PSI: SUMMARY OF MAY 29, 2008 PSI 5TH ANNIVERSARY

UNCLAS STATE 075341 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM PREL SUBJECT: PSI: SUMMARY OF MAY 29, 2008 PSI 5TH ANNIVERSARY OUTREACH WORKSHOP REF: A. STATE 044509 ¶B. STATE 048221 ¶C. STATE 029766 (WHA ONLY) ¶D. STATE 028990 (AF ONLY) ¶E. STATE 028996 (NEA ONLY) ¶F. STATE 028161 (EAP ONLY) ¶G. STATE 043617 (SCA ONLY) ¶H. STATE 041602 ¶1. SUMMARY: On the occasion of the fifth anniversary since the President's announcement of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI),the U.S. hosted a PSI Senior Level Meeting and PSI Outreach Workshop on May 28-29, 2008 in Washington, DC. The May 28 senior level meeting was for senior nonproliferation policy-makers from all PSI endorsing states. On May 29, the U.S. and PSI partners presented a PSI outreach workshop that provided detailed information on the broad range of PSI activities and tools that have been developed for training, organizing for, and conducting interdictions of shipments of proliferation concern. The Workshop provided information to representatives attending from 21 countries that have not yet endorsed the PSI, as well as most of the PSI endorsing states. This cable is addressed to those countries that have not yet endorsed or fully committed to the PSI. ¶2. OBJECTIVE AND ACTION REQUESTED: Washington wishes to thank the non-endorsing countries that attended our PSI Outreach Workshop and for embassies to continue conducting outreach to encourage the non-endorsing countries to officially endorse the PSI. Posts are requested to provide the following summary of the May 29 Outreach Workshop to host government officials from relevant agencies such as Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Defense, Law Enforcement Agencies (including Customs, Border Guards, etc.),and Intelligence Agencies. Posts are also requested to seek host government's views of the PSI after attending the Outreach Workshop and advise Washington about prospects for PSI endorsement by host government. We would welcome Post recommendations for follow-up outreach efforts with host government. ¶3. REPORTING DEADLINE AND POINTS OF CONTACT: Posts are requested to report host governments' reactions by July 30. Additional meeting materials and presentations for posts' reference can be provided by State/ISN/CPI Carlos Guzman (GuzmanCS@state.gov) or Jane Purcell (PurcelJA@state.gov) upon request. ¶4. BEGIN TEXT OF SUMMARY OF THE PSI FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OUTREACH WORKSHOP HELD ON MAY 29, 2008: Patricia A. McNerney, Acting Assistant Secretary for the International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau of the U.S. Department of State, chaired a PSI Outreach Workshop on Thursday, May 29, open to all PSI countries and non-PSI countries. Representatives from 21 non-PSI countries attended the meeting. The workshop provided detailed information on the broad range of PSI activities, and shared best practices and tools that have been developed to assist countries with implementing the PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles. -- OVERVIEW OF THE PSI. France led a panel of speakers from the U.S. and UK that addressed the origins of the PSI, the Statement of Interdiction Principles and its practical implications as a equal and voluntary initiative that fully respects national and international laws; and presented new examples of PSI successes and the benefits of PSI, demonstrating how the PSI enhances the global nonproliferation objectives of all countries. -- CURRENT PROLIFERATION THREATS AND CHALLENGES. The UK led a panel of speakers from Australia, Canada and Italy that discussed the challenges posed by transshipments by sea, land, and air and lessons learned during the last five years; cooperation with industry and involvement of industry in support of effective interdiction activities; and challenges with interdicting dual-use items and materials. In addition, the topic of proliferation finance was introduced to convey how proliferators exploit vulnerabilities of the international financial system to finance the trade of proliferation sensitive items and how the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has developed guidance to deal with this problem at the national and international level. The organization of national customs operations to prevent and stop proliferation-related trafficking was also covered. -- THE PSI OPERATIONAL EXPERTS GROUP (OEG). The UK introduced the role of the OEG, emphasizing that the OEG works on behalf of all PSI endorsing states to develop operational concepts for interdiction; explore related operational