UNCLAS        PARIS FR 00076
cxparis:
    ACTION: UNESCO
    INFO:   AMBU AMB AMBO DCM SCI DAO POL ECON

DISSEMINATION: UNESCOX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: CHARGE:SENGELKEN
DRAFTED: POL:DOSTROFF
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCFRI914
RR RUEHC RUEHTV RUEHJM RUEHAM RUEHKU RUEHEG
RUEHRH RUEHAS RUEHTU RUEHRB RUEHDM RUEHDO RUEHGV RUCNDT
DE RUEHFR #0076/01 0201532
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201532Z JAN 09
FM UNESCO PARIS FR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN
RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS FR 000076 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: UNESCO PREL KWBG IS EG JO
SUBJECT: GAZA/JERUSALEM DOMINATE UNESCO EXECUTIVE BOARD INFORMATION 
MEETING 
 
¶1. Summary: Middle East issues dominated the information session for 
Executive Board members held by UNESCO Director-General Koichiro 
Matsuura on January 16.  Arab states repeatedly urged Matsuura to be 
more active in protecting educational and cultural facilities in 
Gaza.  The latter undertook to put UNESCO personnel into a UN team 
that will soon travel to Gaza to assess the inhabitants' needs. He 
also agreed to hold - probably in February -- another information 
session for Executive Board members after UNESCO team members return 
to Paris.  Member states also raised Jerusalem, inquiring what the 
Director-General planned to do to prevent another impasse over the 
Temple Mount's Mughrabi Gate from disturbing the next Executive 
Board.  The Director-General said he was trying to encourage the 
parties (Israel, Jordan, and the Jerusalem "waqf") to reschedule an 
"encounter" among these parties that was cancelled last November 
just before it was scheduled to meet.  End Summary. 
 
GAZA TAKES CENTER STAGE 
 
¶2. Gaza and Middle East issues dominated the Director-General's 
biannual Information Meeting, 16 January 2009.  Executive Board 
Chairman Yai (Benin) set the tone by beginning the session with a 
moment of silence for "the victims of Gaza".  Asked repeatedly what 
he is doing about the conflict, Director-General (DG) Matsuura told 
Member State delegates that he had spoken out five times since the 
fighting began, including issuing a statement of support regarding 
Qatar's Sheikha Mozah's proposal to have schools in Gaza declared as 
safety zones.  The DG also promoted calls for dialogue as well as 
the necessary protection for both educational and media 
institutions. 
 
¶3. The DG said that Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has accepted the 
idea of a United Nations interagency mission to assess the needs on 
the ground, which will be sent as soon as possible.  Matsuura said 
that he has already expressed UNESCO's desire to participate in the 
mission, particularly in connection with evaluating how to get 
educational institutions up and running, and determining the level 
of damage to any cultural sites. 
 
¶4. Kuwait and Egypt spoke to urge a Gaza mission be undertaken at 
the earliest opportunity, with Egypt asking that the 
Director-General come up with some practical measures to take 
immediately, as it will take too much time for the mission report to 
be finalized.  Several Arab speakers urged the Director General to 
convene an information meeting on the Gaza situation in early 
February.  The DG thanked Kuwait for arranging a meeting for him 
with Arab ambassadors on the Gaza situation and agreed that he would 
hold another information meeting once he had some new information to 
report. 
 
¶5. Cuba thanked both the DG and the Chairman for their comments on 
Gaza and said that it is not possible to "be on the margins" of 
what's happening in Gaza (noting bombings of UN buildings, mosques, 
schools).  He suggested that the DG's public comments be more widely 
publicized to let the world know that UNESCO has expressed its 
concerns on this situation.  He went on to say that the DG should 
personally take part in the United Nations mission to Gaza, adding 
that "we have to say 'Yes We Can'!" 
 
¶6. The Portuguese ambassador asked the DG to take concrete steps, 
and suggested that the UNSYG's High Representative for the "Alliance 
of Civilizations Jorge Sampaio, be invited to brief members on the 
situation in Gaza.  (Note:  The Spanish and Turkish delegations 
later took the floor to second this idea.  End note.)  The DG said 
that he would be pleased to arrange for an information meeting with 
Sampaio at an appropriate time when there is something to say, but 
stressed he would not wait for the high representative before 
scheduling another information meeting on Gaza. 
 
¶7. After Board members had ceased asking questions, Israeli 
Ambassador David Kornbluth, an observer, was given the floor.  He 
said that if UNESCO is to play any role, it must be in fact-finding. 
 He asked that the DG ensure that the role be balanced, and that it 
must take into account how the conflict began, adding that rockets 
had fallen on Israeli schools and communities.  Kornbluth also 
mentioned that the "terrorists'" use of shielding (referring to the 
Hamas practice of using civilians and civilian property as shields) 
is a war crime.  Kornbluth urged that any fact-finding by UNESCO be 
balanced, or warned that it will not help us move forward. 
 
MUGHRABI GATE AND JERUSALEM 
 
¶8. Many delegations also raised issues relating to Jerusalem.  The 
French ambassador said that the World Heritage enhanced monitoring 
mechanism for the  Mughrabi Gate is the embodiment of the kind of 
cooperation that can be achieved at UNESCO.  At the same time, the 
ambassador asked the DG how he planned to avoid major disruptions on 
issues like Mughrabi Gate that occurred at the last Executive Board 
session 
 
¶9. Matsuura said that the "technical encounter" between the Israelis 
and Jordanians was "postponed" in mid-November 2008, and that he is 
working to arrange another.  (Note:  The Director-General was being 
very diplomatic in suggesting he was responsible for the failure of 
the meeting.  End note.) 
¶10. The Spanish ambassador specifically asked that the DG convene a 
meeting concerning World Heritage in Jerusalem before the next 
Board, adding that we need to show that the World Heritage 
convention can help everyone achieve their goals. 
 
¶11. Executive Board Chairman Yai declared that we must all work to 
ensure that this issue is not politicized excessively, and that we 
should do our best to begin negotiations far in advance of the 
Executive Board.  He noted that a delegation from Israel would be 
visiting the Secretariat 27-29 January.  (Note: Israel's A/S and DAS 
for IO Affairs will be visiting for the Holocaust Remembrance 
ceremonies.  End note.) 
 
¶12. Once again, the Israeli and Iranian delegations (both observers) 
were permitted to speak when member states had finished talking. 
Israeli Ambassador David Kornbluth urged the DG to be careful with 
the process, referring to the problems that occurred during the 
negotiation process during the last Executive Board.  Kornbluth said 
that the process that we now use took years to arrive at, and that 
we have proven that it works, as we have been able to arrive at 
consensus decisions.  He noted that when the process is abandoned, 
as it was at the last Executive Board, negotiations collapsed.  He 
asked that we recognize the process is fragile, and that we treat it 
with the respect that it deserves.  Kornbluth also asked that the 
people involved arrive with clear positions early enough to allow 
for talks to begin before the Executive Board is underway. 
 
¶13. Finally, Iran's delegate said that he supported the call for an 
information meeting.  He said that the situation is a "real 
holocaust" and that "UNESCO must help put an end to this genocide 
and extermination". 
 
¶14. Comment:  UNESCO's next Executive Board session begins on April 
¶14.  It is likely to be dominated by Middle East issues, judging by 
the extraordinary number of questions on Gaza and Jerusalem at the 
Director-General's general information session January 16. 
 
ENGELKEN