JAMAICA HOSTS WORKSHOP ON IMPLEMENTING UNSCR 1540

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 000843 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN - JANE PURCELL) WHA/CAR - RANDALL BUDDEN T E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC ETTC KNNP PARM PREL PTER XL XM JM SUBJECT: JAMAICA HOSTS WORKSHOP ON IMPLEMENTING UNSCR 1540 IN THE CARIBBEAN ¶1. SUMMARY: The first outreach event on implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 (2004) in the Caribbean was held in Kingston, Jamaica on May 29-30, ¶2007. Representatives from 11 Caribbean states attended. The workshop was successful in increasing participants' knowledge of UNSCR 1540 requirements, how to prepare reports and action plans, and the availability of implementation assistance. Department officers Jane Purcell, ISN/CPI, and Lloyd Moss, POL/ECON Kingston, participated for the USG. END SUMMARY. ¶2. The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA),the European Union, Canada and Norway sponsored the UN Workshop on Implementing UNSCR 1540 in the Caribbean, which was hosted by Jamaica. UNSCR 1540 places binding obligations on all UN Member States to adopt and enforce appropriate laws to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD),their means of delivery, and related items. In April 2006, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of its 1540 Committee for two years in UNSCR 1673, and decided to intensify outreach efforts to promote the Resolution's full implementation. Workshop Sessions -------------- ¶3. The workshop began with a presentation on the status of 1540 reporting and implementation, both globally and specifically in the Caribbean, given by 1540 Committee Expert Gunterio Heineken. Only half of the 16 Caribbean states have submitted their first report to the 1540 Committee. Heineken pointed out that a report is necessary in order for a state to assess its implementation needs and make an appropriate assistance request. ¶4. A panel on 1540 implementation and assistance planning, chaired by 1540 Committee Expert Rick Cupitt, included presentations by representatives from Jamaica, Germany, Canada, the UK, and the United States. Cupitt also led a briefing for reporting states on how to create an action plan, while Heineken led a briefing on how to write a report for states that have not yet submitted their baseline report. Cupitt also presented a strawman template for assistance requests and sought attendees' comments on it. ¶5. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs),regional organizations, and international organizations made presentations on their roles related to 1540 implementation, their capabilities to provide assistance to states, and the importance of acceding to the various treaties and conventions relating to non-proliferation, nuclear security, and nuclear terrorism. Key Points on Assistance -------------- ¶6. The major emphasis of the workshop was on assistance. Participants asked what conditions were attached to assistance and what the 1540 Committee did with assistance requests. The 1540 Committee emphasized its role as a clearinghouse. It would distribute requests to potential donors and give advice to states seeking it, but would not itself make a formal request of any particular donor and did not make judgments about assistance requests. ¶7. There were varying views on the potential role of CARICOM in 1540 implementation. The 1540 Committee and the Organization of American States (OAS) representative expressed the opinion that CARICOM should play a key role in helping Caribbean states work in cooperation on 1540 implementation. Some participants commented that a CARICOM security center had recently been established in Trinidad. The UK Acting High Commissioner in Jamaica (DCM equivalent), however, commented privately that CARICOM was not likely to do much in regard to 1540 implementation. CARICOM was invited to speak at the workshop, but a schedule conflict prevented it from attending. A Jamaican MFA official who had previously worked at CARICOM made a presentation about CARICOM's potential role. She stated that CARICOM focuses on economic development but does have a security component, and has begun working on counter-terrorism. CARICOM could provide assistance related to 1540, but would require additional funding and manpower contributions to do so. ¶8. The OAS representative stated that the OAS has already made commitments to combating terrorism and WMD KINGSTON 00000843 002 OF 003 proliferation, and has programs underway in areas such as Biosecurity. A Jamaican official commented privately that the OAS cannot help Jamaica in legislative areas because it uses a civil law system incompatible with Jamaica's common law system. But she acknowledged that the OAS could help Caribbean states in other areas. Views of Participants -------------- ¶9. Host country Jamaica was well-represented at the workshop and was the most forthcoming in expressing its views. In accordance with UNSCR 1540 para. 4, Jamaica had presented its first report, but did not yet have implementing legislation in place. Working on national legislation and regulations was Jamaica's current priority. Jamaica did not need assistance with drafting legislation and indeed found that many legislative models were not suited to Jamaica's common law legal system. Once Jamaica begins administering 1540-related laws, it believes its assistance needs will become clear, and then it will seek assistance. Examples given of Jamaica's possible assistance needs were border control measures, identification and detection, and consequence management. Jamaica's maritime borders and territory are monitored by its Coast Guard, so the Coast Guard would require assistance. Jamaica complained that some unnamed donors were unwilling to provide assistance that would be used by armed forces, and also that Jamaica mostly needed training but donors were trying to provide equipment instead. The U.S. representative highlighted that the United States has many appropriate training courses available. Canada showered praise on the DOE/NNSA training courses it had received from the United States. ¶10. The Antiguan representative seconded Jamaica in saying there were "horror stories" of foreigners providing advice on drafting legislation that turned out to be unsuited, unnecessary, or excessive for the recipients. Jamaica clarified that it sought not model legislation but to see examples of other countries' legislation as best practices. ¶11. The Bahamas asked whether a country would be compliant with 1540 if it implemented most but not all of the requirements. Cupitt replied that every provision of 1540 was an obligation, but it was recognized that not every requirement was a priority for every country. Countries should try to identify gaps and work to make improvements. The U.S. representative added that the 1540 Committee was very sensitive to this question and was not trying to point out noncompliance. Instead, the Committee was encouraging all countries to implement the Resolution to the best of their abilities over the long term, and was encouraging countries to provide assistance to other countries that did not have sufficient resources of their own. ¶12. The relevance of UNSCR 1540 and the threat of WMD proliferation to the Caribbean region was never disputed, although Jamaica noted that Caribbean states focus more attention on more immediate security concerns. It was noted that the Caribbean is a major transshipment region and is very vulnerable to potential disaster that could result from illicit introduction of WMD-related agents or materials into the region. States expressed the view that 1540 implementation priorities for the region were legislation and enforcement of controls on imports and transshipments. The U.S. representative pointed out that the transshipment issue includes cargoes shipped on vessels registered in Caribbean states. ¶13. The Trinidadian representative commented at the end that the workshop had been useful in focusing them and showing them a clear way forward. The Barbados representative seconded that the workshop had been very informative and helpful. Attendees -------------- ¶14. List of participating countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Germany, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Russia, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, and United States. Haiti, Russia and the UK were represented by embassy officials resident in Jamaica. ¶15. Participating international organizations and NGOs: KINGSTON 00000843 003 OF 003 Organization of American States/Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (OAS/CICTE),UN 1540 Committee, including Chairman Peter Burian, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW),IATA, CTBTO, and Centre for International Trade and Security (CITS). HEG