VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFR #0877/01 1271455
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061455Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2939
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0725
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0314
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 1167
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1152

UNCLAS PARIS 000877 
 
FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO NPS - STEPHEN MORRIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNESCO SCUL KPAL XF FR
SUBJECT: UNESCO - ISRAEL AMBASSADOR'S VISIT 5 MAY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  UNESCO DG Matsuura is planning a trip to Israel 
and Ramallah in mid-June.  It will be the DG's first visit to 
Palestine.  The Israelis have asked the DG to send Deputy DG Barbosa 
to Quebec in July to assist with the World Heritage Committee 
negotiations on World Heritage sites in Jerusalem.  Israel's 
ambassador is not satisfied with UNESCO's work so far regarding the 
Holocaust Education resolution, and wants an Israeli associate 
expert to assist with the project, if possible.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Israeli Ambassador to UNESCO, David Kornbluth, accompanied 
by Embassy staffer, Yael Levy, met with Ambassador Oliver on 5 May 
to discuss a number of issues of mutual interest. 
 
World Heritage Committee - Quebec 
 
¶3. (SBU) Ambassador Kornbluth told Ambassador Oliver that he had 
spoken with Director-General Matsuura privately, and asked that he 
send the Deputy Director-General, Marcio Barbosa, to Quebec for the 
upcoming World Heritage Committee meeting in July.  Kornbluth said 
that Barbosa has been indispensable in recent months in facilitating 
negotiations with Arab states in connection with the Mughrabi Ascent 
and Jerusalem issues.  Ambassador Oliver agreed that Barbosa's 
presence would be a major plus, given the change of the WH 
Committee's make-up, which now has five Arab members.  (Note:  On 
May 6, Jordan's Ambassador to UNESCO, Dina Kawar, announced an 
information meeting on the Mughrabi Ascent to the Temple Mount 
scheduled for 22 May, the first time such a meeting has been called. 
 It would appear that Kawar is setting the stage for some political 
theatrics regarding Mughrabi in Quebec. End note.) Comment: Deputy 
DG Barbosa will likely try to derail this meeting, as he considers 
his handling of the Jerusalem issues to be his and UNESCO's most 
important success in recent months. End comment. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Oliver told Kornbluth that the museum-related 
equipment held up in Israeli customs, an issue that surfaced briefly 
as an element in a draft resolution during the 179th Executive 
Board, is a problem that must be fixed before the Quebec meetings. 
Ambassador Oliver said that otherwise, it will serve as a flashpoint 
for the Arab members of the World Heritage Committee.  She added 
that if the problem were resolved and announced at the last minute, 
it could throw the Arabs off balance, defusing any head-on attacks. 
 
 
DG Election 
 
¶5. (SBU) During a brief exchange on the 2009 DG election, both 
Ambassadors compared notes on current rumors regarding announced and 
unannounced candidates.  Ambassador Kornbluth said that in his 
discussions with the French, they now seem to be wavering on their 
surprisingly early support for the Egyptian candidate, who had 
reportedly lobbied President Sarkozy during the French president's 
honeymoon in Luxor.  Ambassador Oliver told Kornbluth that she had 
heard that Executive Board President Yai is planning to send a 
letter to all delegations in June outlining the procedure regarding 
the election process.  The next step will be a formal agenda item 
during October's Executive Board, after which the campaigns will 
begin in earnest. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Ambassador Oliver mentioned that Deputy DG Barbosa 
(Brazil) is a possible candidate for DG, and speculated that newly 
appointed ADG Hans D'Orville could possibly become acting Deputy DG 
at some point so that Barbosa could take a leave of absence and 
campaign full time for the DG job.  Kornbluth praised Barbosa, 
saying that he would be an interesting candidate, given his help on 
Middle Eastern issues. 
 
International Conference on Palestinian Refugees 
 
¶7. (SBU) When asked about the UN-New York organized International 
Conference on Palestinian Refugees held at UNESCO last week (29-30 
April), Kornbluth said that he had heard nothing at all following 
the meeting.  He did note that the Director-General had made a point 
of being out of town during the meeting, and felt obliged to send 
Deputy DG Barbosa, despite Kornbluth's request that no high-level 
UNESCO representatives participate.  Kornbluth said that the DG 
stressed to him that it was not a UNESCO event.  Ambassador Oliver 
said that no Group I ambassadors attended, as far as she knew, 
except for a five-minute fly-by by the Portuguese ambassador.  The 
US Mission is not aware of any communiqus or other reports coming 
from the meeting to date. 
 
Director-General to Israel and Palestine in June 
 
¶8. (SBU) Ambassador Kornbluth said that the Director-General is 
planning to visit Israel, and for the first time, will make a trip 
to Palestine in mid-June.  According to the Israeli Embassy, the 
Director-General will arrive in Israel on June 14, spend June 15 in 
Jerusalem, and will travel to Ramallah on June 16. (Note: Kornbluth 
mentioned that the Director-General had purposefully avoided 
visiting the Mughrabi Ascent during his previous visits to 
Jerusalem.  End note.)  Kornbluth said that the Director-General's 
office had asked him to comment on the planned schedule, but 
Kornbluth said that he prefers not to sign-off on what the 
Director-General is doing. 
 
New French Ambassador to UNESCO 
 
¶9. (SBU) Kornbluth said that he has already met the new French 
ambassador to UNESCO, Ms. Colonna.  He said that she is one of the 
"very efficient" French "fonctionnaires"-types out of the Ecole 
Nationale d'Administration mold.  Ambassador Oliver suggested that 
the French may be beefing up their presence at UNESCO in advance of 
the EU presidency.  Kornbluth, on the other hand, said that maybe 
UNESCO is just a parking place for her until another job opens up. 
Kornbluth doubted that the choice of Colonna is a sign of personal 
interest in UNESCO by Sarkozy, but agreed that it is more likely a 
decision taken by the Quai D'Orsay to increase French visibility at 
UNESCO in the lead-up to the EU presidency. 
 
Holocaust Education 
 
¶10. (SBU) Kornbluth said that there have been two working group 
meetings led by the Education Sector regarding Holocaust Education, 
following the General Conference's decision on the subject last 
October.  Kornbluth added that Nick Burnett, the ADG for Education, 
has taken over the chairmanship of the working group, at least in 
name, to demonstrate his interest.  At the same time, Ambassador 
Kornbluth said that, so far, UNESCO's lack of passion about the 
subject, and lack of money to do anything should a program be 
devised, is troubling.  He added that he would like to get an 
Israeli in place as a associate expert to help guide Holocaust 
Education in-house.  It was suggested that any plan put forward by 
an Israeli would be an inviting target for various Arab member 
states, and that a plan designed by a group of international 
graduate-level students and experts from various universities or 
institutions might be better received. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Ambassador Oliver mentioned that when the United Nations 
Foundation (UNF) wished to put forward proposals on climate change 
to UNESCO, it worked on its own to develop a complete list of 
resources and ideas that ultimately were adopted and presented as 
UNESCO recommendations.  Ambassador Oliver suggested that perhaps a 
similar approach could work in developing resources and strategies 
on Holocaust Education to be presented to UNESCO.  Both Ambassadors 
agreed that whatever recommendations or reports were to be presented 
to the 180th Executive Board, should be discretely tucked into the 
"DG's Report on items agreed at previous Executive Board meetings - 
Item 5", rather than be presented as a stand-alone agenda item. 
OLIVER