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Lucia A Keegan  07/18/2006 03:09:33 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
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UNCLAS        PARIS 04843

SIPDIS
cxparis:
    ACTION: PAO
    INFO:   DCM POL ARS AMB

DISSEMINATION: PAOX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: A/DCM: JROSENBLATT
DRAFTED: PA:CGORSE; LMARGIOU;
CLEARED: POL:LORDEMANN

VZCZCFRI823
RR RUEHC RUEHBS RUEHBUL
DE RUEHFR #4843/01 1981422
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171422Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9543
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5782
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0372

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 004843 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR; EUR/PPD; SA; SA/PD; DRL, G/IWI, SCA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM FR
 
SUBJECT:  Transformation Diplomacy Project: Elected Afghan Women in 
France 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: EUR/PPD funding helped Embassy Paris partner with French 
NGOs and French local and national government sponsors to bring 30 
Afghan women parliamentarians to Paris June 12-16, 2006, most of 
them outside their country for the first time. The parliamentarians 
addressed high-level and public audiences throughout their visit, 
witnessed French municipal and parliamentary sessions, and received 
training from U.S. NGO Vital Voices in coalition building and other 
aspects of political leadership to help them pursue democratic and 
economic development in Afghanistan.   The program raised French 
official and public awareness of continued assistance needs in 
Afghanistan, highlighted the country's progress, underscored 
U.S.-French cooperation in Afghanistan, and helped build the 
foundation for future French public and private assistance to 
Afghanistan.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2.  THE SELECTION:  Program organizers originally intended to avoid 
a difficult selection by inviting all 68 nationally elected women 
parliamentarians and senators.  It required a February vote in the 
Afghan parliament to allow the members to leave the country 
unaccompanied.  In the end, all anticipated funding was not 
available, and a selection was made, favoring those with little or 
no previous overseas travel.  To continue the project and to make 
good on the initial promise, principal organizer MEWA (Mobilization 
for Elected Women of Afghanistan, also meaning "fruit" in Dari) is 
planning a second trip for those who did not participate, most 
likely to a destination outside France. 
 
¶3.  THE PROGRAM:  In addition to MEWA and the French-Afghan Chamber 
of Commerce, the Ile-de-France Regional Council and NGO "Solidarite 
laique" were major contributors.  For five days, the Afghans met 
with high-level interlocutors at the French Regional Council, 
National Assembly, Senate, Foreign Ministry, where Foreign Minister 
Douste-Blazy highlighted  Franco-American cooperation in the 
project, Paris city government, and the Elysee for a meeting with 
Mrs. Chirac. 
 
Ambassador Stapleton's reception in their honor was transformed into 
an on-the-lawn impromptu loya jirga (see Embassy Paris webpage for 
photos), and USOECD Ambassador Constance Morella organized a lunch 
meeting.   Ambassador Steven E. Steiner, the Department's Acting 
Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues, gave closing 
remarks at the first day's conference, providing the visitors and 
conference audience an overview of the many U.S. programs for Afghan 
Women, including projects carried out under the auspices of the 
U.S.-Afghan Women's Council. 
 
At several venues, the Afghans attended official sessions, and had 
the opportunity to follow with questions.  They also met business 
leaders and a number of French NGOs, such as those providing 
micro-credit programs.  NGO Vital Voices provided two days of 
training in coalition building to help bridge gaps among 
Afghanistan's factions (well-represented and well-exhibited by the 
visitors). 
 
¶4. THE PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR MESSAGE:  Visiting the city of light, 
lunching with the President of the National Assembly, and standing 
in the gilded halls of the Foreign Ministry and Elysee Palace must 
have seemed like a moon landing to the Parliamentarians, as some of 
them watched carefully to see how one used a knife and fork. 
Instead of champagne, they generally asked for coke.  Yet, these 
women were anything but intimidated by the silk drapes. On a mission 
to tell their story, at each venue the parliamentarians, 
representing diverse regions of Afghanistan, including some of the 
most remote, vied for the opportunity to speak (often breaking into 
competing regional and ethnic factions in the process).  They spoke 
of national and local circumstances in Afghanistan and of their 
needs in security and reconstruction, giving examples of Afghans who 
still have a 5-hour walk each day to supply their families with 
water. 
 
At Ambassador Stapleton's reception, seated in a circle under a big 
chestnut tree, each woman told the ambassador the situation in her 
district, with some asking him to pass a message to the President. 
There was striking repetition in the key issues they raised: great 
poverty, a lack of education and health facilities, lack of roads 
and clean water, lack of jobs, and especially the security 
situation. Some of the women expressed concern that most of 
international aid stays in Kabul and never reaches the countryside 
or disappears in the budgets of contractors. They complained that 
since farmers receive inadequate support, there is no incentive to 
abandon poppy cultivation for alternate crops. 
 
¶5. MEDIA COVERAGE: The visit received wide television, radio, and 
print coverage in France.  All news LCI television repeatedly ran a 
story highlighting their sessions at the Regional Council and their 
visit to the National Assembly.  France 2 television ran a brief 
story showing the Afghan women parliamentarians at the French 
National Assembly.  Agence France Presse wire service covered the 
conference, and Catholic national daily La Croix devoted its June 13 
front page to "Afghan Women Who Are Not Resigned."  Finally, CNN 
International ran a story that aired several times on June 16, 
highlighting the U.S. Embassy reception. 
 
¶6. RESULTS:  The Afghan parliamentarians left with the satisfaction 
that they had been heard and with confirmation of the support of the 
U.S. and French governments and of French NGOs.   Excellent media 
coverage provided a new image of Afghanistan's progress and a 
counterweight to the more frequent French press stories that focus 
on the return of the Taliban.  The French National assembly has 
implemented a pairing of French women deputy and Afghan 
counterparts.  Souvenir medals were printed for the Afghans, each 
carrying the name of the individual French deputy-partner, and 
French parliamentarians have announced a trip to Afghanistan. The 
Deauville Women's Conference in October will invite Afghan 
parliamentarians to address the 800-strong international meeting, 
likely leading to more engagement in Afghanistan's development. 
Other results, such as education assistance from NGO Solidarite 
laique, investment and other commercial cooperation with the women 
heads of French businesses, especially in the health sector, and 
further training from U.S. and French NGOs are expected. 
 
This was a pilot project.  MEWA will continue its outreach and 
training projects, and seek to grow international assistance and 
cooperation to aid Afghanistan's development.  FYI to Brussels: 
Brussels may be the next destination, as proposed by Belgian Senate 
Head, Anne-Marie Lizin, Lizin, with whom they met in Paris.  For our 
part at Mission Paris, we hope this pilot project will be a 
prototype of continued triangulation projects with France in our 
transformation diplomacy goals.  While initially more difficult, 
similar projects to encourage French state and non-state support for 
Iraq, for example, will be on our agenda. 
Post wishes to convey its thanks to EUR, SA, and Embassy Kabul for 
their support in this project. 
Stapleton