Vol. 1, No. 3, Summer 2003

Interview with Louis Hamel,
Canada’s Ambassador to UNESCO

As previously reported, in April UNESCO's Executive Board agreed to put the proposal that UNESCO take on development of a convention on cultural diversity on the agenda for the bi-annual General Conference, to be held September 29-October 17. We recently spoke to Canada's ambassador to UNESCO, Louis Hamel, about the process.

Q: Can you tell us briefly about the debate that took place during last April’s meeting of the Executive Board of UNESCO on the possibility of adding an item on a convention on cultural diversity to the agenda of the next General Conference?

A: There were 45 interventions during the debate, including from two observers, Canada and the United States. Forty-three of the 58 Executive Board members spoke out on the issue, and the vast majority of the interventions were in favour of the motion, which was passed by consensus.

Q: Could you talk a bit about Canada’s work to raise awareness at UNESCO about a convention on cultural diversity?

A: It is a true team-partnership effort among ministers, civil servants and non-governmental organizations. In this respect, I take my hat off to the impact that your Coalition is having and to the pressure exerted on government bodies by the cultural milieu. I encourage you to pursue your efforts to raise awareness among your foreign partners so that they, too, might influence other State representatives at UNESCO by talking with the governments that give these representatives direction. Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps has stepped up her efforts among ministerial colleagues in both Canada and abroad, and this positive influence is beginning to pay off. On my side, I meet with four or five ambassadors or delegates to UNESCO every week to raise awareness among member states about the convention on cultural diversity issue. Personally, I have noted a growing interest, even on the part of such countries as India and Pakistan, which, until now, had been rather uninterested and lukewarm to the idea.

Q: What steps are planned before the General Conference?

A: Between now and the General Conference, we (the Government of Canada and the Network of ministers of culture) intend to offer our help to the UNESCO secretariat in order to improve and enhance the discussion papers that will be distributed to the 189 member states at the meeting next fall. We hope to be able to assist UNESCO in its efforts to synthesize material on the subject. The goal is to put together a more concrete proposal that will make UNESCO member countries aware of the issue and will give the Director-General a mandate to develop and draft a convention on cultural diversity.

The ideal situation would be a clear mandate from the participants of the General Conference, given by consensus. If some countries were to block this consensus, the scenario would be to move to a vote. In such an event, 50% of the votes would be needed to give UNESCO’s Director-General the mandate to study the matter, which I am quite convinced would be a relatively simply task, especially if the text proposed by the secretariat fully reflects last April’s Executive Board meeting debates and lays out the issues clearly.

So, if all goes well, experts will be ready to begin working on drafting the convention after this fall’s General Conference. It will be a painstaking job in terms of setting the definitions and parameters, but the experts will have the benefit of the excellent documents prepared by the International Network for Cultural Policy (INCP—the informal network of culture ministers) and the many research papers that have been done on the subject. But we must not delude ourselves into thinking that these documents will be simply reviewed and corrected by UNESCO. While these will help save time, the lawyers and specialists on hand will have to prepare their own convention text in keeping with the process of UNESCO, which has drafted a great many international conventions since its creation.

In May, on the occasion of International Cultural Diversity Day, UNESCO’s Francophone Group organized a meeting on, among other things, cultural diversity and the convention. Some 200 people attended this meeting, mostly representatives of UNESCO and the International Organization of la Francophonie member countries. This meeting was a resounding success. United States and Australian representatives posted in Paris showed great interest in this meeting, which enabled them to see that cultural diversity is not restricted merely to the audio-visual sector. This meeting also brought to the fore the different though converging expectations of southern and northern countries on an issue so critical to the future of humanity. It helped raise awareness among small countries that currently have few or even no well-established cultural policies or industries that they must not mortgage their future.

Q: How are other international conventions or treaties with a potential impact on culture taken into account in the development process of a convention on cultural diversity?

A: When a convention is drafted under the United Nations system, the legal experts always study other conventions and treaties to ensure that the new instruments in no way contradict these existing agreements. Certainly, the drafters will have to examine the commitments taken within the framework of WIPO and all other treaties that in one way or another affect diversity. It will also be necessary to take into account the links that will have to be established with the WTO, or better yet that the WTO take the results of the deliberations of the convention on cultural diversity into consideration to avoid eventual contradictions or conflicts.

Q: How will UNESCO proceed with the drafting of the Convention on Cultural Diversity text in the event that it is decided at the October General Conference to include the issue in its work plan for the next two years?

A: The procedure should get underway quickly after the General Conference. In accordance with UNESCO regulations, there would first be an initial meeting of experts, which would last about two weeks and would likely be held in December 2003 or January/February 2004 at the latest. The committee of experts, appointed by the governments, would study the first elements of drafting the convention, meaning its scope of action, general definition, etc.

Other government representatives would likely also take part in this meeting, intervening and working with the Convention “drafters” but without having the same time allocation for speaking. Knowing the position of some countries on the cultural diversity issue, it will therefore be in our interest to put considerable effort into convincing as many states as possible of the importance of adopting a legally binding instrument.

