CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): WRAP-UP FOR

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 001274

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 LEDDY
WINPAC FOR WALTER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM PREL CWC
SUBJECT: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): WRAP-UP FOR
OPCW EXECUTIVE COUNCIL SESSION 49

This is CWC-62-07.

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) The June 26-29 Executive Council session was an
exercise in punting. Only 13 of some 50 items for EC action
were actually decided and everything else was deferred to
EC-50. On the most important issue of all, the Council
deferred consideration of the verification plan and facility
agreement for Maradykovsky, side-stepping a decision on
whether Russia had indeed completed destruction of 22% of its
CW stockpile. Ultimately, the key issue at EC-49 was the
report language regarding Albania, which kept delegates busy
until 22:30 of the final day of the EC.


2. (U) This accumulation of unfinished business is somewhat
troubling. This is not because these items entail a lot of
work, but precisely because they are stalled until underlying
political problems are resolved. The U.S. and Russian
documents are now hostages until some type of resolution can
be found on counting and Russian destruction. And Iran,
often supported by other NAM delegations, is quite happy to
continue requesting deferrals of documents which could be of
some "use" to them. One other development from EC-49 was a
much more energized role by the NAM. While sometimes
troubling, the NAM's inability to act in unison ultimately
helped the U.S. and put Russia under intense pressure, to
which Russia finally succumbed. End Summary.

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NAM
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3. (U) In the end-game discussions on Albanian report
language, the NAM wound up taking a more active role than
anticipated. Ultimately, this was to the advantage of the
U.S., as the NAM was opposed to language sought by Russia
regarding assistance on CW destruction. Beyond that general
concern, however, they fragmented badly and were not able to
speak with one voice. That general disapproval of Russian
language was enough to put the Russian Ambassador under siege
by some 15-20 delegations, and ultimately Russia backed off
from its hard-line insistence on certain text.


4. (U) In post-EC WEOG discussions, there has been general
agreement that while the role of the NAM is not a positive
factor, attempting to cut off or challenge the NAM would
merely aggravate the problem. Instead, it would be prudent
to remind the Chair that the NAM is not a recognized body and
there are limitations on NAM activity within the EC schedule.
The Russian Ambassador has noted that the Chair should not
call for a recess just so the NAM can meet. There also
appears to be support in WEOG for generating a broader range
of support for WEOG positions, by returning to an informal
gathering of WEOG, Eastern European group delegations in the
EU, Japan and South Korea before EC-50.


5. (U) Other agenda items are covered below using the
numbering from the annotated agenda for EC-49. A bilateral
held on the margins of the EC will be reported separately.

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DG STATEMENT
--------------


6. (U) Item 3: Director-General Pfirter spoke on a number of
topics at length. The full text can be found on the OPCW
external server under document number EC-49/DG.17. The DG
noted as of June 21, the U.S. had destroyed 45% of its
Category 1 CW. He informed delegations that as of June 1,
Russia had destroyed 22% of its Category 1 stockpiles.
Pfirter further said this destruction was followed by an
agreement with the Technical Secretariat on draft texts of
the Facility Agreement and Verification Plan at Maradykovsky;
the reporting took place after a TS inspection team confirmed
that residual content of agent in the drained reaction mass
was less than 0.1% by weight and the emptied munitions had

been mutilated. He further said reporting was done on
condition that the subsequent thermal treatment on both
reaction mass and emptied munitions would be subject to
Article IV verification. Pfirter emphasized and was
particularly pleased the two steps of destruction would take
place at the same site, unlike other CWDFs. He further urged
the approval of the facility agreement and verification plan
for Maradykovsky.


7. (U) The DG noted Albania has kept the TS regularly
informed of progress and that as of June 20 they have
destroyed 93% of Category 1 and 76% of Category 2 CW; he
further informed delegations Albania expects to complete all
destruction by July 23. Finally, he urged delegations to
bear in mind the technical difficulties that prevented
Albania from completing destruction by April 29.


