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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 RABAT 000952

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV ECON KMPI XF XT CA
SUBJ: CIVIL SOCIETY AND G8-BMENA GOVERNMENTS MEET AT
SIXTH FORUM FOR THE FUTURE

RABAT 00000952 001.2 OF 011

1. (SBU) Summary. The Sixth Forum for the Future,
co-chaired by Morocco and Italy, was held in
Marrakesh November 2-3 and was attended by
representatives of the G8 and Broader Middle East
North Africa (BMENA) countries, international
organizations (IOs), and civil society groups. The
Forum focused on themes of Economic Reform,
Political Reform, and Human Development and Human
Security, as outlined in three preparatory workshops
held in Beirut (September 25-26), Rabat (October 5-
6), and Doha (October 12-13), but other issues also
arose, such as continued concern about the
Palestinian issue and a complaint from civil society
organizations that civil society leaders were
marginalized in this year's Forum, despite frequent
assurances by BMENA governments that they would not
be. Secretary Clinton led the U.S. delegation and
delivered a well-received speech following up on
President Obama's Cairo speech with specific
deliverables. However, there was an apparent
disconnect between many of the civil society
organizations and the BMENA governments, which seem
to have envisioned civil society groups as an
instrument for promoting government policies. End
summary.

-----------------------------
The Senior Officials' Meeting
-----------------------------

2. (SBU) The Forum began on November 2 with a Senior
Officials' meeting opened by Moroccan Foreign
Minister Fassi Fihri, who complimented the work of
the three preparatory workshops. In his remarks, he
laid out several themes that would recur throughout
the Forum:

A) The Forum for the Future is unique because of its
cooperation between governments and civil society
organizations on the basis of joint responsibility.
(Note: The issue of civil society responsibility was
raised by several BMENA governments during Forum,
but by and large not by G8 officials or civil
society leaders. End note.)

B) Dialogue marked by mutual respect and tolerance,
as the Forum epitomizes, is the ideal framework for
working out reform efforts in the region.

C) The "trauma" of the global financial crisis meant
this Forum would be different from previous ones,
and it showed the need for cooperation to advance
the reforms needed to achieve peace, stability, and
prosperity.

D) There were "deep concerns" regarding the Israeli/
Palestinian conflict and actions against the holy
monuments of Jerusalem. Almost every BMENA
government representative, and many civil society
representatives, reiterated this point.

E) Democracy is not a "one-size-fits-all" model, but
an evolving process that will be different in each
country, based on each country's history and
specificities. (Note: As with the theme of civil
society responsibility, this was a frequent talking
point of BMENA government officials throughout the
Forum, but not of civil society representatives or,
with the exception of Russia, of the G8 governments.
End note.)

3. (SBU) Following Fassi Fihri's remarks, Italy's
Director General for the Mediterranean and Middle
East Luigi Marras said the Forum process heretofore
had not been as "tangible and concrete" as some of

RABAT 00000952 002.2 OF 011

us would have liked. However, he declared that in
the last year Forum cooperation had produced
demonstrable results, and he specifically commended
the civil society delegations and non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) for the positive changes that
took place. He said better understanding between
governments and civil society had emerged in the
last year as a result of the preparatory workshops.
Marras stated that in the BMENA countries human
resources, in particular women and youth, are
abundant, but also present challenges. Creating
policies that properly harness these resources is
difficult but necessary because if the region fails
to meet these needs the results will be skepticism,
cynicism, and extremism. Echoing Fassi Fihri,
Marras said the Forum is a unique tool to work
toward coordinating policies regionally and
internationally.

4. (SBU) The Senior Officials' Meeting concluded
with a brief discussion of the declaration of the
2009 Forum for the Future that had been deliberated
at the Rome sub-ministerial meeting on October 23.
The chairs declined to open up the substance of the
declaration to amendments or modification, but
agreed to modify the Arabic translation on some
points. The chairs indicated that the declaration
would be presented in the Ministerial and would
provide the groundwork for the Forum going forward
into next year.

