GETTING THE MOST OUT OF PARIS PACT

UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000634 SECSTATE PASS TO AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR KCRM PREL AF IR CA PK UN SUBJECT: GETTING THE MOST OUT OF PARIS PACT REF: A. STATE 118430, B. TSAI-CLINE EMAIL 10/31/08 ¶C. STATE 102413 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The upcoming December 15-16 annual meeting of the Paris Pact Consultative Group is a venue for USDEL to advance USG counternarcotics objectives in Afghanistan by expressing support the UNODC's "Rainbow Strategy." Specifically, the U.S. can use this forum to encourage donor contribution to the thus far solely U.S.-funded Good Performers' Initiative, as a way to increase the number of poppy-free provinces in Afghanistan. Secondly, we can encourage the expansion of the border control programs in the Rainbow Strategy, to countries which span the trafficking route from Afghanistan to Europe. The USG should also consider increasing its financial contributions to reward the UNODC's successful Operation TARCET to interdict precursor chemicals and to permit TARCET's continuation beyond its one-year timeframe. Lastly, the U.S. should consider using the forum to start engaging Iran, which is both a transshipment and consumption country of Afghan opium. While the 56 Paris Pact members are united in their commitment to fight the Afghan narcotics problem, they look to the U.S. for leadership and we should use this venue to promote our plans for getting to that overarching objective. END SUMMARY. -------------- BACKGROUND -------------- ¶2. (U) Launched in May 2003, the Paris Pact, comprising 56 "government partners" and several international organizations, is intended to tackle the drug problem in Afghanistan through regional cooperation. On the operational level, this has translated into cooperation in border control measures, in interdiction of precursor chemicals, and in the push to make Afghan provinces opium-free. Three annual expert-level roundtables produce recommendations which, when implemented, advance these broad goals. In its early days, the Paris Pact defined its priorities as improving regional cooperation in West and Central Asia, strengthening border control in the same region and establishing legal and institutional frameworks in key countries. Over the years, UNODC, working with the Pact members, has refined these priorities and articulated them in greater detail in what came to be known in 2007 as the "Rainbow Strategy," consisting of seven action "outlines" described in seven papers of rainbow colors. ¶3. (U) Among other objectives, the Rainbow Strategy aims to improve management of Afghanistan's border with its immediate neighbors Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan, strengthen border control in transit countries in Central Asia and around the Caspian Sea, and in East Africa (the Green, Yellow and Violet papers). In addition, the Strategy defines measures to stem the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of heroin in Afghanistan (the Red Paper),to disrupt the laundering of drug money (the Orange Paper),and to prevent/reduce drug addiction and the spread of HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan and the region (the Indigo Paper). Arguably, the road map to make Afghanistan opium poppy-free (the Blue Paper) provides the chapeau for a chain of actions that, if completely successful, could render the other six unnecessary. -------------- PROMOTING OPIUM POPPY-FREE ROADMAP THROUGH THE GOOD PERFORMERS' INITIATIVE -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Financial incentives have been a key factor in increasing the number of poppy-free provinces in Afghanistan. Of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, two were poppy free in 2004, six in 2005 and 2006, 13 in 2007, and 18 in 2008. The Afghan government has dispensed funds from its Good Performers' Initiative (GPI) to reward provinces for reducing or stopping poppy cultivation, such as in the case of Nangahar, which became poppy-free in 2008. Currently the United States is the only donor to this Initiative, contributing $28 million in 2008. Canada, a Paris Pact partner, and the largest donor to UNODC's Afghanistan activities, may be persuaded to contribute to the GPI. ¶5. (SBU) Canada gave Cdn$27 million to UNODC for its Afghanistan programs over the two years 2007-2009. The Canadian government has approved another Cdn$25 million for the same purpose for the two years starting April 1, 2009. Canada's particular interest in Afghanistan is border security. For 2009-2011, it will add Kandahar as a focus. On the margins of the December 15-16 Paris Pact meeting, USDEL should meet with the Canadian delegation to explore the possibility of Canadian contribution to the GPI. On December 16, Canada will co-chair agenda item IV "The Paris Pact Initiative: Implementation of Paris Pact Recommendations for Afghanistan and Neighboring Countries." UNODC's Rainbow Strategy will be discussed under this item, and the "Opium Poppy-free Roadmap" is one of the sub-topics. USDEL interventions under this topic could usefully include a call for contributions to the GPI. -------------- EXPANDING BORDER CONTROL: GO WEST, AND SOUTHWEST -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Afghan heroin and morphine for western Europe go through Central Asia, Turkey and the Balkans and Eastern Europe, and more circuitously through East Africa via the Levant/Arabian peninsula. According to UNODC's 2008 World Drug Report, Near and Middle East/South-West Asia together accounted for 60% of the seizures of heroin and morphine in the world in 2006, and southeast and east Europe another 14%. These seizures indicate the magnitude of the heroin trafficking through these regions. The scant amount (0.1%) seized