VZCZCXYZ0005
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #4482 0151727
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 151725Z JAN 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID IMMEDIATE 0000
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0000

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 004482 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2018 
TAGS: UN KISL SP ODIP SCUL
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE FOR ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS FIRST 
ANNUAL FORUM IN MADRID,  JANUARY 15-16 
 
REF: A. STATE 129134 
     ¶B. EMAIL REINEMEYER-HIGGINS 
     ¶C. 01/10/08 
 
Classified By: Assistant Secretary Silverberg, for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
------ 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U)  The First Alliance of Civilizations (AOC) Annual 
Forum will be held in Madrid, January 15-16.  According to 
organizers, this event will be action-driven and will provide 
participants with a unique international platform to develop 
joint initiatives and forge partnerships in the area of 
intercultural and interreligious engagement.  In addition to 
high-level debates about emerging trends in relations between 
diverse cultures and religions, the Forum will feature 
announcements of initiatives and project-specific working 
sessions.  The meeting is expected to identify next steps in 
program development as first described in the AOC 
Implementation Plan released in May 2007.  The U.S. hopes 
that this meeting will provide information about the 
direction in which the AOC is heading, allowing the 
Department to assess USG involvement with the AOC. 
 
¶2.  (C) The U.S. will be represented by Embassy Madrid.  Post 
may draw from the language in para 5 and the background in 
paras 8-10 during the conference.  Department requests that 
Post notify the Department immediately in the event that this 
conference takes on a dominant anti-U.S. or anti-Israel tone. 
 All outcome documents should be cleared with Department 
before an offer of U.S. support is extended. 
 
-------------------------- 
REPRESENTATION AND CONTACT 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The Ambassador has been designated as the U.S. 
representative and will attend the opening ceremony.  Post 
may use its discretion to determine the level of Embassy 
representation, if any, at other specific Forum 
events/sessions.  The Agenda for the Annual Forum can be 
found on the AOC website:  http://www.unaoc.org. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Post should follow the guidelines in reftel/email 
on contact with foreign officials at conferences. 
 
---------- 
OBJECTIVES 
---------- 
 
¶5.  (U)  While Madrid-based USG officials will attend the 
conference mostly in an observer capacity, there may be 
opportunities to raise issues of importance to the USG. 
Embassy officials attending these sessions should, as 
appropriate, underscore the following points: 
 
--  Note appreciation for the efforts of Spain and Turkey, 
the AOC's sponsors, to consider ways to improve understanding 
between moderate, civilizing forces within majority Islamic 
and Western societies.  We agree that there is a need to 
strengthen cooperation against extremism, as we advance the 
President's agenda of supporting those who strive for 
freedom, democracy, and opportunity. 
 
--  Note examples of our work in this field, including: 
 
a)  Introducing American Muslims to Muslim communities in 
other regions.  For example the Citizen Dialogue program is a 
U.S. Department of State exchange program that brings 
American Muslims to Europe, to reach out and share their 
experiences and exchange views; 
 
b)  Empowering Muslim advocates of peace and coexistence, by 
connecting like-minded Muslims with others who are familiar 
with what civil society is doing about day-to-day issues, and 
how to build the link between the individual and the larger 
society; 
 
--  Underscore need to ensure that the AOC is not 
misinterpreted as supporting the assumption that there is a 
conflict between Muslims and the West.  Millions of Muslims 
are part of the West, consider themselves Western and will 
continue to be Western.  Additionally, urge the AOC to reject 
the premise that all things Islamic come from the Middle East 
and North Africa region. 
 
--  Emphasize that the U.S. does not want to see the conflict 
of the politicized High Level Group report reflected in the 
AOC's operations/programs.  Note that the High Level Group 
report turned a blind eye to Islamic extremism and 
consistently suggested that Islamic-Western tensions are the 
fault of the West and Israel. 
 
--  Highlight that the United States is a strong supporter of 
peace in the Middle East.  However, the situation in the 
region is complex and multifaceted, with a number of issues 
contributing to a lack of peace.  The United States 
encourages all parties involved to create an environment that 
will permit progress toward two democratic states, Israel and 
Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.  As the 
President made clear during his recent trip to the region, we 
will continue to work closely toward that end with Prime 
Minister Olmert, President Abbas, moderate regional leaders, 
and our partners in the Quartet. 
 