issues associated with the legal, law enforcement, customs and intelligence arenas; and collaborate to develop an exercise program to increase partner capacity and improve national and international interoperability. The presentation highlighted the record of the OEG in the last five years to include 16 meetings, over 30 exercises, tabletops, and workshops and developing capacity building products such as the New Zealand Model National Response Plan and the U.S. WMD Commodity Reference Manual. It concluded with addressing the challenges for the OEG in the areas of growth, sustaining momentum, and adapting to the threat of WMD proliferation. -- THE PSI AND INDUSTRY OUTREACH. Denmark introduced its experience with industry outreach to address ways of conducting interdiction operations while minimizing impact to trade; the importance of information exchange between government agencies and industry; developing guidelines for cooperation; involving industry during exercises; and examples on how to conduct industry outreach at the national and international level. -- THE PSI EXERCISE PROGRAM. Poland led a panel of speakers from the U.S., Ukraine, and Croatia that introduced the PSI exercise program and the history of PSI exercises; explained the exercise strategy for current and future exercises; discussed the different types of exercises in the maritime, land and air domains and described the different interagency actions involved with each area. The presentation also discussed the benefits of participating in exercises and ideas on level of involvement and participation in future exercises, to include non-PSI countries as observers when opportunities arise. Ukraine and Poland offered short briefs on their respective experiences in hosting two recent PSI exercises. Ukraine hosted PSI exercise Eastern Shield in October 2007 and Croatia hosted PSI exercise Adriatic Shield in May 2008. -- PSI LEGAL LESSONS LEARNED. The UK and the Netherlands introduced a primer on legal aspects related to the PSI, emphasizing that all PSI activities are consistent with national and international laws. The presentation highlighted the importance of taking stock of existing national authorities and emphasized the utility of PSI as a tool to enforce UNSCR 1540. Additionally the issues of jurisdiction, disposition and liability were addressed, highlighting that these issues pose short-term implementation challenges in some instances but at the same time, demonstrate a measure of the success of the PSI in interdicting prohibited WMD-related items. -- ORGANIZING FOR THE PSI. New Zealand provided an overview of the PSI Model National Response Plan that provides guidance on key issues that a country needs to consider when developing a framework for responding to a PSI situation and addresses questions and issues to be addressed when developing or improving national plans. A copy of the plan was distributed to all PSI and non-PSI countries in attendance. Singapore provided a brief on how a government can organize internal interagency coordination to optimize its ability to achieve overall PSI objectives. It highlighted the creation of an Inter-Ministerial Committee to assess, coordinate, and advise senior officials on relevant agency actions related to PSI events, with the goal of achieving interconnectivity by all relevant agencies, prompt exchange and flow of information, and a timely response. -- WALK-THROUGH OF AN INTERDICTION SCENARIO. A U.S. Naval War College professor facilitated a panel discussion on two interdiction actions based on hypothetical WMD trafficking interdiction scenarios. The panel consisted of legal, diplomatic, policy, military, and custom/law enforcement experts highlighting key issues that may arise during an interdiction situation. The scenarios provided participants with lessons about the PSI that have been identified through previous PSI games, exercises, and real world interdictions. -- HOW EXPORT CONTROLS SUPPORT THE PSI. Romania and Croatia presented briefs on their governments' experience in enacting export control laws, emphasizing the importance of strengthening primary export control legislation; taking stock of existing legislation to address gaps with revised and new legislation; highlighting the efficiency of a catch-all clause; and asserting that all countries, including those not a country of origin, face the threat of WMD proliferation and may provide opportunities along a proliferation or smuggling route. Note: Available presentation materials were distributed to country representatives who attended the workshop on May 29. Presentation materials are available upon request. END TEXT RICE