in East Africa in 2006 is less a measure of the problem than a reflection of the inadequate capacity of the East African countries to fight drug trafficking. ¶7. (U) The Paris Pact has broadened its early focus on controlling the border between Afghanistan and its immediate neighbors (Iran, Pakistan, and the Central Asian states) to include countries west of Central Asia. Working within the Paris Pact framework, UNODC first established operational measures, such as mobile interdiction teams, border liaison offices, and the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Center, or CARICC. In 2007 it added a border initiative for Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea region. In 2008 it held an expert round table for the Black Sea region on both counternarcotics enforcement and drug demand reduction. Also in 2008, with the advocacy and support of the United States, Paris Pact held its first round table outside Eurasia, in Nairobi, Kenya. That roundtable sought to analyze, among other issues, the trafficking of Afghan opiates to and through East Africa, and to identify priority actions to address this problem. ¶8. (SBU) The United States should encourage this push for border management and other counternarcotics actions moving westwards and southwards. Fighting Afghan heroin trafficking therefore should involve many countries that lie between Afghanistan and the western Europe on the trafficking route. Given the excellent law enforcement and counternarcotics infrastructure and abundant resources in Europe (e.g., EC, EUROPOL),we think U.S. resources may be better utilized on such efforts in East Africa, where the Europeans have displayed less enthusiasm. USDEL may wish to intervene accordingly under Agenda item I.a. (presentation on the Black Sea roundtable) and I.b. (presentation on the East Africa roundtable) on December 15. -------------- REWARD SUCCESS IN INTERDICTING PRECURSOR CHEMICALS -------------- ¶9. (U) UNODC, with the cooperation of a number of Paris Pact partners (United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the U.K.) helped Afghanistan and the surrounding countries to launch Operation TARCET in late 2007-early 2008. TARCET aims to disrupt the flow of precursor chemicals (acetic anhydride and others) into Afghanistan, which is needed to convert opium into heroin. TARCET (the Red Paper of the Rainbow Strategy) trains law enforcement officers in detection techniques and methodology and promotes information/intelligence sharing among the countries. The results have been impressive -- with seizures in 2008 of 19 tonnes of acetic anhydride, and over 20 tonnes of other chemicals in Iran, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. ¶10. (SBU) Signaling the importance of fighting the flow of precursor chemicals into Afghanistan, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1817 in June 2008, a resolution also adopted by the Ministerial meeting on Afghanistan convened in Paris in June. The UNSC resolution, "welcomes" the TARCET initiative, and "invites" the international community to provide financial and technical assistance and support to the relevant countries and to UNODC to help them fight the traffic in precursor chemicals. Recently the USG contributed more than $370,000 to UNODC for such purpose (Ref C). Further financial support will enable Operation TARCET to continue beyond its one-year time-frame. -------------- ENGAGING IRAN -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Within the Paris Pact framework, UNODC launched in Vienna in June 2007 the Triangular/Trilateral Initiative to enhance border cooperation among Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. In a second meeting in Tehran in May 2008, the parties agreed to follow-on steps including border liaison offices, cross-border telecommunication links, information and intelligence sharing, and a common policy towards sea and land trade. Combating counternarcotics remains a priority for the Iranian regime because of its domestic drug abuse problem and the violence in southeast Iran related to the drug trade. Our UNODC and diplomatic colleagues argue that Iran has made laudatory efforts to combat the problem through comprehensive drug treatment and border-control programs. The U.K. already works closely with Iran on counternarcotics cooperation and Iran has requested repeatedly additional aid from the U.K. and others, including in nuclear-related discussions with the EU-3. ¶12. (SBU) Earlier, UNODC floated the idea of holding one of the three 2009 roundtables in Iran, provided Iran would agree to invite all Paris Pact members (Refs A and B). Recently UNODC's Paris Pact Coordinator told Counselor that it had approached the Iranian Mission in Vienna, which refused to provide such a guarantee. (NOTE: Ref A also instructed Mission not to support such a roundtable in Tehran. END NOTE.) If USG policy towards Iran should change to permit contact with Iran, USDEL could find many opportunities around the expert-level roundtables -- to be held elsewhere -- to open an informal dialogue with Iran on technical counternarcotics issues. UNODC maintains a small field office in Tehran, and claims to be the only UN entity in Iran still constructively engaged with the government. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶13. (SBU) The Paris Pact is a large and diverse group of countries united in their commitment to fight the Afghan drug problem. While the overarching goal is the same for all, the tactics for getting vary among member states. The USG should use the December Paris Pact meeting to promote our plans of getting to that goal (e.g., the GPI),to advance our particular interests (e.g., East Africa) and to engage a long-standing nemesis, if our policy should change to permit such contact. End Comment. SCHULTE