Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08THEHAGUE1035
2008-12-19 08:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy The Hague
Cable title:  

CWC: WRAP UP FOR DECEMBER 8-18, 2008

Tags:  PARM PREL CWC 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTC #1035/01 3540852
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 190852Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2353
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DTRA ALEX WASHINGTON DC//OSAC PRIORITY
UNCLAS THE HAGUE 001035 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR ISN/CB, VCI/CCA, L/NPV, IO/MPR,
SECDEF FOR OSD/GSA/CN,CP>
JOINT STAFF FOR DD PMA-A FOR WTC
COMMERCE FOR BIS (ROBERTS AND DENYER)
NSC FOR FLY
WINPAC FOR WALTER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM PREL CWC
SUBJECT: CWC: WRAP UP FOR DECEMBER 8-18, 2008

REF: A. THE HAGUE 1015

B. THE HAGUE 1021

C. THE HAGUE 1025

D. THE HAGUE 984

This is CWC-63-08.

-------
SUMMARY
-------

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 001035

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR ISN/CB, VCI/CCA, L/NPV, IO/MPR,
SECDEF FOR OSD/GSA/CN,CP>
JOINT STAFF FOR DD PMA-A FOR WTC
COMMERCE FOR BIS (ROBERTS AND DENYER)
NSC FOR FLY
WINPAC FOR WALTER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM PREL CWC
SUBJECT: CWC: WRAP UP FOR DECEMBER 8-18, 2008

REF: A. THE HAGUE 1015

B. THE HAGUE 1021

C. THE HAGUE 1025

D. THE HAGUE 984

This is CWC-63-08.

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) During his brief visit December 8, A/DAS
Kenneth Staley met with the Algerian Ambassador to
discuss plans for a conference on chemical terrorism
and security in Algeria next year. Delrep followed
up later in the week with the Algerian delegate to
OPCW; it appears that Algeria's concept for this
conference is grander than what the U.S. had in mind.


2. (SBU) The Western European and Others Group held
its last meeting of the year on December 9,
discussing the recent Conference of the States
Parties (CSP-13) as well as bidding farewell to
Ambassador Javits with contentious debate on a draft
decision in his honor. Executive Council Chairperson
Oksana Tomova hosted the U.S. delegation to breakfast
on December 12, again to bid farewell to Ambassador
Javits but also to discuss the recent CSP.
Clingendael Institute featured Amb. Javits as a
luncheon speaker as part of a series on
multilateralism at the OPCW. Delreps met with
counterparts from Japan and South Korea on December
18 to discuss possible reform of the Advisory Body on
Administrative and Financial Matters.

-------------- --------------
A/DAS STALEY'S MEETING WITH ALGERIAN AMBASSADOR AND
FOLLOW UP ON THE ALGERIAN CONFERENCE
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) On December 8, A/DAS Staley, ISN/CB Office
Director Mikulak and Delreps met with Algerian
Ambassador Benchaa Dani and delegate Said Moussi to
discuss evolving plans for an Algerian conference on
Chemical Terrorism and Safety and Security. Amb.
Dani said Algiers was very enthusiastic about the
proposal, and was looking at hosting such an event in
the second half of February. He suggested the event
be held at the African Center for Studies and
Research on Terrorism. A/DAS Staley expressed
appreciation for Algeria's willingness to play a lead
role in this area and suggested that Algeria consider
a mid-March date for the conference to give a bit
more time for thorough planning in Algiers and
Washington.



4. (SBU) Staley recommended the conference maintain a
regional focus; Dani replied that while he might
agree with this approach for training, he thought a
conference that had the potential to raise the
profile of preventing chemical terrorism should
target global participation. On conference format,
Dani recommended organizing several round-table
discussions on various topics to allow for a more in-
depth exploration. Delrep suggested that discussions
include chemical terrorism scenarios, as well as best
practices on chemical plant security, and noted that
the U.S. would provide a paper with initial thoughts
on appropriate topics.


5. (SBU) Dani reminded others that the first stage of
improving international prevention of chemical
terrorism is raising awareness, and suggested again
that this could best be done globally before focusing
training efforts regionally. He expressed hope that
the U.S. would provide expertise and financial
contributions for the upcoming Conference, noting the
Qcontributions for the upcoming Conference, noting the
"total lack" of African expertise in this area.


