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Lucia A Keegan  11/08/2006 10:09:09 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
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UNCLAS    SENSITIVE     PARIS 07094

SIPDIS
cxparis:
    ACTION: UNESCO
    INFO:   SCI POL ECON AMBU AMB AMBO DCM

DISSEMINATION: UNESCOX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: AMB:LVOLIVER
DRAFTED: POL:DROSTROFF
CLEARED: EDU:SLOVEJOY, DCM:AKOSS

VZCZCFRI007
RR RUEHC RUCNSCO
DE RUEHFR #7094/01 3001650
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271650Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2646
INFO RUCNSCO/UNESCO COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007094 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR ROBIN GILCHRIST AND 
STEPHANIE WHELPLEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNESCO SCUL KPAO
SUBJECT:  UNESCO -- EDUCATION ISSUES AT THE 175TH EXECUTIVE BOARD 
(FALL 2006) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) EDUCATION SECTOR REFORMS  In September, the First Lady 
hosted her highly successful Literacy Conference in New York City, 
attended by the President and UNESCO's Director General Matsuura. 
Despite the goodwill generated by the conference and interventions 
by most members of the Executive Board (EB) about UNESCO's next 
budget and mid-term strategy that stressed the primacy of education 
in the Organization's work, some delegations still seemed determined 
to impede the Education Sector's management plan due to their 
concerns about issues such as staffing and restructuring. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Over the summer, the Chairman of UNESCO's Finance and 
Administration (FA) Commission, the Beninese ambassador, Olabiyi 
Yai, had signaled his unhappiness with the restructuring and reform 
of UNESCO's Education Sector proposed by the Assistant Director 
General Peter Smith (US).  At that time, Yai, very publicly and very 
clearly told Smith that he would be called to task in front of the 
EB's FA Commission this fall; Yai kept his promise. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In an opening intervention at the Board plenary, Yai, 
speaking for the Africa Group, raised specific questions regarding 
the perceived lack of consultations with the African states by ADG 
Smith prior to the DG's approval of the reform plan. (Note:  We've 
been told by the Education Sector that they had offered times and 
dates that had been rejected by the African Group, though other 
delegations, including the Liberia, felt they had been appropriately 
consulted on the matter.)  (Comment:  Yai, though a former professor 
at Florida State, often seems more intent on thwarting US interests 
than promoting Benin's.  End comment.)  He also indicated that there 
is a lack of knowledge regarding Africa-specific education needs, 
questioned the hiring of Navigant, an American consulting firm, at 
what Yai believed to be at an exorbitant cost, and complained about 
the lack of proper planning regarding personnel, including a lack of 
third-world candidates among Paris-based employees for reassignment 
to African posts, and the failure to recognize the need for an 
employee dedicated to the issue of South/South coordination. (Note: 
There have also been noises among some delegations and the Education 
Sector secretariat about the overly strong influence of the US in 
the Education Sector as a whole.)  Yai also obliged both UNESCO 
employee unions by giving them ample time to attack the Education 
Sector reform plans with guns blazing during the FA Commission 
meeting.  (Note:  the employee unions have been particularly vocal 
and hostile to the proposed reforms.  There was also a anonymous 
letter circulating around UNESCO filled with rumors in a vicious and 
personal attack on ADG Smith and his immediate staff). 
 
¶4. (SBU) ADG Smith's overall plan for reform of the Education Sector 
has already been given the green light for implementation by the 
Director General and is not in danger.  However, disgruntled 
delegations, led by South African and India (comment: likely in 
revenge for U.S. questions about Brazil-see septel) tried to force 
through an EB decision that was critical of Smith.  The U.S. working 
with Canada and the United Kingdom, managed to craft a resolution 
that called for an investigation into the consultancy contract and 
requested a report at the next EB meeting, while removing language 
that was implicitly critical of Smith and the DG.  (Note:  Smith has 
said on several occasions that he is confident that his actions will 
withstand scrutiny and that he welcomes an inquiry.  We also have 
heard rumors in recent days that the new French external auditor is 
being encouraged to make investigation of this contract a priority 
over investigation of the UNESCO Brasilia Office.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) YO SI PUEDO. Cuba has been using UNESCO to vigorously 
promote its literacy training method, "Yo si puedo" (YSP), 
throughout the developing world to demonstrate their claims of its 
superiority as an effective teaching method.  They have managed to 
keep YSP in the limelight, over the years, through clever linkages 
to literacy conferences, literacy prizes, etc.  For this Board, the 
Education Sector had been asked to conduct an independent evaluation 
on the effectiveness of YSP,  compared to other literacy training 
programs.  The report gave YSP a lukewarm assessment overall.  ADG 
Peter Smith, whose sector is responsible for literacy education in 
the context of the UN Literacy Decade, Education for All (EFA) and 
the Millennium Development Goals, indicated that he would ensure 
that YSP, no matter what the result of the Executive Board's 
decision on its utility, would end up being "one pea in a giant bowl 
of pea soup". 
 
¶6. (SBU) Several GRULAC members of the EB were not happy with the 
Secretariat's report and proposed an amended draft resolution that 
 
SIPDIS 
gave more praise to YSP.  The Mission's Education Attach, 
successfully negotiated language to the amended text to blunt the 
final resolution adopted by the Board.  These changes made it clear 
that YSP was one of many existing literacy methods that countries 
can use, if they choose. (Executive Board document reference 175 
EX/9). 
 
¶7. (SBU) EFA GLOBAL ACTION PLAN. The Board adopted changes to the 
draft resolution on the EFA Global Action Plan that noted that the 
directions outlined in the plan would have implications on the 
future work and organization of the Education Sector and 
specifically requested the DG to consult with the EB on all future 
reorganizations of UNESCO.  This was included to address concerns 
raised by numerous Member States who opposed the way the education 
management reforms had been implemented.  The language expresses 
concerns about how the process was handled but does not delay the 
implementation of the Education Sector management reforms.  The 
resolution also asks the DG to consider the views that Member States 
expressed during this EB meeting on the education reforms and 
continue to update the Board on how the reforms are evolving.  In 
addition, the EFA resolution recognized the progress being made on 
the Global Action Plan with the five convening agencies and requests 
that the DG present a revised version of the plan at the EFA High 
Level Working group in Cairo in November. 
OLIVER