5. (SBU) Comment: Both Italy and Morocco worked
extensively in the lead-up to the Forum to achieve a
consensus document that incorporated the principles
of the "Partnership Between G8-BMENA Governments and
Civil Society" document. At the last moment, a
number of countries in the region blocked efforts to
reach a consensus declaration. In the end, a
Chairmen's Statement of the Sixth Forum for the
Future was presented at the ministerial. End
comment.

---------------------
Forum Opening Session
---------------------

6. (U) Opening the Forum on November 3, Fassi Fihri
said the Forum continues to be a necessary dialogue
between the G8 and BMENA countries that complements
other dialogue frameworks. He lauded the active
participation of civil society in this year's
process.

7. (U) In the context of describing Morocco's own
traditions of pluralism, Fassi Fihri saluted the
American vision expressed in President Obama's Cairo
speech, calling it a "harbinger to a new era" of
relations based on justice, tolerance, human
dignity, and working together to build bridges. He
said interfaith and intercultural dialogue will
strengthen the framework of relations between BMENA
countries and the West; such dynamics can revitalize
the Israeli/Palestinian peace process based on the
Arab Peace Initiative and lead to an independent
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. He
repeated his previous condemnation of Israel's
involvement in recent events at the Al Aqsa Mosque
in Jerusalem, which he believes could fuel "demons
of extremism and violence" in the region.

8. (SBU) Fassi Fihri said that in Morocco, NGOs and
civil society actors are part of a comprehensive
partnership with the government to develop the rule
of law and human rights in keeping with the tolerant
values of Islam, leading to an open society

RABAT 00000952 003.2 OF 011

cushioned against extremism. He discussed women's
rights but, as with his discussion of democracy on
November 2, in the frame of national and cultural
specificities and the appropriate pace of
development. He stressed the importance of good
local governance as a cornerstone of broader
national democracy that preserves national unity and
territorial integrity, adding "weak entities stand
no chance."

9. (U) Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini
described the Democracy Assistance Dialogue (DAD) as
a successful initiative of the Forum and called for
further concrete dimensions to the Forum. He
praised the three preparatory workshops for
generating proposals on developing the private
sector, education, youth empowerment, improving the
environment, human security, political
participation, economic and social reforms, and
women's empowerment.

10. (U) Frattini cited two significant proposals
that emerged from the three workshops, and that
should be addressed in next year's Forum: the
creation of a Gender Institute to be hosted by a
BMENA country and a consultative human security
initiative to "manage diversity."

11. (U) Frattini stressed the role of youth as a
resource and as one of the prime determinants of the
future. He called for bridging the "education gap"
in the BMENA region, and laid out the proposal for a
G8-BMENA Education Network to boost best practices
and exchanges between the G8 and BMENA countries.
He also stated that G8 countries should be able to
launch a visa facilitation policy for students. He
concluded his remarks by saying the partnership the
Forum represents should "put human beings at the
very core of policies that unite rather than divide
us."

---------------------------
Secretary Clinton's Remarks
---------------------------

12. (U) Secretary Clinton lauded the
government/civil society partnership, saying it
should not be a rare sight and those present should
look for ways to work together for the peoples they
represent. She praised Morocco's reforms in women's
rights, saying women could help lead the way in
democratic institution building, economic growth,
and the enlargement of civil society.

13. (U) The Secretary reaffirmed the U.S. commitment
to broad engagement with Muslim communities around
the world and outlined steps the United States is
taking to follow up on the new beginning President
Obama laid out in Cairo. She said that "true
progress comes from within a society and cannot be
imposed from the outside, and we know that change
does not happen overnight." The Secretary made
clear that the United States is focused on
partnerships that promote civil society,
entrepreneurship and economic development,
educational opportunity, scientific and
technological cooperation, women's empowerment, and
interfaith cooperation. The Secretary stated: "Our
work is based on empowering individuals rather than
promoting ideologies; listening and embracing
others' ideas rather than simply imposing our own;
and pursuing partnerships that are sustainable and
broad-based." She also reiterated the USG
commitment to peace between Palestinians and
Israelis and affirmed that she and the President

RABAT 00000952 004.2 OF 011

believe peace is attainable.

