IWC 2009 MEETING: DENMARK/GREENLAND VIEWS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COPENHAGEN 000270

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TAGS: IWC SENV KSCA PREL PGOV EFIS DA
SUBJECT: IWC 2009 MEETING: DENMARK/GREENLAND VIEWS

REF: STATE 57020


1. (SBU) Summary: Denmark's IWC commissioner told us Denmark will
again request an aboriginal whaling quota for Greenland, despite
uncertainty regarding the whaling policies of the new Greenlandic
Home Rule Government. Denmark supports continuation of the "Future
of the IWC" small working group, without observers present, but
urges better readouts of small group meetings. End Summary.


2. (U) ESTH Specialist spoke June 8 with Danish Commissioner to
IWC, Ole Samsing, who will attend the upcoming annual IWC meeting in
Madeira.

Danish Views Mixed on SWG


3. (SBU) Samsing said Denmark supports continuation of the "Future
of the IWC" but believes progress over the past year has slowed
because the "Small" Working Group is still too large to make
progress on difficult issues. On the other hand, Samsing expressed
surprise that the results of meetings held between even smaller
groupings, including the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and
Japan had not been shared with other IWC members like Denmark.


4. (SBU) Samsing said Denmark believes that it is absolutely
essential to keep observers away from the SWG meetings. Denmark
does support inviting members and observers to inter-session
meetings. Samsing praised the "neutrality" and "effectiveness" of
SWG chair De Soto, and Denmark believes that view to be widely
shared among SWG participants.

Chairmanship Issue


5. (SBU) Denmark also supports IWC Chairman Hogarth's candidacy for
another term. Regarding the vice-chairmanship, Denmark has no firm
position. Samsing did not rule out the possibility of voting for
the Japanese candidate, but he believes any Japanese candidate would
face opposition from anti-whaling nations.

What about Greenland?


6. (SBU) After Denmark's request for an aboriginal harvest quota
for humpback whales was denied at the last annual IWC meeting, a
Greenland Home Rule Government minister had urged the Danish
government to permit Greenland to withdraw from the IWC. Greenland
is a self-governing territory but nevertheless still part of the
Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark formally represents Greenland in the
IWC, but typically provides a Home Rule representative a seat at the
negotiating table. Greenland thus cannot leave the IWC on its own.


7. (SBU) Still, Samsing told us that it would be technically
possible for Denmark to notify the IWC that the "territorial
applications" of the IWC are limited to the Faeroe Islands and
Denmark, allowing Denmark to thus technically exclude Greenland from
the IWC. However, Samsing implied that Denmark clearly prefers the
status quo on Greenland's IWC status. He said Denmark would again
request a new aboriginal quota of ten humpback whales for Greenland.
Samsing said he had warned Hogarth that "time is running out" on
Greenlandic patience with the IWC and real progress on aboriginal
whaling quota increases must be made if Denmark is to keep the
Greenlanders engaged within the IWC.


8. (SBU) Samsing, noting that Greenland was forming a new
government following June 2 parliamentary elections, said it is too
soon to know what the new Home Rule Government's whaling policy will
be. Samsing expects Greenland's new government to send
representatives to Madeira, but he would not speculate further,
saying only "then we will see what happens." Samsing noted parallel
themes reflected in Greenlandic politics: resentment of what is seen
as "cultural imperialism" and interference in Inuit affairs by the
IWC and other international institutions (Greenlanders are still
seething over the European Parliament's recent ban on Canadian seal
skin imports),balanced by the recognition that it is in Greenland's
interest to cooperate with and participate in international
institutions.

Comment


9. (SBU) Greenland's new government takes the reins June 12 and its
position on whaling issues will likely not be clear before the
meeting in Madeira. Greenland's new Premier, for his part, has
signaled his desire to ensure that Greenland engages with a
globalized world. But Greenland's government, while new, faces the

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difficult and long-standing challenge of reconciling conflicting
influences in its whaling policy: protection of Greenlandic cultural
identity, promotion of Greenland's economic development, and
engagement with the broader international community. We expect to
see these tensions continue to manifest themselves in Greenland's,
and Denmark's, dealings with the IWC.
MCCULLEY