INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION: KITTITIANS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 001174 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR OES/OA JOHN FIELD SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2016 TAGS: AORC EAID EFIS PGOV PREL SENV JA SC XL SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION: KITTITIANS BEHAVING BADLY REF: A. BRIDGETOWN 1133 ¶B. BRIDGETOWN 785 Classified By: DCM Mary Ellen T. Gilroy for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The International Whaling Commission (IWC) wrapped up its annual meeting in St. Kitts on June 21, amid expressions of dissatisfaction and disgruntlement from delegates representing anti-whaling nations and environmental groups. At the heart of the distress was a referendum that passed by a narrow margin of 33 to 32 calling upon the IWC to end the international ban on commercial whaling. The referendum will not overturn the whaling ban but does represent a shift in the IWC that will make anti-whaling efforts more difficult to maintain. All was not lost for the anti-whaling side, however, as IWC members failed to pass a Japanese-inspired proposal to institute secret ballots. The host nation, St. Kitts and Nevis, managed to startle attendees with accusatory behavior during the meeting and an unsubstantiated request for US$750,000 to offset hosting costs. End Summary. ¶2. (U) International environmental groups and Caribbean NGOs expressed disappointment and frustration at the decision of the IWC to call for the return to managed commercial whaling. The international ban on whaling cannot be repealed without support from seventy-five percent of the nations on the commission, but this shift in fundamental ideology marks the beginnings of an uphill battle for anti-whaling lobbyists. The Barbados National Trust criticized its neighboring Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) nations (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) for drafting the pro-whaling resolution, and several environmental groups called for a tourism boycott of the countries supporting the measure (ref A). ¶3. (U) In addition to the much-publicized blow to the whaling ban, U.S. delegates to the meeting reported to Ambassador Kramer and Poloff on June 21 other incidents that characterized this IWC meeting, the first to be held in a developing nation. The host country, St. Kitts and Nevis, among others, put forth a proposal to initiate secret ballots at IWC meetings, something Japan has long been lobbying for in order to protect some of its more cautious allies. Fortunately, for the sake of transparency, the vote on the secret ballot resulted in a tie and the motion failed because SIPDIS a delegate who could have cast the deciding vote in favor was out of the room at the time. (Note: Israel cast the tying vote against the secret ballot, effectively blocking the resolution. End note.) ¶4. (U) Displaying particularly disconcerting audacity, the St. Kitts organizers asked for US$750,000 in additional funding for overages incurred in holding the meeting. When the U.S. and other developed countries balked at this surcharge and the precedent it would set for future meetings, the Kittitians parried with a request for only US$350,000, offering to "split the difference" and share the expense. In response, the "deep pocket" countries requested an accounting of the monies and details of where the host nation incurred overages. The Kittitians said the information was "unavailable," so the IWC members denied the request. ¶5. (U) Finally, in an unexpected and unnecessary display, the St. Kitts delegate managed to offend and discomfort almost everyone present during one session by demanding to know just what punishment the Netherlands was going to hand down to the Greenpeace vessel responsible for a collision earlier in the year with a Japanese whaling ship. Both Japan and the Netherlands had investigated the matter and agreed that no prosecution was warranted. Inexplicably, the St. Kitts IWC delegate proceeded to badger and berate the Dutch delegate on this essentially dead issue to the chagrin of many, including the Japanese. ¶6. (C) Comment: The Caribbean script for introducing the resolution against the whaling ban and lobbying for it seems to have come directly from Japan, which has been courting these small island states with check-book diplomacy and funding government junkets to Japan under the guise of fact-finding and tourism-promotion (ref B). Despite all of Japan's coaching, the host country organizers and St. Kitts' BRIDGETOWN 00001174 002 OF 002 IWC delegation showed a surprising lack of decorum. Small island Caribbean governments, which often criticize the U.S. and other large nations for failing to pay appropriate attention and respect to them and their concerns, frequently seem unwilling or unable to behave in a way that deserves respect. The actions of host nation St. Kitts and Nevis, and other Eastern Caribbean states, during the IWC, demonstrated a shameless disregard for standards of behavior at a multilateral forum. End comment. KRAMER