14. (SBU) United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister
Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who co-hosted last
year's Forum, thanked Secretary Clinton for her
remarks, for her personal involvement in issues
dealing with women, youth, and employment, and
personally thanked her for appointing a
representative for Muslim communities. He also
stated that the participants should engage on
President Obama's openness policies, which he called
the best option to deal with pessimism in the
region.

----------------------------------------
Three Major Themes, One Marathon Session
----------------------------------------

15. (U) Following the opening session, discussions
were organized into the three themes of the
preparatory workshops and included civil society and
governmental interventions.

A) Political Reform, with a focus on democracy and
local governance.

B) Economic Reform, with a focus on the impact of
the financial crises on the BMENA region

C) Social Reform, with a focus on human development/
human security and social issues.

----------------
Political Reform
----------------

16. (U) Mounir Ben Salah, representing the NGO
Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (known by its
French acronym of OMDH), presented the outcomes of
the Rabat preparatory workshop, highlighting the
importance of broadening the role of civil society
in local governance and democracy, such as through
direct election of local representatives. A broader
role, based on pluralism, tolerance, and rule of law
can encourage these values to spread beyond the
local level to the regional and national levels.
(Note: OMDH and Italian NGO No Peace without Justice
served as civil society co-chairs of this year's
Forum. End Note.)

17. (SBU) The head of the French delegation, former
Foreign Minister (1978-1981) and current Senator
Jean Francois-Poncet, spoke next, describing local
governance as "the basic unit of infrastructure at
the local level of democracy" and calling for
decentralized cooperation among local government,
civil society, and national government. He also
stressed the necessity of involving women in
democratic processes. He said local governance is a
problematic issue for the Palestinians, and he
called the Israeli/Palestinian conflict a "stumbling
block" in the Middle East.

18. (SBU) The Russian representative followed,
saying that without an independent Palestinian state
and the return of the "occupied lands" and
resolution of the Palestinian and other regional
conflicts, democratic reforms in the region will be
incomplete and lopsided. He called for a WMD-free
zone in the region, and he discussed the already
robust educational exchanges between Russia and the
BMENA region. (Note: Uniquely among G8 countries,
the Russian representative echoed almost word for
word the language of BMENA governments regarding
democracy, saying it must take into account the

RABAT 00000952 005.6 OF 011

specific history of the countries, and NGOs and
civil society should approach partnership with
governments in a "non-confrontational" manner, aware
of their role and their responsibilities. End
note.)

19. (SBU) Next, the Hungarian representative
stressed Hungary's positive post-Communist
experiences with democracy and civil society. He
recalled the role of local governance and activism
in the expansion of civil society and democracy in
Hungary and other central and eastern European
countries, adding that Hungary's participation in
foreign affairs was premised on Hungary sharing its
positive results of democracy building.

20. (SBU) Qatar's State Minister for Foreign Affairs
Ahmad ben Abdallah Al Mahmood began with praise for
his country's progress in political reforms and
civil society/government cooperation, especially on
issues of health and education. He stated that
Qatar appreciates President Obama's efforts toward a
sustainable and comprehensive two-state solution in
Palestine/Israel. He ended by formally announcing
that Qatar will co-host the seventh Forum with
Canada.

21. (SBU) Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign
Minister Riyad al-Maliki said reform should have
political, economic, and social objectives, and that
political reform is most likely to bear fruit if it
results from a commitment to reform from within a
society, as opposed to external pressure. He added
that a deep-seated conviction for reform requires
strong governance. He stressed that Israel's
policies curtail PA reform efforts, but nonetheless
felt that the PA has taken great strides in
political, economic, and administrative reforms. He
said the PA is pursuing a reform and development
plan with the private sector and NGOs - and is proud
to do so under difficult circumstances. He declared
a Palestinian state "inevitable" and called on
"international authorities" to bring about
Palestinian independence.

