Obama administration joins UN group to heal Muslim-Western ties

The Obama administration is not just talking about reinvigorating America’s participation in international organizations; it’s actually doing it. This week marks the latest in a series of international events that will see full State Department participation for the first time.

Assistant Secretary for International Organizations Esther Brimmer is in Rio this week leading the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Forum, which includes about 2,000 participants from about 119 countries and organizations. As of 2010, the United States is now a full member country, and while U.S. officials had participated in selected events relating to the organization before, Brimmer’s involvement is meant to show a renewed U.S. commitment to international institutions.

 "The alliance itself is essentially a clearinghouse for information on cultural exchange, and we were particularly interested because we thought that it was developing in a way that was showing some innovation in terms of broadening out cultural exchange and trying to counter some of the forces of polarization and extremism," Brimmer told The Cable.

The AOC forum began in 2005 as a Spanish/Turkish attempt to respond to serious ongoing problems in relations between the Muslim world and the West, as illustrated by riots over cartoon portrayals of the Prophet Mohammed that year.

The U.N.’s then secretary-general, Kofi Annan, appointed a high-profile group of international luminaries to get it started, including former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

But the group’s 2006 report created controversy when it made several recommendations that touched upon the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"Our emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not meant to imply that it is the overt cause of all tensions between Muslim and Western societies," the report’s authors wrote. "Nevertheless, it is our view that the Israeli-Palestinian issue has taken on a symbolic value that colors cross cultural and political relations … well beyond its limited geographic scope."

U.S. conservatives were up in arms.

"The Report of the High-level Group of The Alliance of Civilizations is testament to the limited value of such exercises by the U.N. The report focuses obsessively on the failings of Western countries while largely ignoring the faults of Muslim countries," wrote the Heritage Foundation’s Brett Shaefer at the time. "The report glosses over the underlying reasons behind the economic problems of many Islamic countries in favor of a laundry list of objectives."

But Brimmer said the AOC has now changed and expanded its focus, partnering with UNESCO and the German Marshall Fund.For example, the AOC and GMF established an international fellowship program in 2009 to bring together youth from America, Europe, and Muslim countries. Also, the State Department’s office dealing with UNESCO is now involved in the AOC effort.

 "The AOC itself was really expanding to try to take, on in a more structured way, working on countering extremism and supporting cultural exchange," said Brimmer, adding that the State Department is in "listening mode" and still thinking about where and how exactly to get involved.

That, in and of itself, is a shift from the Bush years. Let’s not forget that it was one of her predecessors, John Bolton, who famously said about the U.N., "If it lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference."

"I think for this administration multilateral diplomacy is an integral part of overall U.S foreign policy," Brimmer said, "But that means being active in those bodies — attending meetings, going to conferences, talking to the delegations, and we try to support that."