U.S. 1540 COORDINATOR CONSULTS WITH OSCE, UNODC,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 USOSCE 000219 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN/CPI, VCI/CCA, IO/T, EUR/RPM USUSN FOR LEGAL, POL UNVIE FOR NTEC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL OSCE AORC KPAO PTER UNSC SUBJECT: U.S. 1540 COORDINATOR CONSULTS WITH OSCE, UNODC, AND IAEA REF: A. USUNVIE 0434 ¶B. USUNVIE 0158 USOSCE 00000219 001.2 OF 004 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: U.S. coordinator for UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 Thomas Wuchte met with OSCE, IAEA, and UNODC officials to discuss next steps in gaining their support for further implementation of UNSCR 1540 and 1810, particularly in the OSCE region. Wuchte met with the chief of staff to the OSCE Secretary General and representatives of the Actions Against Terrorism (ATU) and Borders Units, as well as with UNODC officials from the Terrorism Prevention Branch (TPB) and IAEA officials from the Office of Nuclear Security, Office of Legal Affairs, and the Office of External Relation and Policy Coordination (EXPO). All were supportive and asked for further details of any U.S. strategy aimed at better integrating IAEA and UNODC efforts within an OSCE framework. OSCE ATU officials underscored its need for a mandate and appropriate funding to undertake 1540 activities. A UK diplomat at the OSCE meetings noted possible UK funding for such an initiative. ¶2. (SBU) IAEA and UNODC officials echoed their support for making Vienna a 1540 "geographic center of excellence," and welcomed closer cooperation with the OSCE, but also emphasized the likely need for additional resources. Wuchte undertook to keep the IAEA and UNODC informed of efforts at OSCE to give the ATU a larger 1540 coordination role. USOSCE/POL will work with the ATU and participating States to map out a strategy to enable the ATU to undertake 1540 activities. Washington, see para 9 action request. End Summary. OSCE Office of the Secretary General -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Thomas Wuchte, the U.S. coordinator for UNSCR 1540, met in Vienna on September 1 with Paul Fritch the chief of staff to OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut. Fritch a U.S. Foreign Service Officer seconded to the OSCE, welcomed further work on 1540 implementation. He noted, however, that currently there were no proliferation experts in the Secretariat and the OSCE lacked the institutional infrastructure for proliferation work. ¶4. (SBU) Fritch also noted, however, that the OSCE is a "relatively cheap" international organization that does much good work with a small budget. Vienna could be, he said, fertile ground for further work on 1540 in light of the non-proliferation programs related to other international organizations here. Fritch urged Wuchte to make concrete proposals on next steps on Vienna-based integration. ¶5. (SBU) Fritch cautioned that there was some skepticism at the Secretariat of new initiatives from the U.S., recalling that U.S. initiatives for OSCE programs in Afghanistan were unfortunately simultaneously announced with a 20 percent reduction in the U.S.'s contributions to the OSCE's regular budget. Early identification of funding to support increased OSCE 1540 activities, Fritch noted, would assist in garnering participating States' support for the proposal. OSCE Actions Against Terrorism and Borders Units -------------- --- ¶6. (SBU) Wuchte met on September 2 with Dimitar Jalnev, OSCE ATU deputy, and Jerome Bouyjou, OSCE Conflict Prevention Center Border Unit deputy. Wuchte said the OSCE had tremendous capacity for further work on 1540 implementation, noting normative work could be done in Vienna at both the Forum for Security Cooperation (FSC) and the Permanent Council (PC),particularly its Security Committee, while OSCE field missions could focus on practical implementation. ¶7. (SBU) Wuchte described specific next steps that OSCE could take: -- an information exchange on the current status of national implementation efforts; -- creation of a technical assistance template for OSCE participating States; -- OSCE Secretariat and field mission support to individual participating States in devising national implementation plans; USOSCE 00000219 002.2 OF 004 -- better coordination and communication with IAEA and UNODC in the OSCE region; and -- development