UNCLASSIFIED   UNESCOPARI   02100200 
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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFR #0200/01 0410936
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100936Z FEB 09
FM UNESCO PARIS FR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK

UNCLAS PARIS FR 000200 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS TO INTERIOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, STEVE MORRIS 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: UNESCO PREL PHUM MARR KWBG KAWC IS
SUBJECT: GAZA RELIEF EFFORTS AT UNESCO BEGIN 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Promising to coordinate closely with UN system 
sister agencies, UNESCO held an information meeting on February 6 to 
lay out its plans to lend assistance in Gaza, concentrating on 
education but also including protection of journalists.  Fundraising 
for Gaza relief efforts will begin in earnest next month.  UNESCO's 
Deputy Director-General Barbosa will attend the Gaza Flash Appeal 
donors meeting in Cairo on March 2.  At the information meeting, 
Iran announced that it will hold a Gaza conference on March 4-5 in 
Tehran, and the Director-General promised that UNESCO would be 
represented at the meeting. Both Director-General Matsuura and 
Deputy Director-General Barbosa announced that UNESCO is preparing 
an initiative to ensure that schools are removed from conflict in 
wartime.  In a conversation with Acting IO Assistant Secretary James 
Warlick later the same day, Deputy Director-General Barbosa admitted 
that the details of this initiative have not been decided, but he 
suggested that the intent would be to plug what he believes is a gap 
in existing international law with regard to the protection of 
schools in conflict areas.  He added that a 
March 18 General Assembly discussion led by UN envoy for children in 
armed conflict Coomaraswamy will mark an important milestone in the 
development of this initiative. Warlick and Charge warned that 
UNESCO should stay away from political issues, and that this sort of 
discussion should more appropriately take place in New York than at 
UNESCO.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura (Japan) convened a 
well-attended information meeting February 6 to brief members on 
UNESCO's action to assist Gaza in the aftermath of the recent 
conflict.  With a few exceptions, the meeting went off without the 
political fireworks some had anticipated.  The meeting provided 
delegations with the first opportunity to hear from the Secretariat 
on its overall plans regarding UNESCO's participation in UN efforts 
in Gaza, and was the first chance for delegates to speak publicly 
about the Gaza conflict. 
 
UNESCO's Six Project Plan 
 
¶3. (U) Director-General Matsuura gave a brief introduction, 
describing the Secretariat's plans to participate in the larger UN 
effort through six projects:  five of which are education-related, 
and one designed to improve the safety and protection of journalists 
and media professionals in the Gaza strip.  The budget for the six 
projects is estimated to be three million US$.  The Director-General 
said that he had already authorized $200,000 from the regular budget 
to be made available in advance of donations expected from Member 
States so that work could begin in Gaza.  While assessing possible 
damage to cultural and natural heritage sites was also mentioned, 
cultural projects are not a priority at a time when the population 
is in need of basic relief. 
 
¶4. (U) Louise Haxthausen, director of UNESCO's office in Ramallah, 
reported on her February 1-2 mission to the Gaza, where she and two 
other UNESCO staff members had a chance to assess the situation. 
Saying she had witnessed "great distress of the population". 
Haxthausen said that the current conflict is exacerbated by 18 
months of embargo and blockade.  She declared that 80 percent of the 
population is now dependent on international assistance to live. 
 
¶5. (U) Haxthausen said that the United Nations plans for Gaza are 
divided into two timelines: one for emergency relief and early 
recovery assistance during the next nine months; and a second phase 
of long-term reconstruction, which will take place over a two-year 
period.  Both the Director-General and Haxthausen repeated that 
UNESCO's approach in Gaza is to provide assistance in areas where 
UNESCO has unique expertise, letting other UN agencies take the lead 
in dealing with other problems, given their greater resources and 
expertise.  The Director-General mentioned that he had had to fight 
to convince OCHA (UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs) to include UNESCO in the early relief and reconstruction 
planning.  UNESCO will offer its mandated technical expertise given 
its comparative advantage; fill gaps in the overall cluster 
response; and would bridge relief efforts where possible. 
 
¶6. (U) The Director-General said that he will scale-up UNESCO's 
response capacity in Gaza, adding an education specialist in 
Ramallah, furnished by the Norwegians, and would create an antenna 
presence in Gaza City in the UNDP offices. 
 
¶7. (U) Five education-related projects have been identified for 
UNESCO to take on as the lead agency in Gaza.  The projects are as 
follows: 1) Provision of emergency secondary education in non-UNRWA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS TO INTERIOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, STEVE MORRIS 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: UNESCO PREL PHUM MARR KWBG KAWC IS
SUBJECT: GAZA RELIEF EFFORTS AT UNESCO BEGIN 
 
schools. (cost $800,000); 2) Emergency rehabilitation of higher 
education institutions. (cost $800,000); 3) Support for crisis 
planning and management for affected school principals and district 
officers. (cost $400,000); 4) Training in INEE Minimum standards 
(cost $320,000); 5) Promotion of schools as safe zones. (cost 
$420,000).  A sixth project, concerns strengthening the safety and 
protection of journalists and the press freedom in the Gaza strip. 
(cost $200,000). 
 
