UNCLASSIFIED   UNESCOPARI   02120219 
VZCZCXRO0124
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHFR #0219 0431254
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121254Z FEB 09
FM UNESCO PARIS FR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS PARIS FR 000219 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNESCO BR
SUBJECT:  DIRECTOR GENERAL ELECTION:  BRAZIL SEEKS VIEW OF THE NEW 
U.S. ADMINISTRATION 
 
REF: 08 STATE 130914 
¶1. (SBU) Brazil's UNESCO Ambassador Joao Carlos de Souza-Gomes asked 
to see Charge urgently February 11 to discuss the UNESCO 
Director-General race.  Ambassador Souza-Gomes had a copy of the 
talking points in our December demarche on this issue (reftel) and 
wanted to know whether the assessment in them of Farouq Hosny, the 
Egyptian candidate, represented the view of the last Administration 
or the new one.  He said Brazil is seriously considering whether or 
not to enter a candidate in the race, but does not want to do so 
until it is confident the new U.S. Administration will maintain U.S. 
opposition to Hosny. The Ambassador felt that a Brazilian candidate 
could get the support of Japan, India, China, South Africa, the 
Lusophone African states, as well as some countries in Latin America 
and Western Europe, but the key country is the U.S. 
¶2. (SBU) Charge undertook to inform Ambassador Souza-Gomes as soon 
as the Administration has come to a view on this subject.  He agreed 
that support for Hosny is soft and could well fall apart under 
pressure.  He added that whatever endorsement the African Union 
Summit may have given to Hosny may not have much effect on how 
Africans vote in a secret ballot. 
¶3. (SBU) Comment:  We think Ambassador Souza-Gomes was "rounding up" 
a bit when he enumerated states that would be likely to support a 
Brazilian candidate.  However, he is not wrong in saying many of the 
largest states and most influential donors (e.g., Japan, Russia, 
China, India, Brazil, and most European Union members) do not 
support Hosny and cannot easily be ignored. 
ENGELKEN