About the Secret of Diplomacy
Posted on 06. Oct, 2009 by Ole Seidenberg in Germany
Some confidentiality is needed for diplomacy, right?
It is certainly our project’s mission to provide some transparency about the process and the path that negotiations here in Bangkok and those that are still to come in Barcelona and Copenhagen are taking.
However, a recent article in the Guardian caught my attention, when it made pretty serious allegations regarding the secrecy of certain meetings between delegations and NGO, also saying that NGOs prefered to be close to their “masters” (meaning the developed countries) rather than letting the world know whats going on.
John Vidal, the author of that piece, states that “We the people – that is the press, the NGOs, even business – are not allowed to see or hear any of the negotiating sessions.” He continues to say that “…our EU leaders plan just one short session with the world’s media on Friday afternoon when the talks here finish.”
I feel compelled to comment on that right here and now, since I have made my very own experiences in the past (and are still doing them) with this difficult balance between transparency, the revealing of some inconvenient facts and the nurturing of my relationship with the German delegation. How can I effectively track someone that I also need as a vital access point to all the information that makes my work valuable?
To be honest here, I would also be pretty frustrated in case Nicole Wilke didn’t talk to me. And I actually was, quite frankly, a bit mad at her or at least a bit frustrated with the general situation when I didn’t really get the chance to meet her in Bonn.
It was also at that time, that I shot some footage in a closed NGO-meeting with Nicole and thought I could simply upload it on YouTube. Well, I was taught a different lesson – and rightly so.
The more I gain insight into the dynamics of this negotiation process, the more I begin to understand that some preliminary stages of the negotiation include some very fragile political agreements and where there are deals to be made, there are also cards to be played. Moreover, there is quite often a lot of symbols and signs that need to be interpreted, just like “Tells” and “Bluffs” in a good poker game.
To get one thing straight: This does not only apply to developed Annex-1 Countries, but to all of the participating parties: There are just as many “closed” meetings held by the African Union or the G77 & China Group – and even Press Conferences that are meant for Media but not for us (since we are accredited through NGOs and althoug we are blogging, we are not considered to be press representatives).
From what I have seen here, NGOs are also not only here to do organize some exciting activism activity and campaign for a fair deal in Copenhagen. They are doing much more than that by lobbying – often behind closed doors and in an atmosphere based on mutual trust – for very specific elements in the negotiation text. Elements that are based on even more specific, complex and intertwined aspects that most of us- even if disclosed – wouldn’t even understand.
As a matter of fact, this is nothing new. In every company, family and organization, there are things that need to be discussed in confidence. Among siblings or parents, among parents and their children’s teachers. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they want to hide something. But it does certainly show that there are things that could be misunderstood when taken out of one context and put into another one.
I certainly share the frustration of John about the many meetings we cannot access and the many bits and pieces that we don’t really know about these negotiations. I also share the vision of a more transparent and participatory approach, especially in a future that will be even more globalized and connected, inter alia supported by Social Media such as Wikis and Social Networks.
However, I do not think that it is appropriate to blame NGOs for their attempt to keep a trust-based relationship with the diverse countries in tact, no matter whether it is the “rich” or the “poor nations” we are talking about.
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