22. (SBU) Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Nasser Judeh, said reform should be "home-grown" and
requires the broad-based participation of
government, the private sector, and civil society
organizations. He said Jordan had made great
strides in reform, singling out the importance of
women's and youth issues. He said reform could be
broadened if a Palestinian state came into being
with Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with
international resolutions, stating that governments
need to "close ranks" regionally and internationally
around this issue in order to broaden reform. He
praised the commitment to the peace process of
President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Special
Envoy Mitchell, and quoted President Obama's remarks
at the United Nations General Assembly that the
"occupation must be ended." He added that all
present needed to support the PA government led by
President Mahmoud Abbas against "Arab opposition,"
presumably referring to Hamas and its supporters.

23. (SBU) Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh
referred to Lebanon's tradition of pluralism and
recent advances in democracy, stating that
international observers agreed on the transparency
and fairness of Lebanon's recent elections. He said
BMENA nations must codify democratic practices to
bring about the rule of law, an independent
judiciary, and equal rights for all, to include
decision-making positions for women in the private

RABAT 00000952 006.2 OF 011

sector, government, and NGOs. He also said the
development of democracy in the region could not be
separated from the political climate, referring to
the Arab-Israeli conflict. He said the world cannot
continue to treat Israel separately from the
international system of justice, and he called for a
resolution to the Palestinian refugee problem by
helping refugees find their way back to their
"motherland," noting that Palestinian refugees
present a problem not just for Palestine/ Israel,
but for states with large refugee populations such
as Lebanon. Finally, he made positive note of the
conclusions of the recent United Nations Development
Program [UNDP] Arab Human Development Report.

24. (U) Algeria's remarks were largely confined to
reiterating prior themes of local governance, the
necessity for home-grown democracy, and women's
empowerment. The Mauritanian delegate made similar
points later in the meeting and added that democracy
should be seen not as an end, but as a means to
devise social and political policies. The
Mauritanian representative said the role of civil
society needs to have a legal framework "to ensure
complementarity, not confrontation." FM Fassi Fihri
spoke from the chair to agree with the Mauritanian
representative.

-------------------------------------------
A Dissenting Note from an Egyptian Activist
-------------------------------------------

25. (SBU) Noted Egyptian political activist Saad
Eddin Ibrahim made several key points during a civil
society intervention:

A) Civil society groups place high hopes in
Secretary Clinton's statements.

B) Civil society organizations consider democracy as
the primary concern. It is a facet of development,
stability, and peace. In apparent reference to many
of the remarks of BMENA governments (and Russia), he
was emphatic that democracy should not be played
down.

C) Democracy cannot be imported or exported, but can
be supported. The community of democracies should
support democracy. He said that "first world"
democracies should support democracy in the region,
and should not support unfair and unjust regimes for
the sake of stability, which "leads to a blind
alley."

D) Given the chance, the people of the Middle East
do not shy away from practicing democracy, citing
numerous elections in the region in the last few
years. He said civil society activists believe
elections are decisive not only for individual
countries, but for the region. He called for Forum
partner nations to put the upcoming Iraqi and
Egyptian elections on their agendas, and to ensure
that the elections are transparent and fair.

E) There are three forces facing democracy: unfair
and unjust governments, extremists, and civil
society. He called on governments to support civil
society as the force that stands between the
unfair/unjust governments and the extremists.

---------------------------------
Wrapping up the Political Session
---------------------------------

26. (SBU) The Switzerland representative made brief

RABAT 00000952 007.2 OF 011

remarks about the country's experience with
decentralized local government in the form of
cantons, and gave examples of involvement with
capacity building in the region but added that
violent conflict hinders UN Millennium Development
Goals. The Swiss also offered to support the Gender
Institute.

27. (U) Spain's Secretary of State Angel Losada said
the financial crisis should not change the agenda
for the Forum, which he linked to the UN Millennium
Development Goals.

28. (SBU) UAE State Minister Reem Ibrahim Al Hashimi
announced support for the creation of the regional
BMENA Gender Institute, and said the UAE will pay
for 50% of the Institute. (Note: While the UAE did
not offer to host the Institute during this
intervention, UAE officials separately told the U.S.
delegation the UAE would be willing to host the
Gender Institute. End note.)

