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Lucia A Keegan  03/12/2007 12:14:37 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
Text:                                                                      
                                                                           
      
UNCLAS        PARIS 00915

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

DISSEMINATION: UNESCOX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: AMB:LVOLIVER
DRAFTED: DCM:AKOSS
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCFRI998
OO RUEHC
DE RUEHFR #0915 0681359
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091359Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5490

UNCLAS PARIS 000915 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
FOR:  IO A/S SILVERBERG AND DG STAPLES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: APER UNESCO
SUBJECT:  USUNESCO - ADEQUATE MISSION STAFFING 
 
¶1.  I am very concerned about this mission's continuing ability to 
support the Secretary's program of transformational diplomacy after 
the departure this fall of our remaining reporting officer, Nancy 
Cooper.  At that point the only Foreign Service Officers on my staff 
will be the DCM and the PAO.  When the U.S. Mission to UNESCO was 
established, we were assigned two reporting officers.  Given the 
large number of international instruments negotiated at and 
administered by UNESCO, we have already had to sacrifice our 
political officer position to fill the vital position of legal 
adviser. 
 
¶2.  Ms. Cooper, the mission science officer, is deeply engaged in 
transformational diplomacy.  She is working with UNESCO's science 
sector to strengthen developing countries' ability to build local 
capacity in basic science, engineering, disaster prevention, water 
management and the expansion of the international tsunami warning 
system to all the world's oceans.  Her portfolio also includes 
tracking a massive reorganization of UNESCO's two science sectors so 
that they can better serve the transformational needs of developing 
countries.  Not long ago I added the monitoring of UNESCO's high 
profile and increasingly politicized World Heritage Center to 
Nancy's already considerable burden.  But Nancy is doing much more 
than science and the World Heritage Center; she is in effect doing 
most of our political reporting and is supporting one of IO's most 
important transformational diplomacy policy approaches of "promoting 
administrative and management reforms that ensure good stewardship 
of precious resources."  As our sole remaining reporting officer, 
Nancy covers such vital issues as UN reform and management as well 
as the UNESCO budget.  I am concerned that a detailee from another 
agency will be focused on either the science portfolio or the World 
Heritage portfolio.  However, the biggest problem is we would face 
not having another FSO on staff who understands the culture of the 
Department, knows how to do political reporting, and is experienced 
in diplomacy.  This would dramatically reduce my mission's ability 
to carry out transformational diplomacy. 
 
¶3.  I am aware of the extraordinary pressures on the Foreign Service 
and the sacrifices being made by so many serving in difficult posts. 
 I understand and support the need for the GPR, but I also feel we 
must disaggregate this position from its physical location in Paris. 
 Frankly speaking, IO missions are mostly located in nice locations 
like Paris and Geneva, but IO's work, wherever it is carried out, is 
vital to U.S. interests and a crucial part of transformational 
diplomacy.  Our vigorous presence at UNESCO allows us to leverage 
the organization's resources to tackle serious global issues such as 
illiteracy, while still curbing UNESCO's impulses to pursue policies 
that harm U.S. interests.  UNESCO also supports the GWOT by carrying 
out education projects in places where forces hostile to the United 
States are trying to brainwash children and preventing direct USG 
engagement with schools.  Just this week UNESCO announced a 3.4 
million dollars education project with the Pakistani government 
funded by USAID.  We have now been re-engaged with UNESCO for over 
three years, and if we expect positive results from that 
re-engagement we must commit the human resources necessary.  For 
this reason, I request that IO and HR revisit the decision to 
eliminate this Mission's remaining reporting officer position. 
Oliver