VZCZCXRO0550
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHIK
RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHMT RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHQU RUEHROV
RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVC RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHOT #0550/01 1982053
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 172053Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9672
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 0230
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 1338
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 1433
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0266
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0283
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 0635
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 2002
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 2300
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 0180
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON PRIORITY 0468
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 0153
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1347
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0578

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 OTTAWA 000550 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL, USAID, INL, S/CRS, WHA, EUR, SCA, AF, EAP, 
NEA, EEB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM CA
SUBJECT: FIRST U.S.-CANADA DEMOCRACY SUPPORT CONSULTATIONS 
CHART DIRECTIONS AHEAD 
 
REF: A. OTTAWA 281 
     ¶B. OTTAWA 249 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  During the first U.S.-Canada Democracy 
Support Consultations in Ottawa in late May, the delegations 
agreed to explore establishing an early warning and rapid 
response task force for threats to democratic governance. 
Canada will consider placing the issue of restrictive NGO 
laws on the 2010 G-8 agenda.  Other ideas included developing 
cooperation between U.S. and Canadian public broadcasters and 
strengthening inter-parliamentary contact on threats to civil 
society.  Both delegations agreed to work toward 
strengthening the Inter-American Democratic Charter and 
greater information sharing on imprisoned human rights 
defenders.  The next consultations will focus largely on 
democracy in the Americas.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Led by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for 
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Karen Stewart and Canada's 
Director General of Foreign Affairs for Democracy and Human 
Rights Adele Dion, the first U.S.-Canada Democracy 
Consultations took place in Ottawa May 19-20.  Canada had 
requested the consultations to identify additional areas of 
cooperation and to align its policies and projects more 
closely with those of the U.S.  The U.S. delegation included 
officials from DRL, S/P, USAID, and Embassy Ottawa, while the 
Canadian side included representatives from the Department of 
Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), Canadian 
International Development Agency (CIDA), and Privy Council 
Office (PCO). 
 
Canada Emphasizing Democracy Support 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Canada provides democracy assistance through DFAIT, 
CIDA, international organizations, and Canadian NGOs such as 
the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic 
Development ("Rights and Democracy") as well as the 
Parliamentary Center.  This assistance focuses primarily on 
supporting democratic transitions in countries already on the 
path to democracy.  In July 2007, the House of Commons' 
Foreign Affairs Committee recommended strengthening Canada's 
role in international democratic development, including 
calling for a new non-partisan democracy promotion agency. 
The establishment of a new agency became official government 
policy following the Governor General's November 2008 Speech 
from the Throne (marking the beginning of the 40th Parliament 
after the October 2008 federal election).  While the agency 
is still in the planning stages, Minister of State for 
Democratic Reform Steven Fletcher has indicated that it would 
support like-minded political parties abroad (reftels). 
According to DG Dion, DFAIT is feeding ideas for the new 
agency to the PCO.  Canada is also setting up a regional 
Democracy hub for the Andes in Lima (ref b).  DG Dion added 
that, under Prime Minister Harper, democracy and rule of law 
Qthat, under Prime Minister Harper, democracy and rule of law 
had been the central themes of the October 2008 Francophonie 
Summit in Quebec City. 
 
"Whole of Government" Approach 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) DG Dion outlined Canada's "whole of government" 
approach to democracy assistance and the importance of 
coordination among DFAIT, CIDA, and the Canadian Forces. 
Canada has been trying this coordinated approach in 
Afghanistan, according to Dion, admitting that Canada aims to 
be more "nimble."  Canadian NGO contacts who participated in 
the opening dinner also noted that it can take decades to 
establish democracy, and called for better donor coordination 
focused on medium to long-term results.  A-A/S Stewart 
underscored that DRL and USAID coordinate closely with each 
 
OTTAWA 00000550  002 OF 005 
 
 
other, with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, S/CRS, and 
other agencies and bureaus.  A-A/S Stewart and DG Dion agreed 
on potential benefits from cross-training diplomats with 
development colleagues. 
 
Good Governance and Tailored Strategies 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) USAID's Legislative Strengthening expert Keith 
Schulz stressed that political governance is a key to 
democratic development, and that more attention should be 
focused on parliamentary work as well as on supporting 
leaders once they gain power, rather than solely preparing 
them for electoral competition.  USAID's Director of 
Democracy and Governance Dorothy Taft noted that good 
governance is also essential for effective and sustainable 
economic or health development assistance.  Taft emphasized 
the importance of tailoring strategies to individual 
countries, considering unique factors of civil society, legal 
capacity, election and political processes and other local 
factors.  CIDA is piloting its Governance Analysis Tool (GAT) 
in Pakistan and Ethiopia to assess what governance assistance 
may be needed and to evaluate ongoing programs.  The U.S. and 
Canada agreed on the importance of accountability in 
designing and rolling out programs. 
 
