CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): WRAP-UP FOR

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000284

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
WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 9

This is CWC-13-07.

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U.S. DESTRUCTION
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1. (U) Amb. Javits and del rep met with DG Pfirter, at the
DG's request. Pfirter said he had been contacted by
"concerned delegations" (read: Germany) regarding the latest
information on the U.S. destruction program. The DG's
priority is, of course, to view this in terms of what it will
mean for the OPCW, both internally, and as it is viewed by
others. However, he is also quite concerned that this issue
not "bog down" the Second Review Conference. Standard
reporting and transparency aside, the DG and Rafael Grossi,
his chief of staff, are strongly in favor of the U.S.
offering a site visit well in advance of the RevCon. They
believe this is one of the most positive steps the U.S. could
take in mitigating the damage likely to occur as a result of
the message of completion of destruction in 2023. They are
hopeful that ensuring maximum transparency in the U.S.
destruction process might enable delegations to focus on
something other than the U.S. (and/or Russian) CW destruction
in the run-up to the RevCon.


2. (U) Delegation would appreciate Washington views on what
might be feasible in terms of supporting a site visit in
2007, keeping in mind the fact that any visit will have to be
somehow discussed and settled upon by the EC, which is
unlikely to be a rapid process. Other constraints to
consider would be the dates of Executive Council sessions,
preparatory work before the EC sessions, and the pace of
RevCon preparation, which should pick up this autumn.


3. (U) In terms of impact on RevCon discussions, the DG also
requested the U.S. provide any points that we would like him
to draw on if delegations ask him about reports of completion
of destruction as late as 2023 or what he anticipates might
happen when we reach 2012 and States Parties are still
destroying CW. Given the fact that the DG will be on the
dais during RevCon Working Group meetings, and that the next
meeting (on February 20) covers the topic of CW destruction,
del would appreciate any thoughts on points we might provide
for the DG's consideration prior to the Feb. 20 meeting.


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PADILLA INITIATIVE - ARTICLE VII OUTREACH
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4. (U) Amb. Maarten Lak (Netherlands) held an informal
meeting of "assistance-minded" delegations - the U.S.,
Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, the UK. The
overall topics for the discussion were (in the chairman's
words): (1) which States need assistance to ensure coverage
of most relevant countries; (2) possibilities to assist
nationally; (3) preparation of exchange of views with the
Technical Secretariat at a later date; and (4) follow up.


5. (U) Some delegations spoke up of their own accord, while
Amb. Lak called on others:

-- Belgium discussed their desire to focus on central Africa,
while emphasizing their belief that the TS needs to take the
lead.

-- Portugal spoke of their work with Portuguese-language
countries - Sao Tome and Principe (which has draft
legislation progressing),Cape Verde (no National Authority),
and Mozambique (no National Authority). They spoke of a
group of Portuguese-language countries called the CPLP, which
they are trying to use to forward this effort. They are also
working with Brazil to help them be more active in these
assistance efforts. When questioned about Angola, they
stated that this was a much more difficult case.

-- Mexico spoke of their work with Honduras and the Dominican
Republic, which are separate from any TS efforts. They

expressed their willingness to work with other
Spanish-language countries, while cautioning against
appearing to drive unwilling States Parties.

-- Australia spoke of their work in the past with New Guinea
and Pacific islands. Their intention now is to turn to those
that most need their assistance (referring to the Padilla
initiative). They have current plans with Indonesia
(February industry seminar with Japan, no TS involvement) and
the Philippines. They intend to leave the Pacific island
focus to New Zealand in the future. They also referenced an
Asia/Pacific leaders meeting in August that could be an
avenue (no more details provided).

-- Japan intends to focus on Asian industry in SPs with
legislation already in place. They mentioned their current
efforts with Indonesia and expressed possible interest in the
Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

-- Spain expressed their desire to continue supporting
Spanish-language countries, responding either to requests
from SPs directly or from the TS. They mentioned upcoming
meetings in Buenos Aires and Bogota, as well as other
meetings, as possible venues.

