FSC DECEMBER 10: UNSCR 1540 COMMITTEE CHAIR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 USOSCE 000293

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR VCI/CCA, VCI/NRRC, EUR/RPM, EUR/PRA, EUR/CARC,
SCA/CEN, SCA/RA, PM/WRA, ISN/CPI
JCS FOR J-5
OSD FOR ISA (PERENYI)
NSC FOR HAYES
USUN FOR LEGAL, POL
EUCOM FOR J-5
CENTCOM FOR J-5
UNVIE FOR AC
GENEVA FOR CD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM PREL KCFE OSCE RS CY XG
SUBJECT: FSC DECEMBER 10: UNSCR 1540 COMMITTEE CHAIR
VISITS; CYBER SECURITY AGENDA

REF: A. WRIGHT-SILBERBERG DECEMBER 9 EMAIL

B. STATE 124486


1. (SBU) Summary: Ambassador Jorge Urbina, chair of the
UNSCR 1540 Committee, told the FSC its members were in the
vanguard of states implementing the resolution, which calls
on all states to prevent the proliferation of WMD and their
delivery systems to non-state actors. Urbina said the Best
Practice Guide being compiled by the FSC would benefit all
states by setting standards. The entire OSCE could usefully
further 1540 goals by assistance to states in developing
border controls and sensitive item dual-use lists.


2. (SBU) In the working groups, several delegations objected
to the new U.S. edits to the draft agenda for the March 2009
cyber security workshop. With Russia now accepting the
current draft agenda, the U.S. is now alone. A working group
meeting will now be held before the plenary on December 17,
the last meeting of the autumn session. France and Germany
supported the latest version of the Russian proposal for a
single defense planning deadline. The AIAM agenda will be
forwarded to the plenary for adoption on December 17. Turkey
and Russia are still waiting for instructions on the Code of
Conduct questionnaire. Washington, see para 19. End summary.

Russia Says Georgia Freezes South Ossetia
--------------


3. (SBU) Russia (Ulyanov) accused Georgia of cutting off
natural gas to South Ossetia, threatening civilians in their
homes, schools, and hospitals with privation as winter
approaches. Russia, as a consequence, has taken actions to
assure gas is supplied to South Ossetia and is constructing a
gas pipeline to the region through North Ossetia. Ulyanov
charged Georgia with a premeditated suspension of gas
delivery, akin to a "blockade." Ulyanov said the situation
was similar to the Balkans war in the early 1990s. Then,
too, Russian had ensured gas supplies to a threatened
minority, the Muslim Croatians, as a humanitarian act.
Ulyanov asserted that Slobodan Milosevic, although tried as a
war criminal, never used gas supplies as a weapon.

4. (SBU) Ulyanov acknowledged Georgia claims the pipeline was
damaged during the August conflict: if so, he asked, can
Georgia describe the damage and predict when the pipeline
will be repaired? Did Georgia not see it was hurting its own
people still living in South Ossetia? Ulyanov called on the
EU and the U.S. to consider the matter and take appropriate
action. In the meantime, if the situation had not
dramatically improved, Russia would return tot e subject at
the nest meeting of the FSC.

Georgia Claims Russia Prevents Repairs
--------------


5. (SBU) Georgia (Kvachakidze) replied that the relevant
facts included Russia's invasion of Georgia, the six-point
peace agreements, Russia's support for ethnic cleansing, and
Russia's continued denial of access to South Ossetia for
humanitarian aid and unarmed OSCE monitors. Russia now had
over 5,000 troops each in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Georgian jurisdiction needed to be restored, particularly to
the Alkhagori region.


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6. (SBU) Kvachakidze recalled that two gas pipelines in North
Ossetia that supplied Georgia with Russian gas had been
bombed in 2006. Russia described these as "terrorist"
attacks yet never investigated them or other similar attacks.


7. (SBU) Kvachakidze said Russia knows that the pipelines
were damaged during the August war. Georgia was repairing
them, but could not make repairs in South Ossetia as the
Russians denied them access. Georgia expected to complete
repairs, where it could make them, soon. Ulyanov countered
that the South Ossetian pipeline was repaired; this was
instead a case of Georgia diverting the supplies. Georgia's
report, he allowed, was encouraging, but he would still need
to return to the subject at the next meeting.


Security Dialogue: UNSCR 1540 Committee Chair
--------------


8. (SBU) Costa Rican Jorge Urbina, chair of the UN Security
Committee Resolution 1540, praised the OSCE for its progress
in implementing the resolution, which requires all states to
prevent the proliferation of WMD and delivery system to
non-state actors, in particular for terrorist purposes.
Urbina noted the FSC workshop on 1540 in late 2006 and the
Ministerial decision 10/06 on supporting national
implementation. Urbina reported all participating States
have submitted reports to the 1540 Committee and over half
have offered assistance on 1540 implementation to other
states. He cited the Best Practice Guide on 1540, currently
under preparation, as an example of the standard setting for
which regional organizations like the OSCE were particularly
well-suited.

