COLOMBIA: SA/LW NEGOTIATIONS ON MARKING AND TRACING

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 005395

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR PM/WRA STEPHANIE PICO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER CO MOPS
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA: SA/LW NEGOTIATIONS ON MARKING AND TRACING

REF: SECSTATE 99866


1. (C) Post delivered reftel demarche to MFA Disarmament
Coordinator Diana Aguilar June 1. She said Colombia wants
uniform standards for marking of weapons and ammunition, but
would be flexible regarding a legally binding document.


2. (C) Trafficking in small arms and light weapons is a
crucial issue for Colombia, said Aguilar, due to the
activities of illegal armed groups. She understood poloff's
points regarding the marking of ammunition but responded that
the GOC would press for marking of ammunition at the OEWG,
and noted that Colombia's state arms manufactory, INDUMIL,
marks the ammunition it produces. She presumed that with the
opposition of the U.S., Russia, China, and Japan a legally
binding document (the GOC's preferred outcome) would not be
feasible; she thus expressed the hope for a "politically
binding" document. Aguilar stressed the importance of common
standards for marking. She pointed to the recent seizure of
ammunition of Indonesian origin in a cache of the FARC FTO as
an example of the usefulness of marking. Aguilar noted that
the EU supports marking of ammunition as do most Latin
American nations. Noting that the life span of small arms
was around 50 years, she said the GOC favors record keeping
for 15 years.
DRUCKER