IRELAND AIMS TO ACHIEVE AN ANTI-CLUSTER MUNITIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBLIN 000251

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SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2018
TAGS: MOPS PARM PREL NATO EI
SUBJECT: IRELAND AIMS TO ACHIEVE AN ANTI-CLUSTER MUNITIONS
CONVENTION

REF: STATE 47101

Classified By: DCM Robert J. Faucher; Reasons 1.4 (B) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Irish Department of Foreign Affairs Political Director
Rory Montgomery firmly told the Embassy May 6 that the May
19-30 Dublin Conference will produce a final Cluster
Munitions Convention, ready for signature in Oslo in December

2008. Montgomery agreed that interoperability and
definitions would constitute the crux of the Conference
negotiations, saying that Ireland would work to expand the
language of Articles 1(b) and 1(c) so as to diminish the
chance of unintended consequences. Deleting the paragraphs,
however, was out of the question, he stated. He also said
that Ireland would seek to achieve compromises in the
language of the text so as to not disrupt critical ongoing
and future peacekeeping collaboration and existing alliances.
Montgomery specifically welcomed advice from Washington on
convention language that might make Articles 1(b) and 1(c)
acceptable to the U.S. Government. End summary.

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Interoperability
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2. (C) In a May 6 meeting with Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) Political Director Rory Montgomery and DFA Disarmament
and Non-Proliferation Director Alison Kelly (Ireland's former
DCM in Washington),the DCM and POLOFFs delivered reftel
demarche and raised the interoperability issue within the
Oslo Process Convention text that was drafted in New Zealand
in February 2008. Montgomery agreed that interoperability
would be a critical issue during the Dublin Conference. He
said there were some hard-line nations pushing for a total
ban and there was "no prospect" of deleting Articles 1(b) and
1(c). He noted that the "like-minded" group of nations
(including the UK, France, and Germany) recognized that the
language in the articles was too broad, and that Ireland
agreed.


3. (C) Saying that there were some interesting ideas being
explored, Montgomery indicated that, as a compromise, Ireland
would work to expand the language of Articles 1(b) and 1(c)
so as to diminish the chance of unintended consequences --
especially among the group of nations that are undecided on
what the final product should entail. He stated that, in
spite of the rhetoric, there was a general desire among the
subscribed nations not to have the Oslo Process disrupt
critical ongoing and future peacekeeping collaboration and
existing alliances. In particular, he said, Ireland, which
is heavily involved in international peacekeeping operations,
would oppose criminalizing the use of cluster munitions.


4. (C) Montgomery acknowledged that there were broad gulfs
between subscribing nations, saying that the challenge during
the Dublin Conference would be to achieve a Cluster Munitions
Convention that balances legitimate humanitarian concerns
with the need to achieve broad consensus on the outcome,
which necessarily would include the issue of interoperability.


5. (C) Montgomery went on to say that some nations have
expressed confusion on the exact nature of the United States'
concerns, noting that some NATO members, including Norway,
disagree that the Oslo Process will cause interoperability
problems. He said that specific examples and clarifications
of U.S. concerns would be helpful. In addition, Montgomery
noted that some States are openly speculating that the United
States is hyping the interoperability issue in order to
create insurmountable problems that would cause the collapse
of the Oslo Process. He quickly clarified that Ireland did
not subscribe to such speculation.

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Definitions
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6. (C) Recognizing that newer weapons do not cause the same
amount of collateral damage as older conventional weapons,
Montgomery said that the definition of what constitutes a
cluster munitions weapon would be another critical piece of
the Oslo Process negotiations in Dublin. He indicated that
these negotiations, which would focus on six or seven
features of cluster munitions, would be difficult.

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7. (C) Significant compromises would be required, Montgomery
said, in order to agree on criteria that must be met before a
cluster munitions weapon would be exempt from being banned.
In addition, he noted, some nations were pushing for a
transition period, permitting States to wean themselves from
certain weapons; though he wryly noted that each State has a
different list of such weapons (depending on their current,
expensive stockpiles) and that nations without stockpiles
were among the strongest opponents of a transition period.
Nonetheless, some weapons would be banned immediately, he
predicted. The issue of retaining cluster munitions for
testing and research would also be contentious, Montgomery
thought.

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Assistance for Victims
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8. (SBU) Montgomery did not anticipate much debate regarding
victims' assistance, noting that subscribing nations agreed
that such assistance was an ethical obligation. However, he
noted that the issue of who should foot the bill for victims'
assistance could become difficult, saying that a strong lobby
exists for sending the bill to the nations using the weapons.

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Role of NGOs
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9. (SBU) More than 300 NGO representatives are expected to
be in Dublin during the Conference, Montgomery said. He
noted that the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC),led by
well-known, credible, and serious individuals, was ably
coordinating NGO input as an umbrella organization. (Note:
The CMC website is www.stopclustermunitions.org. End Note.)
He also said that the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) would be playing an important role, and that
several international organizations, as well as some States
that have not yet signed onto the Wellington Conference text,
would observe.


10. (C) While Montgomery said he expected that opponents of
cluster munitions will exert "huge pressure," he indicated
that the Irish Government intended to keep a tight lid on
such activities. Only a handful of NGOs will be allowed to
observe the negotiations, he said, while the bulk of NGO
activities will be kept away from Croke Park Conference
Center, the location of the Conference. Kelly noted that, so
far, the NGOs have been compliant with Irish Government
rules, such as a ban on emotive posters of children who have
been crippled by explosive remnants of war. Montgomery noted
that the Government did not expect any large demonstrations.

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Public Affairs
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11. (SBU) Montgomery said that he expects some negative
media coverage during the event, although he thought that
much of it would be aimed at moderate participants in the
Conference, such as the "like-minded" group, and NATO
countries in an effort to achieve a more hard-line Cluster
Munitions Convention. He doubted that much energy would be
expended in criticizing the absent U.S. Government -- at
least during the conference. Montgomery noted that the Irish
Department of Foreign Affairs has created a dedicated website
for the Conference, which will be updated daily with the
progress made at the Conference
(www.clustermunitionsdublin.ie).

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Comment
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12. (C) True to the Irish view of themselves in the world,
Montgomery portrayed Ireland's intended role in the
Conference as one of an honest broker striving for reasonable
consensus. He is confident that a final Cluster Munitions
Convention would come out of the Dublin Conference, ready to
be signed in December 2008 in Oslo. We are convinced that
the Irish will make a determined effort to achieve a workable
consensus.


13. (C) In the meantime, however, Dermot Ahern, Ireland's
Foreign Minister who was personally invested in the Oslo
Process, is no longer the Foreign Minister. On May 8, newly

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elected Prime Minister Brian Cowen appointed Ahern to be
Minister of Justice, Equality, and Law Reform. The new
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin, is a newcomer to
Foreign Affairs. There is no public record of Martin
expressing his views on cluster munitions. Nonetheless, we
do not expect the Irish view to change.
FOLEY