Eleven pS Request Help on 1540
--------------


9. (SBU) Urbina urged pS to follow through on their 2006
decision by preparing implementation plans and sharing them
with the OSCE and the 1540 Committee. He reported that at
least eleven pS had requested technical assistance in full
implementation; the 1540 Committee could help arrange
partnerships to help these states and has developed an
assistance template for states seeking help.


10. (SBU) UNSCR 1810, adopted in 2008, extends the mandate of
the 1540 Committee until 2011 and reinforces the need for
cooperation among international and regional organizations.
Urbina noted the role of NGOs in full implementation, citing
a conference in Ankara arranged in part by SIPRI on dual-use
goods export controls. He urged pS to identify and address
the gaps remaining in their full implementation of the
resolution.

Plenty of 1540 Work for Both PC and FSC
--------------


11. (SBU) Urbina said the implementation of 1540 overlapped
the work of both the Permanent Council and the FSC. He
suggested the OSCE consider developing rosters of national
experts as well as 1540 points-of contact. He also noted the
presence in Vienna of other international organizations
helping to implement 1540, the IAEA and the UNODC, and called

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for the OSCE to cooperate with them. (FSC.DEL/190/08)


12. (SBU) France, Turkey, the UK, and Finland welcomed Urbina
and expressed national support for 1540. The UK (Gare) asked
Urbina it specify some of the lacunae in pS implementation.
Urbina deferred to Richard Cuppitt (U.S.),a 1540 Committee
staff member, who noted that the committee has identified 382
measures states should take to implement 1540; the pS had, on
average, taken about 215. Urbina said the establishment of a
"regional center" to focus implementation efforts could be an
appropriate role fore regional organizations.

U.S. Proposes 1540 Workplan for OSCE
--------------


13. (SBU) The U.S. (Neighbour) also expressed support for the
resolution and noted that control of WMD-related items
instilled greater confidence among trading partners that
their trade does not support illicit activities; increases
legitimate access to advanced technologies; makes trade more
secure from theft and diversion; and enhances market research
and inventory control.


14. (SBU) The U.S. is seeking expansion of the G-8 Global
Partnership against the spread of WMD that will provide
financial support for implementation of 1540. Neighbour said
that the 1540 Committee alone cannot do the work of promoting
implementation. The OSCE can assist by further work on the
Best Practice Guide; take steps to exchanging 1540-related
data among all pS and the Partners and forwarding same to the
committee; identify an OSCE liaison with the 1540 Committee
who would develop lists of national experts and
points-of-contact; and support greater cooperative efforts
between the PC and FSC as well as with the IAEA and UNODC.
(Full text of U.S. intervention will appear in the December
10 FSC Journal of the Day.)

Crimean ERW Clean-Up
--------------


15. (SBU) Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj, the OSCE project
coordinator in Ukraine, described plans for remediation of
explosive remnants of war (ERW) in the Crimea, much of it
dating to the Second World War and earlier. OSCE estimates
the project will cost over 361,000 euros, most of it to be
spent on the provision of modern equipment and specialized
training to Ukrainian government explosive ordnance
officials. OSCE experts visited the Crimea in October to
assess the scope of work. Kopaj added that the project to
clean up ERW at Novobohdanivka was successfully completed and
the area had been returned to local control.

Cyber Security Workshop Agenda
--------------


16. (SBU) Russia supported the draft decision on an agenda
and modalities for the March 2009 cyber security workshop.
Ulyanov added that Andrey Kortskiy, a deputy director of the
Russian MFA arms control and security affairs department,
would speak on "political aspects of ensuring international
cyber security. Germany and Greece announced they would
provide speakers.


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17. (SBU) The U.S. (Silberberg) expressed general support but
proposed minor changes to the agenda for working session 1 to
reflect greater emphasis on responses and remediation and
less on threats and attacks because of the difficulty in
identifying the sources of attacks and because the technology
used by attackers was changing so rapidly (ref A). The U.S
noted particular interest in session 2 on good practices and
legal frameworks and offered a speaker from the Department of
Justice.


18. (SBU) Germany, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, and
Luxembourg (Pilot) said they would need to consider any
changes to the agenda carefully, Pilot observing that
delegations were free in any case to bring up whatever they
wanted at the working sessions. Separately, Estonia
(Tiigimae) and Finland (Kangaste) complained that omission of
reference to threats from the agenda would defeat the goal of
the workshop to have a comprehensive overview of cyber
security. Estonia reported that Russia would need to rerun
to capital for instructions, which could delay the decision
until well into 2009. Kangaste pointed out that the
organizers of the March 17-18, 2009 event would be
handicapped if the agenda was not determined until only a few
weeks before.