--------------------------------------------- -------
-
NGOs Assess Economic and Social Reform/Human
Security
--------------------------------------------- -------
-

29. (SBU) Houda Chalak of the Lebanese NGO Civic
Action Coalition reiterated the need for cooperation
between civil society and the BMENA governments, the
need for support from the most industrialized
governments during the financial crisis, and the
important role women and youth play in the movement
toward a democratic society. She said human
development and human security require economic
development, rule of law, and sound educational
policies. She stated that to deal with the economic
crisis, regional initiatives supporting small and
medium enterprises were needed, and that in turn
these enterprises needed a climate of freedom to
bring about entrepreneurship, which she linked to
democratic participation and guarantees for the
rights of the people.

30. (U) Chalak outlined the two concrete proposals
from the Beirut preparatory workshop: establishing
a network for entrepreneurs to serve as a regional
forum for sharing expertise in specialized projects
and best practices; and developing, in cooperation
with existing institutes, a training center and
state of the art institute dedicated to small and
medium enterprises.

31. (SBU) Bakhtiar Amin, an ethnic Kurd who began
his remarks in Kurdish, represented Iraqi civil
society. He stated that the politicization of
religion was a threat to economic development. He
stressed the need to avoid violence, to develop
multi-lateral programs to develop human security,
and to make the most of cultural diversity, going
beyond tolerance toward active participation of
different groups in national and regional cultures
and citing as a goal the development of a regional
diversity center. He said democratic reform would
not be complete without a solution to the Kurdish
issue.

32. (SBU) Ali Bin Somaik Al Murri of the Qatari NGO
National Committee for Human Rights praised the
Forum, saying a new starting point was needed with
more achievements and accomplishments. He stressed
that democratic reform was the duty of all present
at the Forum. Al Murri said that against the

RABAT 00000952 008.2 OF 011

backdrop of the financial crisis, the region needed
to adopt approaches centered on human security in
order to develop the BMENA region's great potential
and resources.

33. (SBU) Mohsen Marzouk, a Tunisian national who
heads the Qatar-based NGO Arab Democracy Foundation,
said a feasibility study on human security was
necessary. He said the Forum is a starting point,
but it needs to develop a short list of priorities
and approaches that use civil society as an actual
partner. It also needs to determine why civil
society is not currently a full participant in the
Forum.

--------------------------------------------- ---
Governments, IOs Concerned about Economic Crisis
--------------------------------------------- ---

34. (SBU) Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon
cited statistics from the IMF to make the case that
the BMENA region has weathered the world financial
crisis better than other regions and continues to
have good prospects for growth. He described
Canada's continued willingness to support both civil
society and governments in the region, including by
urging large banks to help the poorest countries.
He said the crisis shows that G8 and BMENA have no
choice but to work together in a forum such as
Forum, and stated that Canada was looking forward to
co-chairing the Forum next year.

35. (SBU) The Yemeni government representative drew
a distinction between local governance - of which he
approved - and separatist movements, which he said
violate the territorial integrity of countries.

36. (SBU) Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed
Al Khalifa said sustainable economic growth in a
secure framework is essential and warned that the
effects of the world financial crisis will linger
and affect employment, access to capital, energy
costs, and corporate governance. He said the region
requires a flexible, well-trained work force and a
stable regulatory framework to protect economies
from future shocks. To this end, he explicitly
called for education reform and free trade in the
BMENA region in order to create jobs and harmonize
regulations. He said civil society can assist
governments by encouraging popular support for these
initiatives.

37. (SBU) The representative of Japan (co-host of
the 2008 Forum) highlighted the country's
contributions to the IMF and other international
organizations to alleviate the effects of the global
economic crisis. The Japanese delegate spoke about
the need for the region to work to combat climate
change, a theme some other speakers briefly touched
upon. Japan was also the only government to stress
BMENA and G8 cooperation to combat piracy off the
coast of Africa and Yemen.