of a framework for concrete integration of IAEA and UNODC 1540 implementation activities into OSCE programs. ¶8. (SBU) Wuchte described 1540 work at OSCE as potentially cross-dimensional, with border security, transshipment, and financing all relevant to better OSCE support for 1540 implementation and requiring the attention of both the PC and the FSC. He noted that some participating States (pS) were concerned that the FSC may lack the expertise to undertake further, more detailed work on 1540. Because of this, Wuchte recommended work be done in both the FSC and the Permanent Council. He further outlined the synergy that could be obtained by stronger OSCE coordination with the IAEA and UNODC. Wuchte recommended the FSC invite the 1540 committee chair or deputy to address 1540 at their October 15 meeting. ¶9. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: Mission requests U.S. 1540 coordinator Wuchte attend the October 15 FSC meeting to facilitate coordinated U.S. response to the address by the 1540 committee representative. ATU: Political Mandate and Funding Needed -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Jalnev, OSCE Secretariat ATU, agreed that 1540 implementation was an important aspect of counter-terrorism efforts. But from the ATU's perspective, he said, there was a lack of political mandate and resources. He recalled the 2005 OSCE decision that divided responsibility on 1540 issues, apportioning Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) issues to the FSC and only civilian radioactive materials/sources to the ATU. As such, some participating States, particularly Russia, resisted funding the ATU to do any 1540-related capacity building. ¶11. (SBU) Jalnev said ATU thus needed a political mandate to undertake 1540 implementation activities and recommended a formal decision to clarify the responsibilities of ATU in this area. This might take, he admitted, several months. He noted that, in the past, some pS had rebuked the ATU for undertaking initiatives without formal guidance; therefore, a clear mandate was critical to any ATU role in 1540 implementation. He recommended formal consultations with other pS before proceeding. ¶12. (SBU) Wuchte acknowledged the need for consultations and said this could be done through the permanent delegations in Vienna. In the meantime, the FSC chair could report to the 1540 Committee in New York what steps had already been taken. The 1540 Committee will complete its work program soon, he said, and immediate follow-up by the OSCE and participating States should be considered. ¶13. (SBU) Jalnev further stressed that resources would be a key concern to a greater role for any ATU 1540-related activities. He said the ATU would need at least one full-time staff member if ATU was to become extensively involved with 1540 work. Further, he noted that extra-budgetary contributions were not a long-term cure for building expertise within the Secretariat for proliferation-related projects. UK Funding Possible -------------- ¶14. (SBU) The UK (Berenice Gare),a strong supporter of earlier 1540 work at the OSCE, was present at the OSCE meetings and strongly supported Wuchte's proposal for greater 1540-related activities within the OSCE and stronger coordination with IAEA and UNODC on 1540 implementation. She announced the UK might be able to make some funds available. Continuing FSC jurisdiction over WMD issues, Gare said, was not so much the result of the earlier decision described by Jalnev but a certain amount of inertia in the division of labor between the two decision-making bodies. She pledged UK support for any initiative to give the ATU a greater 1540 coordination role. Borders: Ready to Engage -------------- USOSCE 00000219 003.2 OF 004 ¶15. (SBU) Bouyjou, OSCE Secretariat Borders Unit, said his office was strongly interested in becoming involved in 1540 implementation efforts. Wuchte's recommendations fit within the "natural mandate" of his office, Bouyjou explained. Much work had already been done of the OSCE's borders security concept since it was enacted in 2005. He noted that the OSCE has successfully collaborated with UNODC on some of the borders projects but looked forward to further cooperation with both the UNODC and the IAEA. Bouyjou added that, unlike the ATU, the Borders unit actually had some funding available for additional programs including 1540 implementation