BAHRAIN: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION NATIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 002008 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP, ISN/CB E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2016 TAGS: PARM PREL BA ROW SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION OBLIGATIONS REF: STATE 193643 Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Pol/Econ Chief December 5 delivered reftel demarche concerning Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) national implementation obligations to MFA Director for International Organization Affairs Ghassan Shaikho. Referring specifically to the third obligation, drafting and enacting CWC-related penal legislation, Shaikho said that all relevant Bahraini ministries had already signed off on a draft law, which now was with the Cabinet for approval before delivering it to the parliament. Shaikho expects no problems or issues in either the Cabinet or the parliament and anticipates that the law will be passed easily. ¶2. (C) Shaikho said that the MFA had sent an unofficial copy of the draft law to the CWC secretariat, both to inform the secretariat of the status of the legislation and to elicit SIPDIS comments. The secretariat had no negative observations, saying it was in accordance with the terms of the Convention. Shaikho noted that there were two models used by countries in drafting the legislation. Bahrain had chosen the longer, more comprehensive approach, which most other countries had used. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** MONROE