¶8. (U) Describing the situation of Gaza's education system, 
Haxthausen said that seven schools were completely destroyed; 157 
primary schools were partially damaged, and noted that 56 percent of 
the population is made up of school-age children.  These figures do 
not take into account the UNRWA schools.  She also noted that two 
main buildings (containing engineering and science faculties) at the 
Islamic University were totally destroyed.  UNESCO's work in Gaza 
will be coordinated with UNICEF and the Save the Children 
organization. 
 
Fund Raising - Flash Appeal - Looking for $532 million 
 
¶9. (U) The UN formally launched a flash appeal for donations on 
February 2 in Geneva.  A special donors meeting will be held in 
Cairo on March 2.  Director-General Matsuura announced February 6 
that UNESCO's Deputy Director-General Barbosa will attend.  The 
total funding goal is for $613 million, covering a dozen different 
types of aid from agriculture to cash-for work assistance. 
Following an initial appeal for aid, over $80 million was raised. 
An additional $532.7 million is still needed.  Some $40 million is 
earmarked for education.  UNESCO's six projects make up $3 million 
of that amount. For UNESCO-specific projects, the Director-General 
asked that Member States contact the Secretariat for detailed 
information about extra-budgetary donations to underwrite the 
UNESCO-led projects. 
 
Protection of Journalists and Freedom of Expression 
 
¶10. (U) Haxthausen said that one journalist had been killed in the 
conflict, and that several had been seriously injured.  She 
mentioned that the ban on the international media in Gaza had only 
been lifted on January 26, and that both sides are censoring news 
reports and that several arrests of media professionals had taken 
place. 
 
¶11. (U) UNESCO has already begun providing safety equipment 
(bullet-proof vests, helmets, "PRESS" signs, etc.) to media 
professionals, and has started training to increase their protection 
given the possibility of more violence in Gaza.  UNESCO will also be 
providing first aid training and psycho-social support, and will 
encourage the creation of professional networks. 
 
Cultural Sites - Peripheral Damage, Lesser Priority 
 
¶12. (U) The UNESCO mission to Gaza also assessed the damage to seven 
cultural and natural heritage sites, including three that are listed 
on the Inventory of Sites considered having outstanding universal 
value (possible candidates for the World Heritage List, Athinon 
Harbor, Wadi Gaza Coastal Wetlands, and the Saint Hilarion 
Monastery).  They found that there was some partial damage due to 
bombing and shelling in the vicinity of the sites, but no direct 
damage. The concerns about protecting them should hostilities resume 
are linked to the fact that the sites are used for public functions, 
which put them at risk, that some are in proximity to military 
installations, and that they lack basic protection measures, 
including needed legal frameworks, and enforcement capacity. 
 
¶13. (U) The Director-General indicated that ADG Culture, Francoise 
Riviere was considering the possibility of sending a technical 
mission to examine the sites in greater detail, and had been in 
touch with ICCROM (The International Centre for the Study of the 
Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) Director Mounir 
Bouchenaki, who had led the team sent to Lebanon several years ago 
following the conflict there. 
 
Questions, Answers and Speeches - Highlights 
 
¶14. (U) The "question and answer" segment of the information 
meeting, which normally gives delegates the chance to ask questions 
was, as expected, more geared to speechifying than questions. 
(Note:  the U.S. delegation did not take the floor).  Some 
highlights: 
 
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STATE PASS TO INTERIOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, STEVE MORRIS 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: UNESCO PREL PHUM MARR KWBG KAWC IS
SUBJECT: GAZA RELIEF EFFORTS AT UNESCO BEGIN 
 
 
- The opening volley, from Mauritania, was among the most 
intemperate, with the delegate asking "if this had been another 
country (responsible for the conflict), it would be shunned by all 
nations."  He continued saying that he was "amazed at the 
international community's silence and lack of condemnation of 
Israel." 
 
- Palestine's representative, Mr. Elias Sanbar, took the floor next, 
thanking the DG for his efforts, and mourning the loss of 440 
children, saying that the population of Palestine remains in a 
"state of shock." 
 
- Iran's comments were surprisingly moderate, using the opportunity 
to announce a conference on Gaza March 4-5 in Tehran, and invited 
the Director-General to attend. 
 
- Cuba expressed its solidarity with the "heroic Palestinian 
people," calling them "victims of Israel's blockade and cruel 
military oppression." 
 
- India used the opportunity to announce that it had given a total 
of $11 million to relief efforts, then asked how it would be 
possible to protect schools from aerial bombardment.  The Indian 
ambassador also called comments regarding cultural sites "curious", 
as it is not the time to be discussing damage of cultural sites. 
She also asked whether there might be some need to have a donor's 
conference here at UNESCO for the UNESCO-led projects. 
 
- Libya asked that everyone use their best efforts to help the 
Palestinians adding, especially "from those who caused the damage." 
 
