CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): WRAP-UP FOR THE

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 002490 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/CB, VCI/CCB, L/ACV, IO/S SECDEF FOR OSD/ISP JOINT STAFF FOR DD PMA-A FOR WTC COMMERCE FOR BIS (GOLDMAN) NSC FOR DICASAGRANDE WINPAC FOR WALTER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL CWC SUBJECT: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): WRAP-UP FOR THE WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 17 This is CWC-106-06. -------------- -------------- WORKING GROUP FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE SECOND REV CON -------------- -------------- ¶1. (U) Ambassador Parker (UK) chaired a meeting of the RevCon Working Group (WG) on November 13. The agenda for the meeting was: (1) Involvement of external bodies in the review process (continued from earlier meetings); (2) The role of the CWC in enhancing international peace and security (initial discussion on this topic). Three support documents were also distributed: (1) "Modalities of the Participation of External Bodies in the Review Process", a chairman's proposal; (2) a background paper by the Technical Secretariat entitled "Note on the Involvement of External Bodies in the First Review Conference", dated September 22; and (3) a background paper by the TS entitled "Developments Related to Issues that were Considered at the First Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to Review the Operation of the Chemical Weapons Convention", dated September 22. ¶2. (U) The chairman presented an overview of his paper on the modalities of the participation of external bodies. Many delegations intervened with questions and ideas about the relationship between external bodies' written submissions and their participation in the RevCon, deadlines for written submissions and the vetting process for what is published on the OPCW external server, the contents of the proposed chairman's open letter to interested bodies outside the OPCW, status of documents that are published on the OPCW external server, anticipated 2007 meetings with industry and other external bodies and their timing, role of the Bureau in dealing with disagreements or particularly sensitive issues, criteria for accepting or excluding written submissions, and the balance between the value of meetings for external bodies versus the value to States Parties. The chairman committed to editing his proposal to address the comments received, including the modalities for the 2007 NGO meeting to the first meeting of the WG in 2007, and including a discussion on the 2007 industry meeting in the December meeting of the WG. ¶3. (U) The chairman opened the floor for general thoughts on the role of the CWC in enhancing international peace and security. The U.S., Russia, Sudan, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, China, the UK, Canada, Germany, Korea, Japan, Italy, Iran, South Africa, France, India, Mexico, and Australia all made interventions, many rather formal statements. The common themes from WEOG SPs and Japan were: helping SPs meet their obligations, universality, progress in destruction since first RevCon, effective verification and confidence-building, UNSC 1540 and global counterterrorism, Article VII progress and continuing efforts, developments in science and technology, role of effective dialogue with industry, challenge inspections, and chemical trade. Russia focused on meeting obligations for all, not just those who are possessors and in the process of destroying, as well as thinking about the possibility of non-SPs who might be possessors. The other SPs all pointed to destruction within deadlines as their main focus , with assistance and protection, international cooperation for chemical advancement, universality, transfers to non-SPs, inclusivity and non-discriminatory practices as additional points. ¶4. (U) The next meeting of the Working Group will be December 11 at 10:30 am. The agenda will include a continuation of discussion on the role of the CWC in enhancing international peace and security, as well as measures to ensure the universality of the CWC. -------------- BUDGET -------------- ¶5. (U) Budget consultations were held on November 16. The DG opened the meeting by saying that in compiling a presentation on Article VI inspection proposed for 2007, he has become even more convinced that the TS proposal was the right proposal. He also noted that an additional 400 new OCPF facilities were declared between December 2005 and June 2006 and this further reinforced the need for a significant increase in OCPF inspections. Bill Kane (IVB) then gave a presentation on Article VI inspections proposed for 2007 (the presentation sent to ISN/CB by fax and e-mail on 11/17). At the conclusion of Kane's presentation, the DG said that OCPFs were a "black hole" about which the TS has very little information. He said that if delegates tried to make the OCPF inspection issue a political one it would seriously erode confidence in the CWC regime and its effective contribution to nonproliferation. ¶6. (U) In a subsequent phone call with Ambassador Javits, the DG made it clear that he has strong views on the subject and encouraged delegations to defend the TS proposal. He told the Ambassador that no country should have a veto over what should be a technical and not a political issue. The DG implied that he would rather see a delay in getting a budget than give in on an issue of principal. ¶7. (U) The next budget consultation, designed to give delegations a chance to ask question about Kane's presentation, will be on November 22. ¶8. (U) Javits sends. ARNALL