Defending Civil Society 
----------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) USAID's Schulz highlighted restrictive NGO laws, 
praising the work of the International Center for 
Not-For-Profit Law (ICNL).  DFAIT's Human Rights Director 
Donica Pottie acknowledged World Bank efforts in this area. 
DFAIT will suggest that the question of how to confront 
restrictive NGO legislation be on the 2010 G-8 agenda.  DFAIT 
officials commented that repressive regimes regularly consult 
on how to tighten their laws regulating NGOs and that 
democracies should share best practices in combating this 
trend.  Parliamentarians have a vital role to play in 
engaging fellow parliamentarians on civil society 
legislation, good governance, and anti-corruption. 
 
Working in Repressive Contexts 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Canadian NGO "Rights and Democracy" has worked 
with the Burmese government-in-exile and Burmese media since 
the early 1990s and has also developed valuable networks in 
Zimbabwe and elsewhere.  U.S. programs to promote 
democratization in repressive countries include exchange 
programs, third-country training for human rights activists, 
Embassy-administered small grants programs, American Corners, 
and public broadcasting (RFE/RL and VOA, etc.).  DG Dion 
called for greater consultation between U.S. and Canadian 
broadcasters, noting that Canada contributes to the global 
francophone TV5 channel.  The delegations agreed that new 
technologies and blogs create additional opportunities for 
democracy programming.  The collaboration with YouTube.com 
Qdemocracy programming.  The collaboration with YouTube.com 
website's "Democracy Video Challenge" has given citizens 
around the world a forum for expressing what democracy means 
to them.  Canadian officials expressed interest in learning 
more about polling conducted by the International Republican 
Institute (IRI) in authoritarian countries. 
 
Greater Consultation in Capitals and the Field 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The U.S. and Canada agreed on the need for more 
systematic consultation between Washington and Ottawa as well 
as among diplomatic personnel on the ground in repressive 
environments.  DG Dion stated that Canadian diplomats should 
 
OTTAWA 00000550  003 OF 005 
 
 
more actively "fly the flag" by meeting with human rights 
activists under duress and observing court trials of human 
rights defenders.  A-A/S Stewart commented on the success of 
U.S. forensic assistance programs. 
 
Conflict Zones - Canada in Kandahar 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Elissa Golberg, Director General of DFAIT's 
Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force (START) and 
former Representative of Canada in Kandahar (ROCK), 
emphasized the importance of local level engagement, 
legitimacy, and of understanding human geography.  Golberg 
also stressed sustainable development and working through the 
Afghan government.  While the Canadian military might be able 
to provide a generator to a village overnight, it is better 
practice for villagers to learn how to talk to their own 
leaders to ensure that their government responds to their 
needs.  While Afghans need to better engage their government, 
the Canadian government needs to create stronger incentives 
for its officials engaged in democracy promotion, according 
to DFAIT officials.  They lamented that Royal Canadian 
Mounted Police (RCMP) volunteers for assignments in 
Afghanistan and Haiti do not find this service 
career-enhancing.  They admitted that Canada still needs 
better incentives to attract quality staff. 
 
Preventing Failed States 
------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (SBU) DFAIT and CIDA officials emphasized that it is 
cheaper to prevent state failure than to deal with the 
aftermath of a failed state and that Canada is expanding its 
mediation capabilities.  CIDA officials noted that the OECD's 
Development Assistance Committee (DAC) has also developed 
principles for engagement with fragile states.  CIDA's two 
year-old Deployment for Democratic Development (DDD) program 
deploys Canadian experts abroad for anywhere from 6-18 months. 
 
Democracy Support in the Americas 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) DFAIT's Director General for Latin America and the 
Caribbean James Lambert confirmed that the Americas are 
central to Canadian foreign policy.  Lambert praised the USG 
for not taking the bait of responding to Bolivarian 
provocations of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian 
leader Evo Morales.  A-A/S Stewart noted that the populist 
Bolivarian approach is not economically sustainable.  Lambert 
commented that Canada is the second largest contributor to 
the Organization of American States (OAS), after the U.S., 
and urged that both countries work together to make the OAS 
more effective generally but also specifically in democracy 
promotion.  PCO Foreign and Defense Policy Operations 
Director and former Canadian Ambassador to Colombia Matthew 
Levin stated that security, prosperity, and democratic 
development are all inter-linked and mutually reinforcing, 
Qdevelopment are all inter-linked and mutually reinforcing, 
adding that the OAS Mission in Colombia played a vital role 
in overseeing the disarmament and demobilization process. 
 