There will be alternating meetings with government experts who will together draft the text of the Convention on the basis of the opinions and considerations of experts. The meetings will continue until such time as the text is ripe for adoption, which we hope would be in fall 2005.

Q: At this stage, do you think that we can count on the support of a sufficient number of states to back the principal of a legally binding convention?

A: I hope that we are getting there but there is a lot of work ahead. Two years is a very short period of time for drafting, negotiating and adopting an international convention of this scale, whether within the framework of UNESCO or of any other international organization. With enough goodwill and by using the many discussion papers prepared by experts and by the INCP, I am convinced that we can make headway and convert a greater number of partners to the idea of a binding instrument. Many groups, such as your own, are arguing in favour of an instrument with teeth. At the same time, UNESCO must ensure that it has the financial resources necessary to carry this international convention on cultural diversity project through to a successful outcome. If not, the members states will have to earmark extrabudgetary resources to cover the cost of meetings to see the work through.

Q: The United States will be rejoining UNESCO in time for the General Conference. In your opinion, how will this affect the dynamic of the conference?

A: The return of the United States as a member on October 1, 2003, will give UNESCO back its universality. All of the member states are thrilled to be able to work with this major country after an absence of nearly 19 years. We all know that several pressure groups are against the adoption of a convention on cultural diversity and that the U.S. Government might eventually be able to influence a good number of governments. From the very outset of the deliberations, we would like to see all countries expressing their views on the convention so that all objections and divergence of opinion can be taken into consideration and efforts made to arrive at a consensus.

The Americans have lost touch with the work being done by UNESCO and will have to, in my view, listen to the opinions of the many countries that believe in the urgent need to adopt such an instrument. I do not think that they will be able to go it alone, but will try to rally the support of a majority of partners in order to file down the teeth of any binding instrument. It will be up to us to respond with persuasive arguments if we are to get our ideas across and, ideally, have a convention adopted by consensus in 2005. If it has to go to a vote, we will need a two-thirds majority, and it will take longer to have the convention ratified before coming into force. I dare to hope that our neighbours to the south will come to see that a convention of this kind will encourage creativity and the development of the cultural industries all over the world, thereby facilitating the cultural distribution and consumption of a greater number of countries, including the U.S. market.

Q: What role do you see associations representing professionals from the cultural milieu playing in the UNESCO process?

A: Personally, I believe that the best way for you, as well as for your partners in the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, to take part in the development of the convention at UNESCO is to continue playing an active role by making your positions known to individual State governments. For example, you can make known your interest in being involved in the work of the expert committees to the Government of Canada, and more specifically to Canadian Heritage. You can also make the experts responsible aware of your positions so that they may be taken into account in the drafting of the convention. The same holds true for the other existing coalitions.

Canada-France and Quebec-France Issue Joint Declarations on Cultural Diversity During Official Visit by French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin

Coalition Representatives Take Part in South American Conferences on Cultural Diversity, Find Support for Convention Initiative is Growing Rapidly

A recent mission to South America by Robert Pilon and Jim McKee of the Coalition for Cultural Diversity showed interest and support for an international convention on cultural diversity is growing rapidly among associations representing cultural professionals and government officials responsible for culture.

The trip to South America was precipitated by in an invitation to Robert Pilon to be a featured panelist at a three-day conference entitled « Las Industrias Culturales en la Globalización », held May 28-30 and hosted by the culture ministry of the city of Buenos Aires. Other featured panelists included Ivan Bernier and representatives of the coalitions for cultural diversity of Argentina (the Forum for the Defense of Cultural Industries) and Chile.

The meeting was attended by senior culture officials from the major cities of the Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and associated countries Chile and Bolivia, and by representatives of associations of cultural professionals from these countries.

Large crowds of more than 300 people turned out for many of the panels, and the conference also received extensive media coverage, notably in El Clarin, Buenos Aires’s largest daily newspaper, which interviewed Robert Pilon for two feature articles and which published an editorial highlighting the work of coalitions for cultural diversity and strongly supporting the position that cultural works should not be treated simply as economic goods and services.

At the end of the conference, government officials and cultural associations met and agreed on a declaration calling on national governments to avoid making liberalization commitments affecting culture in trade negotiations and to support the process to develop and implement a treaty on cultural diversity at UNESCO:

The Argentine and Chilean coalitions for cultural diversity are already working with government officials and cultural associations from Uruguay on plans for a follow-up meeting, tentatively scheduled for August in Montevideo.

Paraguay: Culture Ministers Back Convention Initiative

Themes set out in the Buenos Aires declaration were taken up the following week in another declaration signed in Asuncion, Paraguay, by ministers of culture for the Mercosur and associated countries Chile and Bolivia.

The ministers’s declaration urges their governments to support the process now before UNESCO to undertake the development of an international convention on cultural diversity that would affirm the sovereign right of states to maintain and develop their own cultural policies.

The declaration was signed June 4 at the conclusion of the meeting of culture ministers that immediately followed a technical seminar on cultural diversity "La Diversitad Cultural en el Mercosur," organized by the government of Paraguay with the support of UNESCO.

