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. -------------- U.S. DESTRUCTION -------------- ¶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. -------------- PADILLA INITIATIVE - ARTICLE VII OUTREACH -------------- ¶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. -------------- UNIVERSALITY POC MEETING -------------- ¶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. -------------- MEETING WITH THE DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION -------------- ¶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). -------------- ITALIAN OCW EXTENSION REQUEST -------------- ¶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