Restricted by caption. 
UNCLASSIFIED   PARIS   1373 
R 091313Z OCT 09
FM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS FR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
RUCNSCO/UNESCO COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS FR 001373 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR IO AND WHA 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: SCUL PREL UNESCO
SUBJECT: HONDURAS:  REQUEST FOR INSTRUCTIONS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The General Committee (Bureau) of UNESCO's 35th 
General Conference was unable to reach consensus as to whether the 
draft resolution on Honduras (see text paragraph 8) should be added 
to the agenda for the General Conference.  The President, therefore, 
opted to forward the issue to the General Conference Plenary for 
decision.  A two-thirds majority vote will be required for the 
resolution to be added to the agenda.  A vote is expected on Monday, 
October 12.   Action needed:  The U.S. Delegation requests the 
Department provide instructions for voting (see paragraph 9).  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) With no clear consensus emerging after debating for two 
meetings, General Conference President Davidson Hepburn (Bahamas), 
announced he would forward the issue to the full Plenary of UNESCO's 
35th General Conference for a vote, under Rule 15, Paragraph 2, of 
the Rule of Procedure of the General Conference, which states that: 
 
"new items of an important and urgent character may be added to the 
agenda by approval of a two-thirds majority of the Members present 
and voting; but such new items shall be referred to the General 
Committee of the Conference for its report, in accordance with Rule 
42, paragraph 1 (c), before the vote is taken.  The discussion of 
any new item so added to the agenda shall, at the request of any 
Member State or Associate Member, be deferred for a period not 
exceeding seven days after its inclusion in the agenda." 
 
¶3.  (U) Hepburn's move came after Venezuela, representing the 
co-sponsors of the Honduras-related draft resolution (Argentina, 
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Jamaica), spoke emotionally 
during the General Committee meeting, saying that UNESCO's General 
Conference could not remain silent on the situation in Honduras. 
The Dominican Republic also expressed strong support for the 
resolution. 
 
¶4.  (U) Delegates from the U.S., Canada, France, Australia, and 
Madagascar spoke during the Bureau meeting, stating that while the 
situation in Honduras is certainly worthy of concern, it is already 
being dealt with by other competent bodies within the United Nations 
and, specifically, at the OAS.  Others expressed concern that such 
draft resolutions potentially open the door to a huge number of such 
proposals, and divert attention from the core concerns of UNESCO's 
mandate during the General Conference. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) While many European Member States privately expressed 
their agreement with the U.S. on keeping country-specific 
resolutions off of UNESCO's agenda, several were instructed to take 
no public stance on the subject. 
 
¶6. (SBU) As noted in Para 2, under the UNESCO Rules of Procedure, a 
two-thirds majority of states present and voting is needed to add a 
new item to the General Conference agenda.  It is not clear whether 
the co-sponsors will be able to muster the 129 votes (2/3 of the 193 
Member States), or a lesser threshold if several member states are 
not present or abstain.  As noted by France, it is possible that 
several EU States may vote for the resolution or abstain so as to 
not been seen as opposing the substance of the resolution. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Even if they succeed in having the draft resolution added 
to the agenda, the proposed text could be modified by amendment 
offered by any Member State.  While the current text has been cut 
back and toned down from the original proposal, the precedent of 
proposing such country-specific draft resolutions that are being 
handled elsewhere in the UN system remains, we believe, a direction 
that UNESCO must avoid. 
 
¶8. (U) Begin text of proposed draft resolution: 
 
TITLE:  Impacts on the education system and freedom of expression as 
a consequence of the situation in Honduras 
 
The General Conference, 
 
Taking into account the Constitution of UNESCO, 
 
Welcoming the declarations of the Director-General of UNESCO 
expressed in his press releases about the situation in Honduras, 
 
Expressing concern with the negative impacts on the functioning of 
the education system of Honduras, 
 
¶1. Requests the Director-General to keep following the developments 
in Honduras strictly in the fields of competence of UNESCO according 
to its Constitution. 
 
End text. 
 
¶9.  (U) ACTION REQUESTED:  Ambassador has been convoked by General 
Conference President Hepburn for a meeting late this afternoon Paris 
time.  We anticipate he will try to walk back his decision of this 
morning and ask our help in avoiding a vote on inclusion of the 
Honduras item in the Plenary on Monday.  (He has already made this 
appeal to the French and Canadian delegations).  Mission requests 
Department's guidance as to whether we should continue to press 
Hepburn for a Plenary vote on inclusion of the present Honduras 
draft resolution or work with him to amend the text in a way that 
limits the damage and allows us to support its inclusion. If 
Washington believes that we should continue to oppose inclusion of 
the Honduras item, Mission requests Department officials engage our 
European colleagues directly to urge they vote against inclusion of 
the item on the agenda.  Mission would also appreciate any 
information Department can provide on the educational situation in 
Honduras.  KILLION