CANADA REVIEWS CLUSTER MUNITIONS POLICY, SEEKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000118 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE PASS PM/WRA E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2017 TAGS: PARM MOPS PREL NATO SUBJECT: CANADA REVIEWS CLUSTER MUNITIONS POLICY, SEEKS U.S. ADVISOR AT SA/LW MEET IN GENEVA REF: STATE 6667 Classified By: PolMinCouns Brian Flora. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Responding to reftel demarche on January 22, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) Mine Action and Small Arms Director Earl Turcotte said that Canada viewed Cluster Munitions (CM) as legitimate and lawful weapons when used in compliance with the laws of war. Turcotte noted that the demarche was well timed, arriving one day before Canada embarked on a whole-of-government review of its engagement on CM that would run four days. Norway had invited Canada to the planned CM conference in Oslo, he said. The invitation was conveyed despite Canada's refusal to meet the minimum requirement that participants declare their willingness to negotiate, rather than discuss, an instrument of international humanitarian law on CM. ¶2. (C) Turcotte suggested that Canada was essentially "in the same place" as the U.S. and would not make a decision on whether or how to engage in Norway, or in Montreaux in April, until after the GOC completed its review of CM policy. Canada, nevertheless, had "serious concerns" about CM proliferation, he said. Turcotte then noted that Canada expected CM to dominate the discussion of explosive remnants of war at the June 19-22 experts meeting of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). ¶3. (C) Turcotte observed that Canada understood GON frustration about the inability to achieve consensus on CM at the CCW. It was the same kind of frustration felt by U.S. and Canadian delegations when they sought unsuccessfully to advance the protocol on Mines Other Than Anti Personnel Mines (MOTAPM),he explained. Canadian officials also understood from the Norwegians that the goal of the initiative was not to eliminate the class of weapon in its entirely. Rather, it was to stem the use of "inaccurate or unreliable ones." This tracked with current Canadian internal CM practice, Turcotte said, as Canada had destroyed its MK-20s and had its DPIC munitions under review. Under current policy, he noted, Canada would require over 99 percent reliability before taking delivery of any CM procurements. ¶4. (SBU) Turcotte ended the discussion of CM by expressing Canada's desire for more civilian and military expert-level discussions of the matter. Post suggests PM/WRA consider direct engagement with Turcotte early this week, before the Qdirect engagement with Turcotte early this week, before the GOC completes its review on January 26. Earl Turcotte can be reached at: Phone: (613) 995-9282 Fax: (613) 944-2501 earl.turcotte@international.gc.ca ¶5. (SBU) Turning to the informal meeting on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SA/LW) in Geneva hosted by Canada in August 2007, Turcotte asked us to convey to Washington Canada's request for a U.S. official expert member of the Chair's Advisory Group. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa OTTAWA 00000118 002 OF 002 WILKINS