Robert Pilon was a featured guest on one of the panels and brought participants—in large part senior-level culture department officials from the six countries—up to date on efforts the existing eight national coalitions for cultural diversity have been making in support of an international convention on cultural diversity, and what associations of cultural professionals are seeking through such a convention.

The two-day conference provided an opportunity for in-depth exchanges with several senior government officials from the six countries represented, as well as with officials from UNESCO and UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The fact that the technical seminar was held in conjunction with the ministers’ meeting also led to an informal meeting and exchange of information with Gilberto Gil, Brazil’s new minister of culture in the government of Lula da Silva.

Brazil: Major Player, But Questions Remain

News that Gilberto Gil, who continues his career as an internationally renowned musician while fulfilling his responsibilities as a cabinet minister, is supporting the initiative of a convention on cultural diversity came as welcome news to representatives of Brazil’s associations attending a meeting in Rio de Janeiro on June 6.

Robert Pilon and Jim McKee had been invited to Rio to speak on the cultural diversity convention initiative at a meeting attended by representatives of professional associations from the cultural sector. Officials from the French embassy were also present.

The meeting was also attended by senior government advisors to Minister Gil, including his advisor for international relations. It was followed by a meeting with senior officials of Ancine, Brazil’s film agency (similar to Telefilm Canada).

A country of 175 million people, Brazil is the major economic power in South America and in the context of trade negotiations and the UNESCO process for a convention on cultural diversity stands to play a leadership role not only in South America but among developing countries as well.

To date, Brazil’s leadership has expressed major skepticism towards both the Free Trade of the Americas negotiations and the Doha Round of WTO services negotiations, stating repeatedly that they see no benefit in moving ahead with these talks unless they can secure improved access to the American and European markets for their agricultural products.

In this regard, question marks about Brazil’s position on culture remain. While Minister Gil may have come out clearly in favor of the UNESCO process, the Lula government’s stance with respect to how it will treat culture in the context of trade liberalization negotiations is viewed by many, including Brazil’s own associations from the cultural milieu, as remaining ambiguous.

Heritage Committee Report
Backs Convention on Cultural Diversity

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s report on the broadcast system released on June 11, contains a strong endorsement of the initiative to implement an international convention on cultural diversity.

In its report, entitled “Our Cultural Sovereignty : The Second Century of Canadian Broadcasting” the Standing Committee states that it “is of the view that the New International Instrument on Cultural Diversity should play a key role in the protection of Canada’s cultural sovereignty. It therefore strongly endorses and commends efforts by the Canadian government, industry and creative associations to promote measures at the international level that would guarantee the continued capacity of national governments to adopt and implement cultural policy without any interference from trade agreements”

Accordingly, the Committee’s Recommendation 17.1 urges that: “The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade maintain the government’s position that culture not be part of any ongoing and future international trade negotiations.”

The 872-page report is the result of two years’ work by the members of the committee and contains 97 recommendations addressing every aspect of the broadcasting system, ranging from the role of public and private broadcasters, independent production, the need for Canadian drama to have a stronger presence in the system, and the impact of new technologies and media such as the Internet.

The Committee devotes an entire section to question of ownership of broadcasting and cable-satellite enterprises regulated under the Broadcasting, which it described as “perhaps the most emotional and contentious issue that the Committee had to address “. The Committee concludes that “the best interests of Canadian citizens and the reflection and fostering of our talents and imaginations cannot be left to foreign interests. The danger is that Canadian companies would be maintained as satellites within the larger orbit of foreign corporations and vital financial and creative decisions would be made in New York, Paris or Los Angeles rather than in Montreal, Winnipeg or Toronto. The Committee believes that the permissible degree of foreign ownership should be maintained at current levels and that sometimes, in the words of the American poet Robert Frost, "Good fences make good neighbors.”

The federal government has 150 days to respond to the report, but is not bound by it.

The report can be found at: www.parl.gc.ca

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Coalition Represented at Consultation Dinner
Held By DFAIT DM Len Edwards

The Coalition for Cultural Diversity was represented at a June 11 dinner held in Gatineau by Len Edwards, Deputy Minister for International Trade.

The dinner brought together representatives of associations from the development, human rights and cultural sectors for a consultation to assist the government as it prepares for next steps in the WTO Doha services round negotiations as well as the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations.

The next step in the WTO talks will be a ministerial conference set for September 10-14 in Cancun, Mexico. The next stage in the FTAA talks will be a similar ministerial conference scheduled for November in Miami.

Jim McKee, Director of External Relations, attended the dinner on behalf of the Coalition for Cultural Diversity.

• Interview with Louis Hamel, Canada’s Ambassador to UNESCO

• Canada-France and Quebec-France Issue Joint Declarations on cultural diversity during official visit by French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin

• Coalition Representatives Take Part in South American Conferences on Cultural Diversity, Find Support for Convention Initiative is Growing Rapidly

• Heritage Committee Report Backs Convention on Cultural Diversity

• Coalition Represented at Consultation by DFAIT Deputy Minister Len Edwards