FRANCE ON U.S. UNGA FIRST COMMITTEE (UNFC)

UNCLAS PARIS 006748 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL FR UNGA SUBJECT: FRANCE ON U.S. UNGA FIRST COMMITTEE (UNFC) RESOLUTION ON COMPLIANCE REF: SECSTATE 178316 Poloff delivered reftel demarche to MFA DAS equivalent for Chemical, Biological and Conventional Weapons Disarmament, Marion Paradas and her deputy, Arnaud Roux, on September 28. In a follow-up conversation on September 30, Paradas and Roux said that the GoF appreciated receiving the text and that, in principle, the GoF had no problems with the draft resolution. She added, however, that the document could be made stronger. She said that upon receiving the draft resolution, her office compared it with preceding resolutions, the most recent from 2002, and noticed that the present draft resolution was considerably more vague. She suggested that the resolution would run into less resistance if it were more specific concerning the obligations of states. For example, she said, previous resolutions mention "verification provisions" and "agreed obligations;" these phrases, she noted, were missing in the present draft resolution. Roux suggested that the draft resolution would be made stronger still if it emphasized the role of the UN in the process. However, Paradas stressed, while it finds the draft resolution less focused than its predecessors, the GoF supports the general thrust of the document. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm STAPLETON