This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

031908Z Mar 06

UNCLAS PARIS 001368 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL FR UNGA
SUBJECT: FRANCE ON UNDEF PRIORITIES 
 
REF: STATE 33441 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE TREAT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Deputy Polcouns discussed reftel points March 3 
with MFA IO DAS-equivalent for human rights and humanitarian 
and social affairs Beatrice le Fraper du Hellen.  Le Fraper 
said France's position tracked well with that of the U.S., 
although there were a few minor differences of emphasis.  Her 
perception was that the U.S. was focused more on election 
projects, whereas France believed it was also important to 
incite governments to implement their international human 
rights commitments.  She cited the case of certain transition 
countries which may schedule elections regularly and keep up 
basic democratic appearances, but which do not accept fully 
the Western model and the need for human rights protections. 
France saw a need for balance between media support and 
elections, and respect for human rights.  As an additional 
nuance, she stated that France preferred the broader term 
"participation in democratic processes" to "elections." 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Asked for French views on how UNDEF will operate, 
le Fraper read from an instruction cable to make the 
following points: (1) France believes the group should be 
chaired by a country from one of the geographical regions 
rather than by one of the larger donors, as the latter could 
evoke the criticism that only money talks; an alternative 
would be to choose a prominent personality as chair.  (2) 
France will insist on translation into French; she did not 
specify whether she was referring to translation of documents 
or interpretation of discussions, or both.  (3) Noting 
reftel's references to the UN Department of Political Affairs 
and UNDP, she advocated a role for the High Commissioner for 
Human Rights as well, given that her mandate included a focal 
point on democracy; le Fraper insisted that this should not 
be controversial.  (4) France shares the U.S. view on the 
importance of concrete projects, but worries that the 
calendar for implementing them may be too tight.  (5) 
Finally, she said the current minimum threshold for a project 
was USD 100,000.  Based on its experience in small African 
countries where there was often no involvement by 
Western-based organizations, France believes it is possible 
to support local civil society institutions with as little as 
USD 50,000. 
 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
 
Stapleton