-- Cuba spoke of their desire to support Spanish-language
countries, responding to SP or TS requests.

-- South Africa emphasized their opinion that SPs need to
express their willingness to receive assistance, to avoid
"polite" acceptors who will not follow through.

-- Canada will continue taking a "responsive stance", with a
desired focus on English- and French-language countries in
the Caribbean.

-- The UK only referred to their continuing training
seminars, while referencing the decision languages that these
SPs need to avail themselves of assistance.


6. (U) Lak spoke of the next steps of a meeting with TS to
discuss their plans and, hopefully, to coordinate with
individual assistance-providing SPs.


7. (U) On Feb. 7, the Del received a letter from the
Philippine Embassy, requesting "technical assistance" from
the U.S. for an industry seminar. This was followed by a
request to meet with Del Rep (Denyer) about the details.
During this meeting, Leila Lora-Santos (Philippines) informed
us that they had received another offer of assistance from
Japan. From the discussion, it was clear that the
Philippines would like to see the U.S. and Japan work
together in participating in this seminar. Later, Australia
also expressed a desire to assist in the Philippines. Del
with work with Japan and Australia and provide Washington
some ideas of the role the U.S. could play, if desired, in
the Philippines.

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UNIVERSALITY POC MEETING
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8. (U) The facilitator for Universality, Said Moussi
(Algeria),held a meeting of the Universality Points of
Contact on February 9. Most of the meeting consisted of the
TS providing an update of recent contacts and efforts

SIPDIS
directed at the 14 remaining non-SP's. Moussi said that, in
his view, it was clear that outreach to the remaining 14
non-SPs would have to become more targeted and less general.


9. (U) Liu Zhixian, Director of the External Relations
Division (ERD),then provided an update. He said that
contacts with Angola were ongoing and that Portugal and the
Netherlands have been supporting TS efforts with Angola. The
Portuguese expressed some frustrations in their dealings with
the government of Angola and suggested that it might be
useful for countries such as China and Algeria to weigh in
with the Angolans. Malik Ellahi of ERD noted that the
Angolans have complained in the past about excessive pressure

being applied on them, so he urged delegations to be
sensitive to Angolan sensitivities.


10. (U) In Guinea Bissau, it is largely a question of
mustering the requisite political will to move the process
forward. Liu said that the French embassy in Bissau had been
very helpful and regularly engaged with the government on CWC
accession. Portugal said that it hopes to send
representatives to Bissau in a combined trip with
representatives of the TS and EU. Liu said little progress
had been made in Somalia due to the ongoing political strife
in the country. According to Liu, the Congo's parliament has
approved the necessary legislation to accede. The Senate must
now pass the legislation.


11. (U) In the Middle East, Liu said that Iraq was working
hard on joining and that the TS may hold another workshop for
the Iraqis in March. He said the Iraqis had sent the right
people to the most recent workshop and "really appeared to be
doing their homework." In Lebanon, the parliament has
approved the necessary legislation and all that is needed is
for the Foreign Minister to deposit the instrument of
accession. The only problem is that the Foreign Minister
resigned and a successor has not been named due to ongoing
political strife in Lebanon. Liu said that much more work
remains to be done concerning Israel, Syria, and Lebanon.


12. (U) In the Caribbean, the cabinet has approved the
necessary legislation in Barbados but the government has not
moved forward on depositing the instrument of accession until
it receives further detailed clarification on its obligations
under the CWC according to Liu. Discussions with the Bahamas
are ongoing and the TS may consider another working visit
there in the future to move the process forward. He thanked
the U.S. for its support during a recent visit to Nassau.
Liu said that the Foreign Ministry in the Dominican Republic
was very supportive of CWC accession but that other
ministries still have to be convinced.