6. (SBU) On December 11, Delrep met with Algerian
delegate Moussi to share an informal U.S. paper on
possible conference structure/topics and follow up on
earlier discussions. It became increasingly clear
over the course of this and a meeting on December 12
that Algeria views this conference as a far broader
and more political event than Washington had
envisioned. Algiers does not/not want to limit the
scope to North and Central Africa, as outlined in the
U.S. paper, but wants participation and
speakers/expertise from around the world, including
from other international organizations and bodies,
such as the UN's 1540 Committee. Algiers also
envisions an opening session with speeches from high-
level officials from Algeria, the U.S. and the
African Union, and attendance on the opening day by
the Diplomatic Corps in Algiers.


7. (SBU) Algeria has not defined the appropriate role
for the OPCW Technical Secretariat (TS),and was open
to U.S. views. Moussi asked whether this should,
instead, be an OPCW-sponsored event, with invitations
coming from the Director-General (DG). Delrep
cautioned that this would come with a number of
complications and committed to seek Washington's
views on the matter. Moussi also expanded on
Algeria's concept of round-table discussions and
suggested the results of these sessions could be
reported back to the conference at the end in the
form of working papers or suggestions for best
practices.


8. (SBU) Moussi also reiterated the mutual benefit
for both the U.S. and Algeria of raising the profile
of prevention of chemical terrorism and went so far
as to point to the political inroads this event could
establish for the U.S. in terms of larger anti-
terrorism goals on the African continent. He then
went on to explain that Algeria sees the second step
in this process as "capacity building," and noted
that there would be value in equipping the African
Center with an analytical laboratory but was not able
to offer a satisfactory justification for this.


9. (SBU) DEL COMMENT: As Algeria clearly has grander
designs than the U.S. for the upcoming conference, it
will be important to share any U.S. response to these
initial discussions as soon as possible. Otherwise,
Algiers is likely to move ahead with planning and
expect assistance for a highly political and complex
event that may lack the practical impact Washington
desires. Del recommends that any initial response
include clear parameters in terms of the support
(both expert and financial) the U.S. is willing to
offer. This topic is also one that will attract
attention from the OPCW Director of the Office of
Special Projects and the Chair of the OPCW Open-ended
Working Group on Terrorism, both of whom will be
eager to influence the planning and scope of this
conference. END COMMENT

--------------
WEOG
--------------


10. (SBU) The Western European and Others Group
(WEOG) coordinator Ruth Surkau opened the last WEOG
meeting of 2008 with a review of CSP-13. Delegations
expressed mixed feelings, including appreciation for
the continued trend of openness and transparency in
the final negotiations, and concern that the budget
Qthe final negotiations, and concern that the budget
process in particular was being eroded by Non-aligned
Movement (NAM) -- specifically Iranian --
"interpretation" and politicization. Amb. Javits
noted that Iran had received an object lesson when
the U.S. and others refused to accept proposed
Iranian destruction language, despite the fact that
this meant no consensus report was adopted. He also
noted the increased importance of cross-regional
cooperation, particularly to capitalize on growing
frustration with Iranian tactics. UK Ambassador Lyn
Parker added that Russia had become increasingly
outspoken on non-proliferation, and that China was
still "caught between two camps" but displaying a
rational approach that others should encourage.
However, Parker noted that India was still too
closely aligned with Iran to be a useful or
consistent partner.


11. (SBU) Ireland asked whether the lack of agreement
on a report (as an alternative to reluctantly
agreeing language that eroded WEOG objectives) could
be an option for future situations. The Netherlands
noted that Iran is likely to question the validity of
future decisions, and expressed disappointment that
India had continued to support Iran. Italian
delegate Giuseppe Cornacchia was positive about the
Conference outcome in terms of the lesson it may have
provided for Iran, but he added that Iran relies
heavily on a detailed knowledge of the rules of
procedure and that WEOG might do well to research
these rules more thoroughly for future sessions.
Switzerland assessed the lack of a consensus report
as "regrettable but necessary" and reminded
delegations that any calls for a vote would need to
come 24 hours before the end of the Conference,
although voting rules for the Council may be somewhat
more flexible.


12. (SBU) In a creative farewell gesture to Amb.
Javits, Surkau asked WEOG members to stay for a
discussion of a "Canadian proposal," which turned out
to be a mock draft decision on Amb. Javits'
departure. WEOG delegations, often acting in
character as more troublesome NAM delegations,
debated the language, ending the mock negotiation
with text no closer to consensus than when they
began.