19. (SBU) The U.S. is apparently alone in its views of the
agenda. Mission requests Washington guidance whether to join
consensus on the current version of the agenda (FSC.DD/17/08).

Single Defense Planning Deadline
--------------


20. (SBU) Russia Ulyanov noted the incorporation of German
edits into the latest version of the proposal for a single
deadline for submission of defense planning information under
the Vienna Document. He urged all pS to support the
proposal. Germany and France announced they could now
support. Azerbaijan reported it lacked final instructions.
Separately, the chair, Finland (Kangaste) asserted that
Azerbaijan's position was related to its failure to submit
defense planning information for the last four years.
Kangaste said he was considering asking the CPC to send a
reminder to Azerbaijan that its submissions were overdue.

AIAM Agenda for 2009
--------------


21. (SBU) The draft agenda and modalities for the 2009 Annual
Implementation Assessment Meeting will be redistributed as a
chair's draft decision and forwarded to the plenary for
adoption on December 17.

SALW
--------------


22. (SBU) Colonel Walter Schweizer (Germany),chair of the
informal group on small arms and light weapons (SALW),noted
the adoption of Ministerial decision 6/08 that calls for a
review of the OSCE Document on SALW. Schweizer said he
planned to brief the FSC in January 2009 on a work plan after
consultation with the troika.

SCA

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23. (SBU) Lieut. Colonel Nils Peterson (Denmark),FSC
stockpiles of conventional ammunition coordinator, announced
a December 16 meeting to review melange elimination project
work in Ukraine and Albania.

Code of Conduct
--------------


24. (SBU) Belarus (Krayushkin) argued that reference to the
UN Charter in the preamble of the draft decision on updating
the Code of Conduct questionnaire (FSC.DD/14/08) was not
relevant to a "technical" subject like the questionnaire.
Also, Krayushkin asserted, the reference instead to the
Helsinki Final Act Belarus proposed (FSC.DEL/186/08) did not
require the extended description of the act's purpose
subsequently suggested by Denmark and Sweden (FSC.DEL/18808).
Their edits would include reference to fundamental freedoms
"without distinction as to," inter alia, sex. Denmark and
Sweden had earlier proposed a reference to UNSCR 1325 on the
role of gender in security issues, but this lacked support
from many delegations. In any case, Belarus would need more
time to consider the Danish/Swedish proposal.


25. (SBU) In response to prompting from the chair, Turkey and
Russia reported that final instructions they lacked were
expected to contain edits to both the text of the decision
and the questionnaire.


26. (SBU) Colonel Anton Eischer (Austria),the FSC Code of
Conduct coordinator, proposed considering "supplementary"
proposals for enhancing implementation of the Code. He
reported a draft decision proposing annual assessment of the
Code is in preparation. Separately, Eischer identified
Germany as the author.

Cypress MANPADS Project
--------------


27. (SBU) An informal meeting chaired by FSC SALW coordinator
Colonel Steve Hartnell (UK) was held December 10 in response
to a request by Cypress for technical assistance in the
destruction of slightly more than 300 MANPADS (SA-7).
Cypress (Zivanas) made clear it was not looking for financial
assistance, but rather for technical expertise and advice on
the best way to get rid of these weapons. Zivanas said his
government had no preference between destruction or
demilitarization, nor whether the process should be
accomplished on Cypress or somewhere else. He said these
choices would depend on the results of an assessment visit,
tentatively scheduled for February 2009.


28. (SBU) Several delegations, including the UK, Italy, Czech
Republic, Greece, Hungary, and Ireland, offered one kind of
assistance from another, ranging from experts for an
assessment visit to demilitarization or destruction of the
weapons at dedicated national facilities (Hungary and Italy).
The U.S. (Silberberg),per guidance (ref B),announced its
interest in helping and, subject to the scope of work,
leading the project.


29. (SBU) Hartnell suggested that the next step should be for

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each country interested in participating in the project to
submit in writing a proposal for assistance, including costs
and logistical requirements. He would like to see these
written ideas by the end of January 2009. This would be
followed by an assessment visit, which would result in a
forma; report to the OSCE.


30. (SBU) The Conflict Prevention Center (Martynyuk) (CPC)
said there were too many volunteers for the project. There
are currently ten to twelve experts offered for a visit to
look at slightly more than 300 missiles. Hartnell supported
this observation by asking delegations to consider how
important for each of them to be involved in this particular
project.

Next Meeting
--------------


31. (SBU) The next and final meeting of the autumn session of
the FSC will be on December 17.
FINLEY