38. (SBU) The Netherlands delegate reacted
positively to the proposal for the Gender Institute,
pledged support, and said that the Netherlands would
donate USD 1 million to the Foundation for the
Future. The delegate from Denmark praised civil
society and NGO involvement, speaking as well about
climate change with reference to the December 2009
meeting in Copenhagen and the issue of water
resources in the BMENA region.

39. (SBU) The delegate from the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) said participants need to have

RABAT 00000952 009.2 OF 011

creative and flexible ideas about reform. Without
naming names, he said some countries have double
standards when it comes to reforms, and others are
genuinely helpful. He then spoke at length about
the Palestinian cause. Finally, he spoke in favor
of increased opening of markets between the BMENA
countries and the G8, and of the need for continued
scientific research, development, and education. He
was followed by a speaker from the Arab Monetary
Fund, who spoke in general about the effect of the
global economic crisis on the BMENA region, noting a
50 percent loss in petroleum revenues and placing
responsibility for the origins of the crisis on
western countries. He said the savings of the oil-
rich nations of the BMENA are alleviating the impact
of the crisis, and these BMENA governments should
pursue a monetary policy of injecting liquidity into
and consolidating regional banks. He found the
current efforts not sufficient, and called for
greater coordination on these issues through the
Forum to recover economic growth.

40. (SBU) The Egyptian delegate described shrinking
growth rates in Egypt. He called for national
control mechanisms (e.g., job creation programs) for
the economy to support the social safety net,
although he added there should not be any
overregulation or exaggeration. He called for the
liberalization of trade and the speeding up of
reform of financial institutions, especially early
warning systems. Like the Bahraini delegate, he
spoke of civil society as a sector with which
governments could partner to reach out and promote
reform. He called for the G8 to correct financial
and monetary systems, taking into account emerging
and developing countries and putting aside the
principle of reciprocity in trade. He spoke of
increased cooperation with the G8 in health care and
poverty alleviation, saying these steps would make
developing countries part of the solution, and not
just a part of the problem.

----------------------------------
NGOs Unhappy with Pace of Dialogue
----------------------------------

41. (SBU) The representative of the Arab Network of
Democracy was the next speaker. He said that six
years after the founding of the Forum, a true
partnership mechanism had yet to be developed
between BMENA governments and civil society. Thus,
civil society organizations cannot be held
responsible for problems of process. Echoing
Egyptian political activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, he
said democracy was not at the center of the Forum
process and that there have been some steps backward
with respect to democracy's place within the Forum
process. He called for a dialogue without
restrictions on civil society organizations, not one
among "deaf and dumb." He said governments should
not fear civil society organizations, which are not
trying to revolutionize but to contribute to the
rule of law along with governments.

42. (SBU) A representative of the Al-Kawakibi
Democracy Transition Center (Arabic acronym KADEM)
spoke next, saying the Forum Partnership Document
was important, but that it was too often ignored by
BMENA governments. He also said they had attached
too many restrictions to it. He implored the G8
governments to keep promoting the document. This
prompted a reply from the Bahraini delegation, who
insisted that government/civil society dialogue had
made achievements and that there was no "dialogue of
the deaf and dumb." FM Fassi Fihri also disagreed

RABAT 00000952 010.2 OF 011

passionately with the civil society speakers, and
claimed all BMENA governments were in direct
dialogue with civil society. He said that if civil
society groups feel that in some countries or areas
there are delays in the dialogue, he wanted to
reassure them that dialogue exists to develop
society and strengthen democracy.

43. (SBU) The next speaker represented the
Mauritanian NGO "Intellectual Club for Democracy."
Noting differences in elections in the region - and
differing levels of transparency in those elections
- he called on the G8 and other organizations to
build civil society capacity. Following this, a
speaker from the Bahrain Transparency Society hailed
Secretary Clinton's speech and declared that a lack
of transparency helped explain the collapse of the
world economy in 2008. He called on government
ministries, legislative assemblies, civil society,
and the private sector to come together and act to
enhance transparency.