8. (U) Pfirter looked forward to the challenge inspection
exercise to be held in Delft on September 10-14 and
reiterated an offer for all interested EC members to observe
and participate. On OCPFs, Pfirter referred to his note of
May 25 introducing an adjustment to OCPF site-selection
methodology to become effective January 1, 2008. He hopes
this adjustment will restore some balance and effectiveness
to the system. The DG appointed the Director of
International and Cooperation Assistance as coordinator to
develop a program within the TS to assist African nations.
He said they have drawn up some concrete proposals and are
discussing them with the Africa Group, however the Africa
Group does not see these proposals as a substitute for an
OPCW office in Africa. On universality, he noted the lack of
progress in the Middle East, and regretted that Bahamas,
Dominican Republic and Myanmar have not yet joined the CWC,
though they have expressed a willingness to join.


9. (U) The DG stated that at the end of May, only 48% of
assessed contributions have been collected for 2007. He
noted the work of the TS remains dependent on receipt of
States Parties' contributions in full and on time. On the
2008 budget, which he presented on June 25, the DG noted this
is the third straight zero nominal growth budget, and
actually allows a reduction in assessed contributions by
1.4%. The DG spoke about the plans for a High-Level Session
at the UN hosted by the Netherlands and Poland. He noted
UNGA and the First Committee regularly address issues related
to the CWC as a normal part of business. Finally, during his
discussion of the Second Review Conference, Pfirter suggested
SPs may wish to consider the possibility of a rotating
chairmanship and thus opened a way for a change to the
current arrangement by which Africa always has the RevCon
chairmanship.

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GENERAL DEBATE
--------------


10. (U) Item 4: Nearly all delegations called for adherence
to destruction deadlines extended at CSP-11. Statements on
Albania were largely supportive, however, Russian comments on
Albania not meeting its deadline included language that "the
violation of destruction deadlines is a cause for concern."
Russia also wanted an analysis of the role which countries
offering assistance to Albania played in the destruction
delays. Albania's statement focused on their continued
efforts to complete destruction of their Category 1 and 2 CW.
The EU discussed Maradykovsky and encouraged completion of
the phase 2 destruction process (incineration of reaction
mass) as soon as possible. The EU spokesman noted that the
EU is still examining documents, and said that end point of
destruction can only be reached after the second phase of
destruction. They reminded the EC of the obligation to visit
possessor states. Russia said it had destroyed 22% of its
stockpile, and emphasized that the primary financial burden
of destruction is borne by Russia and their burden is
growing.


11. (U) Most delegations referred to the progress of the
Action Plan on Article VII and many noted the assistance
offered under the action plan has been invaluable. Tunisia

and Mexico stated they have almost completed legislation
which will make them fully compliant. Many statements
mentioned the value they receive from Article X assistance
and protection workshops and urged this work to continue.


12. (U) Nearly all statements referred to site selection
methodology and the DG's note, and requested more work on
this issue. China commented on how they are the most
inspected SP with over 100 inspections, which segued into a
discussion for the need for a better OCPF site selection
methodology. The usual suspects (Iran, etc.) championed an
action plan to implement Article XI, and recited the argument
of undue national export control restrictions on SPs as
contravening the CWC. They were pleased by the naming of an
Article XI facilitator, Mr. Li Hong of China, and expressed
hope work on this would move forward. Statements noted
continued work needed to be done on an OPCW office in Africa,
and the African Group and Tunisia welcomed the DG's increased
efforts on Africa.


13. (U) Most delegations noted that work continues on the
second RevCon, in particular, Russia encouraged work on
drafts of final documents. Japan reviewed progress on
destruction of abandoned CW in China. They said they have
established a joint implementing organization which clears
the way for commencement of work, and expect approval from
China soon. Further, they plan to procure a mobile
destruction system in 2008.


14. (U) Switzerland encouraged the use of technology in
submitting declarations, referring to the Spietz model. Cuba
(on behalf of the NAM),India and Iran all expressed concern
that meetings such as the proposed High-Level OPCW-UN meeting
should be made in consultation with the EC. The Netherlands
made a joint statement with Poland on the status of
preparation for that meeting, informing the EC that
invitations will be passed to UN members, relevant IOs and
NGOs, and that the meeting will be devoted to expressing the
commitment to multilateralism. Another information meeting
will be held at the OPCW in early September. Copies of
written statements were pouched to ISN-CB.

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OTHER AGENDA ITEMS
--------------

Item 5.1: Newport Verification Plan: Deferred to EC-50 by
Russia.