--------------
BREAKFAST WITH SLOVAKIAN DELEGATION
--------------


13. (SBU) On December 12, Slovakian Ambassador Oksana
Tomova (Executive Council Chairperson) hosted Amb.
Javits to breakfast; Slovakian delegate Michal Komada
and Delreps also attended. Amb. Tomova used the
opportunity to bid farewell to Amb. Javits as well to
share views on the future work of the Executive
Council (EC). The discussion focused at length about
the Iranian delegation's behavior at CSP-13 and
possible spill-over effects at the next EC session in
February 2009. Amb. Tomova noted the constructive
roles played by Chinese Ambassador Zhang and Mexican
Ambassador Lomonaco during the Conference; Amb.
Javits agreed that it would be necessary to work
across regional lines to deal with future Iranian
obstruction. Amb. Tomova mentioned that the Iranian
delegation had met with CSP Chairman Amb. Shibuya to
protest his releasing a Chairman's report for the
Conference. She did not have a read-out of the
meeting; however, Komada pointed out that an advance
copy of the report already had been released, despite
any Iranian objections.

--------------
CLINGENDAEL HOSTS AMBASSADOR JAVITS
--------------


14. (U) On December 12, Clingendael Institute
Q14. (U) On December 12, Clingendael Institute
featured Amb. Javits as its featured lunch speaker on
"Reflections on Multilateral Cooperation at the OPCW"
as part of a series of speakers that earlier included
Director-General Pfirter. Clingendael's Director,
Dr. Jaap de Zwaan, chaired the event which included a
small, but knowledgeable, group of participants from
academia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the City
of The Hague and Clingendael staff. Three past and
present Dutch Permanent Representatives to OPCW --
Marc Vogelaar, Maarten Lak and Pieter de Savornin
Lohman -- all attended.


15. (U) Amb. Javits spoke extemporaneously from his
personal experience, both at the Conference on
Disarmament and at OPCW. Questions from participants
focused on whether the experience of consensus at
OPCW could be replicated elsewhere, the role of China
and other rising powers in international
organizations, the usefulness of the Cold War
regional group structure in UN bodies, the prognosis
for universality in the Chemical Weapons Convention
and other arms control and non-proliferation
treaties, and how The Hague might better support the
international organizations resident in the city.

--------------
HOST COUNTRY COMMITTEE
--------------


16. (U) EC Chair Amb. Tomova (Slovakia) chaired the
final meeting for the year of the Host Country
Committee on December 15. She cited the Memorandum
of Understanding on the Commissary signed on December
1, 2008, and requested the TS to provide an update on
implementation. Serban Coman-Enescu (Protocol),
chair of the Technical Secretariat's internal
committee on the Commissary, reported that the newly
chosen company to run the Commissary was having
difficulty obtaining the proper permits from the
Dutch government to operate at OPCW. Legal Advisor
Onate described the competitive bidding process for
the new supplier but noted OPCW's reluctance to sign
a contract until they had the appropriate license.
As the current will expire on January 1, 2009, the
question was whether to close the Commissary or to
extend the current contract temporarily. The
Committee expressed its unhappiness at the delay and
asked whether the Dutch representative, Amb. Rob
Zaagman, could assist in speeding up the process.
They agreed that the current contractor should not
continue, even if it meant shutting down the
commissary for a time. There was also an animated
discussion of parking spots for diplomats at Schiphol
Airport and both train stations in The Hague. Since
this is a broader issue than for OPCW alone, the
Committee requested Amb. Tomova to coordinate with
the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in requesting
additional spaces.


17. (SBU) Amb. Tomova closed the meeting by thanking
Amb. Javits for his service and noting that WEOG
would need to select a new representative to replace
him. Amb. Javits responded that the U.S. had already
requested that the succession be on WEOG's agenda for
its first meeting in January. (Del Comment:
Tomova's deputy had phoned before the meeting to
alert us that this would be raised. Unfortunately,
the Iranian representative was not present at the
meeting for the object lesson on orderly succession
of representatives upon the departure of an
ambassador. End Comment.)

--------------
ABAF REFORM
--------------


18. (SBU) On December 18, Delreps met with Japanese
delegate Takayuki Kitagawa and South Korean delegate
Su-jin Cho to discuss ideas for reforming the OPCW's
QSu-jin Cho to discuss ideas for reforming the OPCW's
Advisory Body on Administrative and Financial Matters
(ABAF). Kitagawa and Cho both serve on the ABAF,
having taken over from their respective predecessors.
According to Cho, a smaller group of real experts
would be the best option for the ABAF to be
effective. However, Kitagawa predicted that attempts
to make any radical changes likely will be met with
heavy resistance, and he suggested introducing
gradual changes on a trial basis. Both Cho and
Kitagawa agreed that the Geneva Group would be a good
forum to further develop ideas for ABAF reform,
especially in advance of the next EC session in
February.

--------------
YEAR END 2008
--------------


19. (U) This will be the last wrap up for 2008. The
U.S. Delegation wishes all our loyal readers happy
holidays and best wishes for the new year.


20. (U) Beik sends.
CULBERTSON