-------------------
Final Interventions
-------------------

44. (SBU) Government representatives made a few more
remarks, mostly reiterating themes mentioned above.
The Sudanese delegate said the country was
considering reforms in various areas and preparing
for elections in 2010 under delicate circumstances.
The delegate said no peace would be possible if the
people of Darfur were not living stable lives.
Tunisia held itself up as a model of development and
social and educational reform; the Tunisian delegate
also briefly touched on legal protections and NGO
involvement with the disabled. The UK delegate
supported the Danish comments on climate change and
acknowledged BMENA requests for more equitable
outcomes. He also stressed global health and infant
mortality reduction, supported the creation of the
Gender Institute given that there are still
restrictive laws towards women in the BMENA region,
and detailed the hundreds of millions of pounds the
UK spends on civil society development in the region
(including trade unions). The UK delegate gave
support to U.S. efforts on the Palestinian/Israeli
conflict, saying that this was "last best chance"
for peace in this generation.

45. (SBU) The delegate from Afghanistan stressed the
country's advances despite its difficult
circumstances, saying it had just completed a
challenging electoral process and would now focus on
forming an inclusive government, fighting corruption
at all levels, and extending the hand of peace and
reconciliation, all with the support of the
international community and keeping in mind
realistic goals.

46. (SBU) The Yemeni NGO "Human Rights Information
and Training Center" (HRITC) representative said he
was surprised to hear other delegates positively
discussing civil society participation in the Forum,
because this year civil society had only a minor
role. Unlike this year, civil society could in the
past reach decision-making levels within the Forum,
he said. He reiterated the need for equal and
constructive dialogue, unlike this year's passive
dialogue. He said more than rhetoric is needed,
because building the future is a shared
responsibility between governments and civil
society.

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RABAT 00000952 011.2 OF 011

Confusion and Anger as Session Draws to a Close
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47. (SBU) Going off agenda, Moroccan FM Fassi Fihri
started to give closing remarks. He said that no
single model can be exported from north to south,
and he reiterated themes of exchange and dialogue.
He made reference to the "unhelpful" situation in
Palestine, implying this as big a hindrance to
regional reform as the global economic crisis.

48. (SBU) Fassi Fihri ended his remarks by saying he
was duty-bound to listen to the civil society
representatives' opinions and take them as partners.
Much to the surprise of the delegates and the
remaining speakers, including the two civil society
co-chairs for the Forum and Canada as the next G8
president, he proceeded to thank the participants
and close the ministerial. After some confusion,
the error was pointed out to Fassi Fihri and he
opened the floor to the remaining speakers, but by
that time many delegations had left.

49. (SBU) The head of No Peace Without Justice,
former Italian and EU Senator Marco Pannella, was
clearly perturbed and limited his brief remarks to
expressions of thanks to the Italian government and
the Government of Morocco, and he suggested that
perhaps he would be given more time to speak at next
year's Forum. The speaker from the Moroccan
Organization for Human Rights (OMDH) also was
agitated and spoke in an angry tone. She said she
would have liked to discuss the civil society
meeting in Casablanca, as actual and effective
partnership is supposed to be crystal clear. She
was particularly upset that the "Partnership Between
G8-BMENA Governments and Civil Society" document was
not formally submitted at the Forum. The final
substantive remarks came from the Canadian delegate,
who said the priorities outlined in the Forum
Chairmen's Statement would help Canada determine the
themes for next year's Forum. He ended by stating
that Canada calls for a lasting and just peace in
the Middle East.

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Comment
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50. (SBU) There was a significant disconnect between
many of the civil society organizations and BMENA
governments at this year's Forum. Talk of civil
society responsibility and accountability seemed to
be a call for civil society groups to censor
themselves and avoid confrontation with governments.
Talk of "home-grown" models of democracy suggested
that BMENA governments were restricting the meaning
of "democracy" in a self-serving fashion. Civil
society organizations were upset with this tone, and
many openly complained of what they perceived to be
a diminished role for civil society in this year's
Forum. They cited as lack of tangible progress in
advancing the civil society/government partnership
the failure of the Chairs to formally approve the
Partnership Document. While the BMENA governments
praised dialogue with civil society, they clearly
envisioned an instrumental use for civil society
groups to serve as intermediaries to promote
government policies. End comment.

JACKSON

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