activities. UNODC and IAEA Supportive of Coordination with the OSCE -------------- -------------- ¶16. (SBU) Wuchte met with IAEA and UNODC officials on September 3 to update them on his discussions with OSCE officials and to review possible next steps. In a meeting with UNODC/TPB officials Walter Gehr, Jo Dedyne-Amman, and Karen Kramer, Wuchte underscored the concept of Vienna as a "geographic center of excellence," and the benefits of greater UNODC/IAEA/OSCE coordination. All three officials welcomed Wuchte's initiative to strengthen the ATU's role in 1540 implementation. Gehr noted that UNODC officials were aware of the U.S. support for greater coordination with the OSCE and the IAEA. Dedyne-Amman indicated that UNODC/TPB had undertaken several programs in cooperation with the OSCE; for example, in November both would co-host a workshop in Budapest, Hungary, on legislative issues related to counter-terrorism and transnational organized crime. ¶17. (SBU) Dedyne-Amman acknowledged the cross-dimensionality of counter-terrorism/1540 issues, and she stressed that the UNODC, with the TPB as coordinator, was reviewing counter-terrorism issues on a thematic basis. All three officials indicated that OSCE-UNODC cooperation would be on a cross-dimensional basis. ¶18. (SBU) Gehr also raised the need for greater 1540 Committee communication with UNODC; he noted that the TPB needed more clarity on what action the Committee specifically wanted from his branch. He said the TPB supported the establishment of a joint legal working group to identify areas where UNODC could be of further 1540 assistance. ¶19. (SBU) Wuchte indicated appreciation for the programs the TPB has organized thus far for 1540 implementation; he highlighted the positive impact the southern Africa 1540 reporting workshop had had on participating countries. All three UNODC officials stressed that the TPB was ready to assist with further 1540-related activities, such as reporting workshops in the Pacific Islands region or the Caribbean. However, the UNODC officials also stressed the need for increased funding to support such activities. Wuchte undertook to keep UNODC informed of progress within the OSCE on strengthening its 1540-implementation role. IAEA Offers Continued Support -------------- ¶20. (SBU) Following his meeting with UNODC officials, Wuchte met with Tariq Rauf, IAEA EXPO; Lourdes Vez-Carmona, EXPO; Tim Andrews, IAEA Office of Nuclear Security; and Wolfram Tonhauser, IAEA Office of Legal Affairs. The IAEA officials welcomed Wuchte's readout of his OSCE meetings. They noted continued IAEA support for 1540 implementation. According to Andrews, the Office of Nuclear Security continued to work on establishing an electronic portal where member states could review general nuclear-security related activities in specific countries or regions. He noted the need for a secure way of exchanging information on IAEA programs. ¶21. (SBU) The IAEA officials requested further information on how, specifically, the IAEA could cooperate with the OSCE. Wuchte noted that the OSCE Borders Unit was already engaged in discussions with Office of Nuclear Security officials on integrating IAEA expertise into OSCE border security assessments in Central Asia. Meeting participants agreed that, particularly in the sensitive Central Asian region, greater OSCE-IAEA coordination would be of benefit. Andrews noted that the Border Monitoring Working Group should be considered as an avenue for closer cooperation with the OSCE. Wuchte undertook to keep the IAEA informed on progress USOSCE 00000219 004.2 OF 004 within the OSCE to strengthen its 1540-related activities. Next Steps -------------- ¶22. (SBU) COMMENT: OSCE, IAEA, and UNODC all recognized the inherent benefits of closer cooperation and coordination on 1540 implementation activities. In order for the OSCE to adopt a larger role in 1540 implementation, we need to enable the ATU to undertake a leadership role within the OSCE on 1540 coordination. ¶23. (SBU) USOSCE will work with key pS to develop a political strategy to this end. Funding concerns will also have to be addressed in order to cement increased OSCE-IAEA-UNODC cooperation and programs. Meanwhile, we will continue to encourage greater OSCE-IAEA-UNODC communication, in general terms, and look to identify ways to increase coordination among the Vienna-based organizations. End comment. FINLEY