the cultural diversity of the 
United States.  The USG delegation provided a fact sheet at the 
seminar which previewed the work of the three federal 
institutions mentioned above as well as that of the National 
Endowment for the Humanities, and the State Department's 
Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation. 
 
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The Case For an Instrument 
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5.  Culture ministry officials and NGO representatives at the 
meeting agreed on the need for a Cultural Diversity Convention. 
Jean-Pierre Blais, the Assistant Deputy Minister at the 
Department of Canadian Heritage, opened the meeting by noting 
that, "Existing global trade rules are based solely on economic 
principles."  Gary Neil of the Canadian Conference of the Arts 
said a new agreement was necessary to counteract the "corrosive 
effect of globalization on culture."  David Diaz of UNCTAD 
claimed that "there was a consensus that the WTO was not the 
appropriate forum for dealing with these issues," noting that 
"there was one dominant player in the world economy which 
controls the distribution of audiovisual goods and services" and 
that a new instrument would "protect culture form the 
undesirable effects of trade."  Phil Stone from the Department 
of Canadian Heritage cautioned countries against making new 
trade commitments while an instrument was being negotiated. 
 
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A Different Perspective from Trade Ministries 
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6.  The Canadian government made a conscious effort to include 
officials from trade ministries in the seminar, and those 
officials brought a different perspective to the discussion. 
Michael Brock from the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs 
and International Trade noted the need to reconcile domestic 
cultural polices and international trade rules and said that the 
objective could only be met by engaging both culture and trade 
ministries.  State Department official Daniel Clune highlighted, 
in his presentation to the group, the different strategies 
appropriate for addressing different cultural diversity 
concerns.  He suggested that WTO disciplines have proved 
sufficiently flexible to address legitimate cultural concerns, 
and that the WTO is the best forum for addressing the cultural 
concerns surrounding trade in audiovisual goods and services. 
Guillermo Malpica Soto from the Mexican Secretariat of the 
Economy agreed on the flexibility provided by the GATS and urged 
participants to look for complimentarity between trade and 
cultural agreements. 
 
7.  Alberto Luiz Pinto Choelho from the WTO office in the 
Brazilian Ministry of International Relations noted that the 
INCP draft instrument, which would require signatories to 
consult "when they are called upon to make commitments that 
could put at risk the preservation of cultural diversity," could 
subject countries to dispute settlement proceedings in two 
different international organizations.  He emphasized the need 
for any agreement on cultural diversity to have "complimentarity 
with the GATS" and suggested that it be negotiated within the 
WTO as a GATS reference paper.  Kimmo Aulake, a Special Advisor 
to the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and one of the 
drafters of the INCP instrument, responded that the group 
intended to add an article that would state that, "Nothing in 
this instrument shall affect the rights and obligations of a 
country under other international agreements."  However, Philip 
Stone from the Department of Canadian Heritage said that 
consideration of the issue of coherence among international 
agreements must be postponed. 
 
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And On To UNESCO 
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8.  Frederic Vacheron from UNESCO's Division of Cultural 
Policies noted that UNESCO's Executive Board would meet in April 
2003 to discuss the proposed international instrument on 
cultural diversity, among other issues. 
KASHKETT