- Israeli ambassador, David Kornbluth, took the floor to say that 
reconstruction needs to be both balanced and forward-looking.  He 
said that the same process is going on in Southern Israel, where 
buildings were damaged and people were killed.  He then asked, "how 
do we keep schools out of military conflicts?"  Kornbluth went on to 
say that "you don't manufacture bombs and rockets in engineering 
buildings", (referring to the engineering and science buildings 
destroyed at the Islamic University), and that "you don't allow 
rockets to be fired from schools", (shielding). 
 
- Palestine's delegate then called a point of order, saying that "if 
we are to shift to a political debate, we will do so immediately," 
adding that he found Kornbluth's words  "indecent"  to which 
Kornbluth called out "what are you talkiing about-?" 
 
- Syria's delegate called Gaza a "tragedy unprecedented in world 
history", asking "what is the point of rebuilding when the Israelis 
will only destroy it during their next electoral campaign?"  He then 
added," have the Israelis every made any serious proposals for 
peace?" 
 
- Egypt's ambassador said that Egypt welcomed the UN's collective 
response, and spoke of the "horrible damage caused by this military 
invasion." 
 
- Kuwait's ambassador thanked the DG for his efforts and said that 
Kuwait had already given $34 million. 
 
- Italy's ambassador Moscato offered condolences to all civilian 
victims in this war, particularly the children.  He said that with 
the destruction on such a vast scale, it was clear that a very 
strong commitment from donor countries would be needed.  He then 
asked if, under these exceptional circumstances, if activities could 
be funded from the regular budget, to be covered by donations later 
on. 
 
- The European Commission's representative noted that the EU had 
given over $68 million, with some $32 million earmarked for Gaza. 
 
DDG Barbosa on Security for Schools 
 
¶15. (SBU) The Director-General emotionally repeated his recent 
comments on the need to make sure that schools are kept out of 
conflict in war zones.  What he has in mind is not at all clear. 
Haxthausen described a project in which UNESCO would map schools, 
document the damage the suffered, and provide school staffs with 
training on how to keep their children safe.  The Director-General, 
however, seems to be thinking of more than this. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS TO INTERIOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, STEVE MORRIS 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: UNESCO PREL PHUM MARR KWBG KAWC IS
SUBJECT: GAZA RELIEF EFFORTS AT UNESCO BEGIN 
 
¶16. (SBU) Deputy Director-General Marcio Barbosa (Brazil) admitted 
in a meeting with visiting IO Acting A/S Warlick later on February 6 
that UNESCO has yet to develop a proposal.  Barbosa hoped to have a 
discussion on February 9 with emissaries of Qatar's First Lady, 
Shaykha Moza, who wrote the Director-General a passionate letter on 
this subject during the Gaza conflict last month.  He acknowledged 
that it is hard to define what should be done. 
 
¶17. (SBU) According to Barbosa, Shaykha Moza, appears to envision 
schools as a refuge where people can take shelter in times of 
danger.  Barbosa acknowledged that establishing a right to shelter 
in schools is not as simple as it sounds.  He asserted that no 
existing international instrument deals with this issue.  He thought 
the 1954 Hague Convention gave some basis for action in that it 
talks about what should be protected in wartime, but there are many 
problems.  The first is one of definition:  What is a school?  In 
the most recent Gaza conflict, a shell killed more than 40 people 
who were in a compound that contained a school, but the school 
building itself was not struck.  Then, Barbosa said, there is the 
problem of who controls these school building safe havens to ensure 
that they are not used for military purposes.  Should "blue helmets" 
be in charge?  Barbosa recognized the likelihood that combatants 
will store weapons and war materiel in schools, if schools are 
simply declared safe zones without any measures to ensure that they 
are kept genuinely civilian. 
 
¶18. (SBU) Asked whether UNESCO is aiming for some sort of normative 
instrument on school safe zones, Barbosa denied it, saying that this 
is a choice for the member states. He did allow, however, that the 
General Assembly might adopt a resolution or declaration on the 
subject when it receives the report of Coomaraswamy, the UN's 
special envoy for children in conflict.   He flagged a March 18 
General Assembly discussion of education in conflict zones as an 
important milestone in this effort. 
 
¶19. (SBU) Acting A/S Warlick urged Barbosa to keep UNESCO out of 
politics.  The school safety issue more properly belongs in another 
forum, perhaps New York.  Charge also warned that the U.S. might not 
be able to support this initiative depending upon how it is phrased. 
 Barbosa concluded this portion of the discussion by undertaking to 
brief Charge on the outcome of his talks with the Qataris. 
 
¶20. (SBU) Comment:  UNESCO's senior leadership has been put on 
notice that a school safety initiative could be problematic for us, 
depending on its content.  We will need, however, to keep a close 
eye on what UNESCO proposes to do in this area.  The 
Director-General seemed quite emotional when talking about the need 
to keep schools out of conflict.  He will be strongly tempted to 
promote a normative instrument on the subject.  Barbosa's remark 
about the member states not the Secretariat proposing normative 
instruments was quite disingenuous, as the Secretariat can 
predispose the outcome by how it writes the documents. 
 
ENGELKEN