13. (U) In Asia, there have been no contacts or progress with
North Korea. Representatives from Burma attended recent
workshops in Seoul and Jakarta. The Foreign Minister told
the TS that he hopes to ratify the CWC and BWC in the future.
Oddly the TS received a call from representatives from the
Burmese government several months ago and were asked to
provide the Burmese in one hour the amount that they would
have to pay were they to join the CWC. There has been no
further contact since that rather spontaneous request.


14. (U) Overall Liu said that ERD's efforts would be
primarily focused on bilateral visits to non-SPs in 2007 but
that ERD would support two Universality related workshops;
the first would focus on Africa and likely take place in the
first half of the year in Algiers. The second workshop would
focus on the Middle East. No venue for that workshop has
been confirmed. Liu stressed that both of these workshops
would be paid for with leftover money from the 2006 EU
contribution and the EU has agreed to this.

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MEETING WITH THE DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION
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15. (U) Del reps met with Ron Nelson, the Director of
Administration. Nelson began the meeting by noting that he
was disappointed that an American candidate was not chosen
for the Head of Information Services Branch. Nelson said the
DG had little choice though, as the Swiss candidate who was
chosen and other candidates, were simply much more
competitive.


16. (U) Nelson expressed some concern about the large number
of resignations from the organization in January 2007 (11)
and said that he would monitor the number of resignations to
see if January was an aberration or symptomatic of a larger
problem. He said that the tenure policy did make the OPCW
less attractive as an organization for many employees and
also has led to some employees leaving earlier to seek
employment with other organizations that can offer long-term

employment. While this situation is by no means a crisis,
del will monitor it closely over the coming months.


17. (U) On the question of amcit hiring, Nelson provided del
reps with a document (faxed to ISN/CB on 2/13/07) that
demonstrates the percentage of Americans employed in P-level
positions was lower in other international organizations such
as the ITC, UPU, WMO, IMO, and UNIDO than at the OPCW.
According to the document, 7.4 percent of all P and D staff
were Americans as of October 17, 2006. These figures are
more favorable than the figures used by IO, but that is also
a reflection of the fact that IO looks at the overall number
of Americans employed in an international organization,
including G staff who are often locally recruited. Nelson
also provided del reps with an internal OPCW document that
lists projected vacancies as of 2/5/07 (faxed to ISN/CB on
2/13/07).

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ITALIAN OCW EXTENSION REQUEST
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18. (U) Del rep met with the Italian delegation to provide
Washington's feedback on the Italian draft decision for the
modification of the time limit to destroy its old chemical
weapons. Del rep explained Washington's concerns at the
selective application of various treaty provisions. The
Italian delegation in turn explained that in Italy's view,
the request is based solely upon Part IVB, paragraph 7, of
the CWC Verification Annex, Qd therefore the provisions on
reporting (stated or somehow referenced in all preceding
extension request decisions) do not apply, a view the Italian
delegation claims has been supported by the OPCW Legal
Advisor.


19. (U) Del rep pointed out the inconsistency posed by
including text from Part IVA of the Verification Annex, and
suggested Italy consider a more minimalist text, limiting the
operative section to a simple modification of the time limit.
Following up on Italian claims that German and Russian
concerns have driven much of the drafting, del rep also met
with representatives from the German and Russian delegations.
Although Russia tends to take a more strictly legalistic
view, indicating that they believe all provisions of Part IVA
are applicable, both delegations agreed that the primary
concern with the Italian draft decision is the selective and
somewhat confusing referencing of Parts IVA and IVB of the
Verification Annex.


20. (U) Finally, del rep discussed the matter with OPCW
Legal Advisor Santiago Onate, who stated that while he did
believe there was a legal obligation to submit an extension
request for OCW destruction, and that the relevant conditions
of Part IVA should not apply, he had never given the Italians
a formal legal opinion. In fact, he had encouraged them to
submit their request before April 2006 and to be consistent
in their referencing of the Verification Annex.


21. (U) Javits sends.
ARNALL