UNCLAS JAKARTA 013564

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM PREL CWC OPCW CBW ID
SUBJECT: CWC: STATUS OF INDONESIAN IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION

REF: STATE 193643


1. POLOFF met with Daniel Simanjuntak of the Directorate of
International Security and Disarmament at the Indonesian
Department of Foreign Affairs on December 13 to present
reftel points and discuss the status of Indonesia's
implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Simanjuntak said the draft legislation had been completed and
submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR), the lower
chamber of Indonesia's national legislature, at the end of
November. The legislation was informally titled "The Use of
Chemical Agents and the Prohibition of the Use of Chemical
Weapons." The legislation was consistent with Article VII of
the Convention, gave the Government of Indonesia (GOI) the
authority to regulate trade in chemicals, and stipulated
penalties. In conjunction with Indonesia's Criminal Code,
the legislation gave the GOI universal jurisdiction over
individuals and legal entities.


2. The GOI could not speak for the DPR, Simanjuntak
cautioned, and therefore could not guarantee passage of the
draft legislation. However, the legislation had been
submitted early enough in the agreed implementation window to
allow a full debate.

NATIONAL AUTHORITY ALREADY EXISTS


3. Simanjuntak explained that Indonesia already had a
National Authority which could enforce the CWC in the form of
a 1997 decree from the Minister of Foreign Affairs issued
after Indonesia's accession to the CWC. Similar decrees
existed for enforcement of Indonesia's commitments on
biological and nuclear weapons as well. Indonesia planned to
replace these three separate decrees in 2007 with a single
presidential decree which would grant the Minister of Foreign
Affairs this authority in all three areas. Actual
enforcement domestically would continue to reside with the
Minister for Industry and the Minister of Justice.

COMPLIANCE POLICY AND ASSISTANCE REQUEST


4. The GOI believed that Indonesia was already in compliance
with Article VII of the Convention and therefore did not need
assistance, Simanjuntak stressed. Indonesia felt it had a
good record of cooperation with the United Nations. On the
other hand, Indonesia's policy was to refrain from singling
out other countries for criticism: compliance should be
voluntary and without penalty.


5. At the same time, while Indonesia seriously wanted to
implement the Convention, effective national enforcement was
difficult because it relied heavily on cooperation by both
government agencies and industry Simanjuntak said. Indonesia
would welcome any assistance which U.S. agencies and/or
companies could provide in sharing experience and best
practices on implementation strategies. Indonesia's new
legislation would not succeed without the support of
industry, and government agencies and legislators needed to
understand that the CWC was not a threat to national
sovereignty. Simanjuntak's colleague, Carolina Tinangon, who
was also present at the meeting, said she had raised this
issue with senior officials from the Export Administration at
the Department of Commerce on the margins of a recent meeting.
HEFFERN