CWC: STATUS OF INDONESIAN IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION

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