C O N F I D E N T I A L   UNESCOPARI   12122260 
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INFO RUCNSCO/UNESCO COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS FR 002260 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2018 
TAGS: SCUL UNESCO
SUBJECT:  HFAC STAFFER KILLION MEETING WITH UNESCO ADG EDUCATION 
BURNETT 
 
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR LOUISE OLIVER FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  ADG Burnett expressed his hope that the U.S. will 
continue to play a key role in education at UNESCO.  While not 
getting out in front of the DG, he let us know that he intends to 
keep Mrs. Bush involved in literacy, and will be extending an 
invitation to Mrs. Biden regarding her participation in a July 2009 
World Conference on Higher Education.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Majority House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) staff member, 
David Killion, met with UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for 
Education, Nicholas Burnett on 9 December at UNESCO.  He was 
accompanied by U.S. Mission Deputy Chief of Mission Stephen Engelken 
and Mission political specialist, David Ostroff. 
 
¶3.  (C) Mr. Killion began the meeting by explaining he had traveled 
to Paris to express the serious concern of the HFAC regarding the 
candidacy of Egypt's Farouk Hosni for the position of 
Director-General of UNESCO.  Mr. Killion said that the HFAC was 
advising President-elect Obama's transition team on UNESCO matters, 
and wanted to communicate to both Member State representatives and 
key Secretariat managers that the incoming Democrats were likely to 
share the Bush administration's belief that Hosni, as an individual, 
would not be an acceptable Director General. 
¶4.  (C) ADG Burnett responded that he "took note" of the message, but 
as an international civil servant could not comment on the political 
issues connected with the DG election race. 
 
¶5.  (C) Killion stressed that the Obama administration has stated 
that it is interested in pursuing "soft power" goals through 
multilateral organizations, and he expects that the role of UNESCO in 
connection with education will remain a key priority for the U.S. 
Burnett said that he has been working to establish greater confidence 
both internally and externally following the departure of his 
predecessor, Peter Smith.  Burnett said that in terms of policy, 
there was no "roll back" of major decisions made by Smith in 
connection with his proposed reform program, but added that financial 
constraints are making progress difficult.  Burnett noted that he is 
working to achieve greater focus with the resources available to him, 
and that the financial realities, given the current economic 
situation, will oblige UNESCO to work effectively with what it has, 
to earn the right to expect greater funding. 
 
¶6.  (C) Burnett mentioned that the World Health Organization has a 
budget of over US dols 900 million, while UNESCO's education sector 
only has a budget of some US dols 117 million in comparison to carry 
out its enormous mandate.  During the discussion, Burnett mentioned 
that he expects an American to be selected as the new Chief of 
Finance for the Education Sector in the coming days. 
 
¶7.  (C) In response to a question about key elements of the education 
program, Burnett said that EFA (Education for All) remains his top 
priority.  He added that he hopes to raise the visibility of 
education-related subjects at the next G-8 meeting, as well as at the 
upcoming EFA High Level meeting in Oslo. 
 
¶8. (C) Burnett said that his current contract, a two-year term, would 
expire in September 2009, but that he expected all of the ADG's would 
be extended in their positions until December 2009, permitting the 
incoming DG to recruit and install his own senior staff. 
 
¶9. (C) While discussing the importance of programs related to higher 
education, both Burnett and Killion agreed on the important role of 
community colleges, which are not seen in many parts of the world as 
an alternative to larger universities in teacher training and 
life-long learning programs, despite their success in the U.S. 
Killion mentioned that Jill Biden, the wife of the incoming Vice 
President, is a teacher at a community college, and might be 
interested in helping UNESCO promote community colleges in the coming 
years.  Burnett said that he would be interested in exploring a 
possible role for her to play in this regard. 
 
¶10.  (C) Burnett expressed his thanks to the U.S. for its help in 
promoting literacy, noting that the U.S. is the only OECD country to 
promote literacy forcefully, and has been diligent at working to 
ensure that it receives the funding and attention it deserves. 
Burnett said that some 776 million people are illiterate in the world 
today - over one-sixth of the adult population - and current 
projections indicate that the number will drop only to 700 million by 
¶2015.  Burnett said that despite the lower figure, the results are 
simply not good enough and stressed the need to do more.  He noted, 
with appreciation, the work of Mrs. Bush as the Honorary Ambassador 
for the UN Decade of Literacy.  Killion said that good ideas must 
remain outside of partisan politics, and hoped that Mrs. Bush would 
be able to stay involved in the program. 
 
¶11.  (C) In response to Mr. Killion's question about where money 
should go for better results, Burnett said that education advocacy 
and planning at UNESCO are vital, as UNESCO must maintain its role to 
help in capacity building and developing a global alliance to share 
knowledge, particularly in developing countries. 
 
 
UNESCOPARI 12122260  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶12.  (C) Finally, Burnett mentioned four major fora that will take 
place in the coming year that will provide an opportunity for the 
Obama administration to continue in the U.S.'s participation in 
education through UNESCO.  He noted the Education for Sustainable 
Development conference in March, the Adult Education conference in 
May, the Higher Education conference in July, and UNESCO's General 
Conference in Paris in October.  He added that he hopes the U.S. will 
be able to participate in each gathering. 
 
 
OLIVER