Cablegate: Unesco: Lebanon Update

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Lucia A Keegan 08/24/2006 11:20:43 AM From DB/Inbox: Lucia A Keegan

Cable
Text:

UNCLAS PARIS 05653

SIPDIS
cxparis:
ACTION: UNESCO
INFO: POL ECON AMBU AMB AMBO DCM SCI

DISSEMINATION: UNESCOX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: CHARGE:AKOSS
DRAFTED: CHARGE:AKOSS
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCFRI895
OO RUEHC RUEHLB RUEHTV RUCNDT
DE RUEHFR #5653 2351538
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 231538Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0606
INFO RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 0427
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0548
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0862

UNCLAS PARIS 005653

SIPDIS

FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNESCO SCUL LE IS
SUBJECT: UNESCO: LEBANON UPDATE

1. Charge spoke August 23 with Lebanese Charge Salim
Baddoura for an update on UNESCO?s involvement with
Lebanon. Baddoura said that a UNESCO team arrived in
Lebanon on August 22 and has already met with the
Minister of Culture and will be meeting shortly with
the Ministry of Education. The current team will
conduct a broad assessment, including educational and
cultural institutions. There will be two more UNESCO
teams; one will assess damage to heritage sites and
the other will look at mass media, education and
sciences. These teams will draw up proposals for
UNESCO?s involvement in Lebanon?s reconstruction.
Mounir Bouchenaki, who recently stepped down as head
of UNESCO?s cultural sector will probably lead the
team looking at damage to heritage sites. Bouchenaki,
an Algerian, is an internationally recognized expert
on the preservation of cultural heritage. (Comment:
U.S. Mission enjoyed excellent relations with
Bouchenaki when he ran the cultural sector.)

2. Baddoura indicated that he hopes that the UNESCO
proposals will be included in a broader package of UN
system-wide proposals to be presented at the Stockholm
donor?s conference, which he said will be held at the
end of August. He expressed some skepticism that with
various UN agencies competing for funding that
UNESCO?s proposals will be deemed important enough to
be funded.

3. The Lebanese Charge also said that work has not
yet begun on drafting the Executive Board resolution
on Lebanon. He said they are still waiting to see how
the situation evolves and will consult with the U.S.
Mission as they move forward. The secretary of the
Executive Board has told Charge that the resolution
would have to be ready by mid-September in order to be
ready for the Board?s first Bureau meeting o/a
September 28. (Note: The US is a member of the Bureau
that is the steering committee of the Board.)

Koss

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