Item 5.2: Maradykovsky Verification Plan: Deferred to EC-50
by the U.S.

Item 5.3: Pine Bluff VP amendments: Deferred to EC-50 by
Russia.

Item 5.4: TS Note on Progress made in converting former CW
Production Facilities: Noted by the EC.

Item 5.5: Russian national paper on Khimprom,
Novocheboksarsk: Deferred to EC-50 by the U.S.

Item 5.6: DG's Note on 90-day reporting modalities during
extension period: Noted by the EC.

Item 5.7: DG's Note on Albanian destruction: Noted by EC.

Item 5.8: TS Note on destruction of Austrian OCW: Noted by
the EC.

Item 5.9: Article VII. Further to a decision of CSP-11 on
sustaining follow-up to the plan of action regarding Article
VII obligations, the EC noted a DG's Note providing a summary
of developments in the implementation of Article VII.

Item 5.10: Article X: The DG's report was noted, after which
Iran made a statement on paragraph 7, Offers of Assistance.
They said the current offers under this are not adequate.
They said there is a need to do more to increase the TS
ability to provide assistance in the event of use of chemical

weapons. They noted they are the only country to have a
completed bilateral agreement with the TS and that voluntary
contributions under Article X have decreased. They
encouraged SPs to increase and diversify their offers under
Paragraph 7 of Article X.

Item 5.11: Article XI. The Council deferred consideration of
the DG's Note on the status of implementation of Article XI.
Cuba and Iran noted that as a facilitator had just been
appointed, delegations had not had time to discuss the
document. Iran further noted that Article XI is a
fundamental pillar of the CWC, and that it is not enough to
simply progress. Full implementation of Article XI is
required, including free trade among all SPs.

Items 5.12 and 5.13: UK SSSF. The EC approved the amendments
to the facility agreement of the UK SSSF without comment.

Items 5.14, 5.15, and 5.16. UK Facility Agreements. The EC
deferred consideration to EC-50 of a UK facility arrangement
for the Randle Island Landfill Site converted CWPF, the
Valley Site former CWPF, and the CRP Porthreath converted
CWPF, at UK request.

Item 5.17: Italian Facility Agreement. The EC approved the
Italian facility agreement for the Clariant LSM Schedule 2
site. Del met with the Italian delegation regarding our
comments, many of which they agreed with, however this did
not result in any changes to the document. Del deployed
guidance from the floor regarding our position on site tours
and the inspection period, in reference to this and other
facility agreements. Of interest, during the discussion on
this agenda item, the Iranian delegation seemed not to be
paying attention, and asked for more time to allow their
experts to consult with the Italian delegation after the
Chair had gaveled this item through. The Chair reminded the
Iranians that this item had been approved, and Italy held
firm as well, but did suggest a 10 minute recess to allow the
requested Iran/Italy discussion to occur. After the break,
Iran said their issues had been resolved and there was no
need to consider reopening this item.

Item 5.18: Italian facility agreement for the Sandoz
Industrial Products Schedule 2 site. The EC approved the FA.

Items 5.19, 5.20, 5.22, and 5.23: U.S. FAs. The EC deferred
to EC-50 the Newport facility agreement amendments and the
Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility and Binary
Destruction Facility FA modifications, at the request of
Russia, who said they needed more time to review the
documents. (Del comment: Russia later made clear that its
concerns were not specific in nature, but stemmed from the
fundamental difference in U.S. and Russian approaches to
two-stage destruction and verification. End comment.)

Item 5.21: Maradykovsky CWDF FA. Deferred to EC-50, at the
request of the U.S.

Item 5.24 and 5.25: UK FAs. The EC approved a UK facility
arrangement for the AGC Chemicals Schedule 2 site, with the
inclusion of a corrigendum (EC-49/DEC/CRP.10/Corr. 1, dated
28 June 2007). The EC approved a facility agreement for the
Albemarle Chemicals Schedule 2 site, with the inclusion of a
corrigendum. These corrigenda were a result of U.S. comments
on these documents, adding in part that (1) the PIB will not
exceed 3 hours, and (2) that the Inspection Team Leader will
provide a "tentative inspection plan" to the host team.