--  If raised:  The United States vigorously opposes efforts 
to exclude Israel from membership or participation in the 
United Nations.  We believe it is inappropriate to inject 
political issues into the work of the United Nations, 
numerous specialized and technical agencies. 
 
--  Note that we hope that the AOC will become an energetic 
and creative organization within the UN system that we can 
fully embrace.  However, the U.S. needs to know more about 
how the AOC will administer/oversee/manage programs before we 
can affiliate the USG with the AOC. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
REPORTING DEADLINE AND POINT OF CONTACT 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U)  Post should report by cable on atmospherics and 
specific outcomes by January 26.  Please info USUN. 
 
¶7.  (C)  While we do not expect this conference to devolve 
into an anti-Israel event, Post should immediately contact 
Anneliese Reinemeyer in IO/UNP (202 647-0046 or in the GAL) 
if the conference takes on a significantly anti-U.S. or 
anti-Israel tone (i.e., repeated comments denying Israel's 
right to exist, Holocaust denial, or overt anti-Semitic 
remarks). 
 
----------- 
BACKGROUND 
----------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Spain and Turkey developed the Alliance of 
Civilizations initiative in the wake of the 2003 Madrid 
bombings, the rioting over the Dutch Mohamed cartoons, and in 
response to the perception of a growing divide between the 
West and Islam.  The secretariat of the AOC sees the AOC as 
having the potential to educate the media and prevent media 
from being used as a tool to fuel similar misunderstandings 
in the future.  (Note:  in other venues, this type of media 
programming has been used by opponents of media freedom to 
disguise censorship and media intimidation in the language of 
religious tolerance.  End note).  The AOC hopes to become a 
clearing house for ideas and catalyst for partnerships 
between government agencies, international organizations and 
civil society bodies working in areas of intercultural and 
interreligious engagement.  The AOC is a new and unique UN 
body, and the U.S. is still evaluating its effectiveness, 
efficiency, and compatibility of its objectives with ours. 
 
¶9.  (C)  While we hope that the AOC will become an 
organization the U.S. can fully embrace, we have concerns 
that the AOC may be overtaken by anti-Israel/U.S. elements. 
This concern was heightened with the release of the High 
Level Group Report in December 2006.  According to the report 
"politics, not religion, is at the heart of growing 
Muslim-West divide," and it says that the Israeli-Palestinian 
conflict is the central driver in global tensions.  The U.S. 
fundamentally rejects the High Level Group report's premise. 
The report strongly criticizes U.S. involvement in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, and its main conclusion blames Israel for things 
beyond its control, namely being a symbolic rallying point 
for extremists.  Additionally, the U.S. objects to the 
politicization of the non-political UN bodies like the 
Alliance of Civilizations and to the proposal that foreign 
policy - specifically the resolution to the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict - should be outsourced to groups 
like the Alliance of Civilizations.  Finally, the U.S. does 
not agree that there is an inherent Muslim-West divide, 
noting that Muslims are a part of the West and that Muslim 
issues are not limited to the Middle East and North Africa. 
We hope that these biases are limited to the High Level Group 
and will not taint the AOC's work, but until we are sure, the 
U.S. has taken a wait and see attitude toward the AOC. 
 
¶10.  (C)  In a letter to the Embassy of Spain on February 14, 
2006, Secretary of State Rice noted that we expect to support 
an AOC initiative in areas such as: 
 
-- Furthering understanding between cultures; 
-- Promoting understanding of different cultures in schools; 
-- Developing links among universities, individual scholars, 
media, and civil society groups interested in promoting 
intercultural understanding; 
-- Enhancing the ability to reach out to youth and 
marginalized groups using the internet and other means; and 
-- Developing regional conferences and workshops to promote 
interactions between experts from diverse backgrounds and 
culture. 
 
The letter also says that we look forward to "implementation 
of the work plan so that we can identify specific projects," 
which the U.S. could support.  We fully intend to fulfill our 
commitment to the Spanish, but we would like to first learn 
more about the AOC's terms of reference and potential biases 
to allow us to meet the commitment in a way that minimizes 
the chance of our engagement subsequently becoming an 
embarrassment. 
RICE