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

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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:

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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