Item 5.26: Iranian Schedule 1 FA: The EC noted the
modifications to an Iranian Schedule 1 protective purposes
FA. Earlier in the week, Germany had asked that this be
deferred but later said their further review allowed this
item to be reopened. Del deployed guidance on this item
(i.e., reservation of rights to return to this issue in the
future).

Item 5.27: Ciba Schedule 2 facility agreement. Deferred to
EC-50, at the request of Russia.

Item 5.28: DG Report on TS Readiness to conduct a Challenge
Inspection. The EC noted the report. India and France both
intervened to note that this report, and the details outlined
in it, should be discussed further at the RevCon. India said
that the report showed that the TS needs more preparation
before it is ready to conduct a challenge inspection. The
Netherlands updated the EC on the status of the mock
challenge inspection to be held in September at an industrial
site in Delft, and noted that all EC members are invited to
visit before and during the exercise, as well as to attend
the debriefing session after the exercise.

Item 5.29: Revisions to specifications for three items of
approved inspection equipment. The EC approved the revisions
proposed in the DG's note.

Item 5.30: 2006 Verification Implementation Report. Per
reftel guidance, the U.S. requested that this item be
deferred to EC-50, as the corrigendum was released just
before EC-49.

Item 6: Draft Report of the OPCW for 2006. The Council
forwarded the draft report to the CSP, without any
interventions. After the decision had been taken, Germany
requested that it be posted on the OPCW website with clear
indications that the report will be considered and approved
by the CSP.

Item 7.1: Lists of new validated data. At the request of
India, the EC only approved the data in Table 1, which
contains mass-spectrometry (MS) data from Schedules 1 and 2.
India said that they were awaiting a TS paper proposed during
EC-44 about data for analytical derivatives of scheduled
chemicals, etc. The TS reported that publication of this
paper has been delayed because of "internal disagreements."
The TS said that the decision language would be modified to
capture this partial approval of this validated data.
Consideration of the remaining tables was deferred to EC-50.

Item 7.2: Newer lists of validated data. The Council
deferred consideration to EC-50, at the request of Russia.

Item 8.1 and 8.2: Reports on implementation in 2006 of the
recommendations of the Office of Internal Oversight and the
External Auditor. Iran requested, and the EC agreed, on
deferral to EC-50 as there had been no consultations to
discuss these documents.

Item 9: Report of OIO for 2006: Similarly, Iran requested,
and the EC agreed, to deferral of this item to EC-50 so
consultations could be held on this document.

Item 10.1 and 10.2: Africa Office. There was no discussion
under this item as the EC agreed to consider it further at
EC-50.

Item 11.1: Draft Budget for 2008: The draft budget and
medium-term plan, released on June 25, were received by the
EC without discussion. Informal consultations will take
place in the run-up to EC-50, which will make a budget
recommendation to the CSP. The draft budget is ZNG and
maintains the current level and distribution of industry
inspections. The halt in the trend toward more inspections
of OCPFs was welcomed by a number of developing countries in
their national statements, several of which laid markers
relating to the "hierarchy of risk" argument -- that
facilities handling scheduled chemicals are considered more
dangerous by the CWC than OCPFs. The UK delegation
approached the U.S. to urge that the U.S. press hard to gain
a "symbolic" increase in OCPF inspections in the 2008 budget.
They argued that while they could settle for a token
increase, it was politically important to maintain the trend
of the last several years.

Item 11.2: Moldovan Arrears repayment plan. The plan was
approved without discussion.

Item 11.3: OPCW Income and expenditure for the first quarter
of 2007. The EC noted the DG's report without discussion.


Item 11.4: Audited Financial Statements. Per guidance, this
item was deferred to EC-50 to permit review in capitals.

Item 11.5: Proposed alignment of OPCW Staff Regulation 3.2(a)
with the corresponding UN regulation. The item was deferred
to EC-50 at the request of Russia, which requested an opinion
from the Advisory Body on Administrative and Financial
Matters on the proposal.

Item 11.6: Paternity Leave. The DG's note was approved
following a statement on behalf of the DG explicitly stating
that this proposal is aligned with the UN staff regulations
and not with the UN common system. The statement also made
clear that this would be absorbed within the existing budget.

Item 11.7: Report on tenure: The EC noted the DG's report on
implementation of tenure.

