AUSTRALIA PREPARES TO SIGN CONVENTION ON CLUSTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 001201

SENSITIVE
NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR PM/WRA KATHERINE BAKER AND SHO MORIMOTO,
EAP/ANP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2018
TAGS: PARM MOPS PREL NATO AS
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA PREPARES TO SIGN CONVENTION ON CLUSTER
MUNITIONS

REF: A. STATE 125625

B. STATE 125608

C. STATE 125512

Classified By: Acting Political Counselor John W. Crowley for reasons 1
.4(b) and (d)


1. (C/NF) Gerry McGuire, Director, Arms Control and
Counter-Proliferation Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade (DFAT),confirmed Foreign Minister Smith will sign
the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) in Oslo this week.
He advised that the Australian Department of Defence and
Attorney General's offices continue to discuss practical
legal and policy implementation issues, particularly those
related to Australian personnel imbedded with U.S. forces.
Once signed, the CCM will be referred to the GOA Joint
Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) for review, followed
by drafting of new legislation. McGuire indicated the
convention will undergo public scrutiny during these
processes and the current legal review will prepare
government officials to articulate legal and policy
interpretations. Issues which may be politically contentious
include participation by Australian exchange personnel in
planning military operations using cluster munitions or
training others in the use of cluster munitions.


2. (C/NF) McGuire shared that initial communications with
Gustavo Ainchil from Argentina, the new chair of the Group of
Governmental Experts (GGE) of the Convention on Certain
Conventional Weapons (CCW),indicate that new text may be
required for discussions in 2009, as the old text is
considered "dead". According to McGuire, Ainchil also
observed that NGO's and the Group of 25 need to be realistic
about the CCW efforts on cluster munitions, which can affect
50 percent of the world's arsenal whereas the CCM has
comparatively little or no impact.

MCCALLUM