DEMARCHE DELIVERED: INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINGSTON 000204

SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES/ENV (DAVID BROWN),WHA/CAR (BENT)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2016
TAGS: SENV ETRD ECON PREL PGOV JM
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: INTERNATIONAL CHEMICALS
MANAGEMENT

REF: A.) STATE 11460 B.) MORGAN/BROWN 01/31 TELCON

Classified By: AMB BRENDA L. JOHNSON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B),(D).


1. (U) On January 31, Econoff delivered reftel talking points
to Claudia Barnes, Director of the Economic Affairs
Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign
Trade (MFAFT),Gillian Guthrie, Director of Projects and
Enforcement at the Ministry of Land and Environment (MLE),
and Gloria Gibbs, official at the Ministry of Health (MOH).
(Note: Guthrie and Gibbs attended PrepCom 3, Barnes did not.
End note.) GOJ responses are keyed to the issues raised in
reftel.


2. (C) Conference Documents: The GOJ agreed that the
bracketed text that arose from negotiations at SAICM PrepCom
3 in Vienna should be part of the baseline at the
International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) in
Dubai on February 4-6. The GOJ asked for the USG position on
the President,s revisions that arose from the November
meeting in Switzerland. Post provided clarifying information
per information from ref. B.


3. (C) Precaution: While the GOJ interlocutors concurred that
the formulation of the concept of precaution that arose in
Rio Principle 15 is the standard, they asked into what areas
the USG was concerned that precaution might be applied. Post
responded with information from ref. B.


4. (C) Scope: While the GOJ noted that food, food additives,
and pharmaceutical products were currently regulated under
the Food and Drug Act in Jamaica, MLE's Guthrie stated that
in areas where chemicals pose a risk to human health, limited
resources could not be considered an obstacle. The GOJ
understanding is that one of SAICM,s roles is to &plug the
gaps8 left by other conventions on chemicals management, and
insofar as gaps exist in the treatment of any category of
product that involves chemicals, the GOJ is willing to
consider addressing their management under SAICM.


5. (C) Savings Clause: The GOJ is still in the process of
discussing this issue within their Attorney General,s
Office, and there is currently no firm position. Guthrie did
state that it has been the GOJ position that any agreements
reached in Dubai would not supercede any other agreements,
nor should they &affect8 the interpretation or application
of international obligations.


6. (C) Global Plan of Action (GPA): The GOJ stated that the
purpose of Dubai was to place the document up for adoption.
They agreed in principle that the GPA was, in essence, a
&working paper,8 but asked what the USG proposed, if not
adopting it in Dubai. Econoff explained that the USG
position was simply that the GPA,s status must be clarified,
and that it would be inappropriate and premature to adopt it
or recommend its use. Guthrie asked what the USG would
propose for Dubai, and stated that if the USG did not intend
to pursue the GPA in Dubai, that the governments of the
developed countries should facilitate regional and
sub-regional working groups to advance the document.


7. (C) GOJ officials were receptive to USG concerns, even
when they could not indicate outright acceptance or agreement
with our position. They expressed a strong desire to meet
with the USG delegation in Dubai.
JOHNSON