Item 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3: ABAF. The EC noted the report of
the 22nd session of the ABAF, approved the appointment of
John Fox to the ABAF and approved the appointment of Gao
Huijun to the ABAF.

Item 13: Report of the Scientific Advisory Report. At the
request of India, the EC deferred the reports of the Ninth
and Tenth Sessions of the SAB and the Note by the DG until
EC-50. India also expressed concerns about the handling of
biomedical sampling.

Item 14: Credentials. The EC approved the DG's report on the
credentials of EC members.

Item 15: Provisional Agenda for CSP-12. The EC drew up the
provisional agenda for CSP-12.

Item 16: Dates for Regular Sessions of the Executive Council
in 2008. The EC agreed to option A for the dates of the
regular sessions in 2008: EC-52 from 4-7 March, EC-53 from
24-27 June and EC-54 from 14-17 October due to the Second
Review Conference to be held in April 2008. The EC report
language reflects that this is an exceptional measure and
that the Council will revert to the establish practice of
four sessions in 2009.

Item 17: Any Other Business. The EC noted the DG's note of
the overview of deadlines for the circulation of
official-series documents. In addition, Pakistan on behalf
of the Asia Group and Cuba on behalf of the Non-Aligned
Movement asked to include the issue of the September UN-OPCW
High-Level Event in connection with the tenth anniversary of
the CWC. After lengthy deliberations, Pakistan on behalf of
the Asian group simply made a statement from the floor that
was responded by the co-sponsor from The Netherlands. And in
a similar manner, China read a statement concerning the DG's
note on OCPF site selection, simply calling for further
consultations on the issue.

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DESTRUCTION INFORMALS
--------------


15. (U) During the 25 June destruction informals, Albania,
Austria, China, India, Japan, Libya, the Russian Federation,
a State Party, and U.S. presented updates on their current
destruction activities. Additionally, the TS presented the
progress of CW destruction and verification activities. Of
note, the TS highlighted that the U.S. achieved 45 percent
destruction and that Russia had reached 22 percent
destruction. Since EIF, there have been 2,951 inspections
(59 percent CW related and 41 percent Article 6 related) and
158,000 inspection days (85 percent CW related and 15 percent
Article 6 related). To date, there have been no inspection
related accidents.


16. (U) Albania provided a briefing on its destruction
efforts and reported that due to unforeseen technical issues,
it was unable to meet its treaty deadline for destruction.
However, over the weekend, Albania reached 97 percent

destruction of category 1 CW. At this rate, they anticipate
reaching complete destruction of category 1 CW by 3 July and
all CW by 16 July. Austria briefed on the joint effort that
they completed with Germany to destroy two shells containing
CW agents (originating between 1925 and 1946) and one
deteriorating gas bomb (from pre-1925). These CW were
transported to Germany and destroyed at Austria's expense.


17. (U) China and Japan briefed on their joint efforts to
address the issue of abandoned chemical weapons (ACW) left in
China by Japan. The two countries estimate that between
300,000 and 400,000 are still in China; however, 38,000 have
been recovered to date. China informed delegations that it
had held seven rounds of bilateral discussions with Japan so
far this year. India provided a detailed briefing on their
adherence to CWC and their current destruction efforts. They
reported achieving 79.8 percent destruction of all of CW
stockpiles. Libya provided an update on their destruction
efforts that have been on hold since December 2006 awaiting a
new contract. Libya thanked the U.S. for its assistance, but
explained to delegations its decision to terminate its
contract with the U.S. government, and that it intends to
bear the remainder of the costs. The Libyan del rep noted
that Libya is now working with a "European contractor," and
indicated Libya's intention to provide a draft copy of the
Detailed F
acility Information (presumably for the equipment offered by
the new contractor) to the TS the first week of July.


18. (U) Russia's briefing announced its milestone of reaching
20 percent destruction and provided an update on the
completion of the incinerator (anticipated to be completed by
August and up and running by October). The building of 101A,
supported by the UK, was delayed by the lack of funds and
supplies for its completion. A State Party reported that it
had destroyed 90 percent of its stockpile and anticipates
completion by May 2008. The U.S. provided an update of
activities at the U.S. facilities as well as reaching the 45
percent milestone six months ahead of schedule.


19. (U) Javits sends.
ARNALL