More Robust International Forums 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) A-A/S Stewart argued that the U.S. and Canada 
should more fully utilize regional forums such as the OAS and 
Community of Democracies (CD) to address democracy and human 
rights issues.  The U.S. supports the OAS-African Union (AU) 
"Democracy Bridge" to build stronger linkages between the two 
organizations in democracy and governance; Canada expressed 
interest in learning more about this effort and U.S. thoughts 
on the effectiveness of the AU and NEPAD.  The CD should be 
 
OTTAWA 00000550  004 OF 005 
 
 
more robust and action-oriented, she added, while expressing 
high hopes that the upcoming Lithuanian chairmanship may move 
the CD agenda forward. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) DFAIT officials noted that the Commonwealth 
Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) can suspend members that 
violate democratic norms, as in the case of Pakistan.  The 
Commonwealth can also organize pre-election and post-election 
observer missions. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) DFAIT officials pointed to the Ottawa-based Global 
Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), 
whose funders include USAID, the State Department's Middle 
East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), and CIDA; its head is a 
member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly.  DFAIT officials 
expressed support for the Extractive Industries Transparency 
Initiative (EITI) as a development tool for strengthening 
civil society. The U.S. pending contribution to the EITI 
Trust Fund recognizes similar support to engage and 
strengthen civil society, and increase accountability and 
revenue management by governments and industry alike. 
 
Engaging Regional Players 
------------------------- 
 
¶15.  (SBU)  U.S. officials noted the importance of working 
closely with regional leaders such as Indonesia, India, and 
South Africa when addressing the situation in repressive 
regimes such as North Korea, Burma, and Zimbabwe, with whom 
we may have less leverage.  DFAIT's Human Rights and 
Democracy Director Donica Pottie commented that more could be 
done to harness the half dozen Burma Parliamentary Caucuses 
in the ASEAN region.  Pottie also noted that parliamentarians 
can craft a wide range of pretexts for visiting Burma.  DG 
Dion noted that high-level visits can reassure fragile 
governments under pressure, as occurred in Georgia's war with 
Russia. 
 
¶16.  (SBU) DG Dion opined that Indonesia is seeking to play a 
leading regional role in human rights and democratic 
development.  Indonesian interlocutors have told her that the 
Asia-Pacific Democracy Partnership and Bali Partnership 
complement one another. 
 
Next Steps in U.S.-Canadian Cooperation 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶17. (SBU) There was agreement on the following areas: 
 
--  further explore establishing an early warning Rapid 
Response Task Force on threats to democratic governance (with 
DRL and DFAIT to work out additional details); 
--  systematize the sharing of information about at-risk 
human rights and democracy defenders/activists and encourage 
Principals to meet with NGOs at regional fora; 
--  consideration of adding the issue of restrictive NGO laws 
to the G-8 agenda for 2010, when Canada hosts; 
--  develop cooperation between our public broadcasting 
networks; 
--  strengthen Parliamentarian/Congressional 
legislature-to-legislature direct outreach; 
--  regular consultation on threats to civil society, and 
Q--  regular consultation on threats to civil society, and 
engaging Parliament/Congress on these threats; 
--  interlocking efforts to strengthen implementation of the 
Inter-American Democratic Charter; 
--  U.S. exploration of the current and possible increased 
levels of involvement in UN mediation efforts; 
--    explore possibility of conducting joint democracy and 
governance assessments in the field; and, 
--  greater information-sharing in multilateral forums such 
as the Asia-Pacific Democracy Partnership, Bali Democracy 
 
OTTAWA 00000550  005 OF 005 
 
 
Forum, Community of Democracies, UN Democracy Fund, AU/NEPAD, 
and GOPAC. 
 
Greater Information Sharing 
--------------------------- 
 
¶18. (SBU) The U.S. and Canada also committed to greater 
information-sharing on Canada's planned Lima-based Democracy 
Hub and USAID's technical tools and guidance for development 
officers in the field including USAID's Democracy and 
Governance Assessment Framework and a recent report on use of 
mobile technology in citizen media.  Canada will also share 
the results of its democracy reporting requirements pilot 
program and democracy training course.  The U.S. will create 
communication channels among other democracy-related actors 
such as INL (rule of law), EEB (Partnership for Democratic 
Governance), Millennium Challenge Corporation, and S/CRS with 
Canada's START program.  Both sides agreed to add 
non-governmental actors such as democracy-focused NGOs and 
academics to future Consultations and to consider inviting 
the United Kingdom to the next meeting.  The next Democracy 
Support Consultation will include at least one day on the 
Americas by addressing the OAS and the Inter-American 
Democratic Charter, engaging t 
he Bolivarians more effectively on democracy issues, attacks 
on civil society, and possible expansion or replication of 
the OAS-AU Democracy Bridge to other regional organs, such as 
ASEAN. 
 
¶19.  (U) A-A/S Stewart has cleared this cable. 
 
 
Visit Canada,s North American partnership community at 
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
 
BREESE