C O N F I D E N T I A L   UNESCOPARI   12232315 
VZCZCXRO3331
RR RUEHFL RUEHKN RUEHMJ RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHPB RUEHQU RUEHRN
DE RUEHFR #2315/01 3581035
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 231035Z DEC 08
FM UNESCO PARIS FR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
RUCNSCO/UNESCO COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS FR 002315 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL: 12/23/2018 
TAGS: PREL UNESCO KWBG JO IS
SUBJECT: A/S HOOK'S MEETINGS WITH SENIOR UNESCO SECRETARIAT STAFF 
 
Classified by Ambassador Louise V. Oliver for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  IO Assistant Secretary Hook raised the DG election 
problem as well as the Mughrabi Gate issue in meetings with UNESCO 
Deputy Director and Chief of Staff.  Both were concerned at the 
prospect that Egypt's Culture minister might succeed Director General 
Matsuura and put at risk management improvements made by the current 
Director General. On Jerusalem's Mughrabi Gate issue, DDG Barbosa 
felt that the Jordanians' push to get people on site to gather data 
for design planning was unnecessary and needlessly raised the 
question of which state had authority over the site.   End summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) IO Assistant Secretary Brian Hook met separately with 
UNESCO's Deputy Director General Marcio Barbosa and the 
Director-General's Chief of Staff, Elizabeth Longworth, on 11 
December 2008 at UNESCO headquarters.  Ambassador Louise Oliver and 
Anthony Krause from the Secretariat were present at the DDG meeting; 
DCM Engelken joined Mr. Hook for the meeting with Ms. Longworth. 
 
¶3. (C) Both Barbosa (himself an undeclared candidate for Director 
General) and Longworth were clearly concerned at the possibility that 
Egypt's Culture Minister Hosni might become UNESCO's next director 
General.  Longworth (protect) made clear she feared Hosni might undo 
many of the managerial improvements Matsuura has put in place. She 
observed that Matsuura had fought hard to implement these 
improvements, and his top priority in his remaining months in office 
will be to lock in these gains.  She expected that Matsuura will 
complete the process of establishing an ethics office which would 
include a complaints hotline that whistle-blowers can use.  She also 
said he had recently achieved, over initial resistance, senior 
management approval for annual performance reports on UNESCO's senior 
executives to include 360 degree reviews. 
 
¶4.  (C) Longworth stressed she must be discreet, given her position 
as an international civil servant who will have the right to remain 
in the organization after Matsuura's departure, but said that she 
viewed the DG race as still open, and hoped more candidates would 
come forward.  She remarked that the Egyptians clearly have 
professional public relations teams working on Hosni's candidacy, 
busily planting articles to boost his visibility, and, possibly 
disseminating misinformation, (e.g., suggesting support from certain 
countries where no decisions have been taken), as well.  Longworth 
said that there is no doubt that the Egyptians have been playing 
hard-ball, for example, squeezing the Moroccans hard to withdraw 
their candidate.  In response to A/S Hook's question on female 
candidates, Longworth answered that besides the Moroccan Ambassador, 
the Lithuanian and Bulgarian Ambassadors, whom she called 
"lightweights", were still in the running. 
 
¶5.  (C) Longworth said that it is "awkward" for the European Union 
given the fact that France, which is the current EU president, 
apparently pledged support to Hosni so early.  She noted that France 
supposedly voted five different ways during the last DG election 
before the final decision was announced. 
 
¶6.  (C) Responding to A/S Hook's question about the need to find 
someone with strong communication skills, Longworth said that we 
should remember that Matsuura's predecessors, M'Bow and Mayor, did 
not lack charisma, but left the organization in a disastrous mess. 
Longworth said that what UNESCO needs is a proficient, sophisticated 
manager who can make change when it is needed. 
 
¶7.  (C) Finally, in response to A/S Hook's question about personnel 
in the organization, Ms. Longworth said that there will be a clean 
sweep at the most senior levels when the new Director General comes 
in.  This will make it important to find respectable exit strategies 
for many of UNESCO's older employees who are not eager to leave Paris 
and return to their home countries.  Ms. Longworth suggested that a 
"buy-out" fund be established to help finance exit packages for 
certain long-term employees when the new DG comes on board. 
 
DDG Barbosa Meeting 
 
¶8.  (C) A/S Hook and Deputy Director Barbosa discussed the Mughrabi 
Gate issue in Jerusalem.  Hook noted that the Jordanians had been 
complaining that they "weren't getting their calls returned" in 
Jerusalem, but now Israel has created a point of contact that should 
improve things.  Mr. Barbosa agreed that they are maintaining 
contact, but added that the question of data gathering on the 
Mughrabi site remains a problem. 
 
¶9.  (C) Barbosa said that data was offered to Jordan by the Israelis, 
but this now has become a question of trust. Technically, Barbosa 
said the data needed by the Jordanians to work on their design plan 
is available, but he felt that Jordan would refuse it as a matter of 
principle, as they don't want to recognize Israeli authority over the 
site. Ultimately, Barbosa said, the Jordanians want Jerusalem 
returned to them. 
 
 
UNESCOPARI 12232315  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶10.  (C) Ambassador Oliver said that the Jordanians consider the ramp 
as part of their holy site and that the question is one of functional 
sovereignty over the area.  The Ambassador added that we are now 
getting down to the core issues, e.g. sovereignty - it is not in 
reality a technical issue. 
 
¶11.  (C) Barbosa said that other archeological sites will present 
similar problems, but that Mughrabi will be the reference case. 
Barbosa went on to say that given UNESCO's track record in mediating 
between the two, UNESCO should be present when, at some point in the 
future, the two parties discuss control of Jerusalem.  He added that 
when they decide they need help, UNESCO will be ready to give it. 
 
¶12.  (C) Ambassador Oliver mentioned that one of the key factors 
regarding the Mughrabi Gate issue is whether it will be played out at 
the World Heritage Committee or at the Executive Board.  She noted 
that there are now five Arab states among the twenty-one members of 
the World Heritage Committee, and that the U.S. and Israel will be 
ending their tenures next year. 
 
¶13.  (C) Barbosa agreed, and said that the April meeting of the 
Executive Board will be crucial, and that there is a big risk 
involved.  Barbosa said that we need to explore and ensure that the 
new authorities in Israel, referring to the newly elected Mayor of 
Jerusalem and government chosen in the upcoming national elections, 
understand and recognize the role of UNESCO.  Barbosa said that 
UNESCO wants Israel to be treated as a "normal" state. 
 
¶14.  (C) Finally, Ambassador Oliver spoke about the Holocaust 
Remembrance project, saying that we were pushing hard to move things 
forward.  Barbosa said that he is working with Yad Vashem, and 
emphasized the need to get a full-time expert at UNESCO to handle the 
project. 
 
OLIVER