PRE-INVITATION TO AFRICA REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 096413 SIPDIS JOINT STAFF FOR USAFRICOM GENEVA FOR BWC THE HAGUE FOR OPCW E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC KPAO PREL PTER UNSC XA KE SUBJECT: PRE-INVITATION TO AFRICA REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON BIOSAFETY AND BIOSECURITY ¶1. This is an action request. All addressees please see para 3; and USUN please see para 5. -------------- BACKGROUND -------------- ¶2. UNSCR 1540 obligates all UN Member States to develop and maintain "appropriate, effective" measures to improve their indigenous capacities to counter proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and terrorist threats. The resolution also established a Committee responsible for implementation (the Committee). In 2008, the Security Council unanimously agreed to UNSCR 1810, renewing the Committee for an additional three years. UNSCR 1810 also outlines funding mechanisms, including voluntary contributions such as those used in support of this workshop. African countries to be invited include: Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Congo-Brazzaville, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda. -------------- Workshop Pre-Invitation To Pass -------------- ¶3. Action Request for all posts: Please notify appropriate African and intergovernmental officials (such as IAEA) with policy responsibility for implementing USNCR 1540 of our commitment to sponsor the workshop. Post should inform appropriate officials that handle participation in the UN, WMD proliferation, disarmament, and human and veterinary laboratory safety and security. As we go forward, we are interested in African states' views and cooperation. (NOTE for Pretoria only: We are particularly interested in South African participation and views as they were a former Security Council Member and have advocated often that UNSCR 1540 had no tangible benefit for African States. We view South African support as crucial to gaining broader regional cooperation. End note.) Our intent is to coordinate early and up front with potential participants and appropriate organizations. The points below are general background on the workshop pre-invitation and are to be left as a non-paper. ¶4. Begin non-paper: -- The African Biosafety and Biosecurity Workshop on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 will be held February 2-4, 2010 in Nairobi, hosted by the Government of Kenya with support from the United States (with funding from the Export Control and Related Border Security program) and in cooperation with the Committee established pursuant to UNSCR 1540 (the Committee) and the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs. The USG will welcome other contributions and ideas, and will fund expenses for African participants. Each participating state will be invited to send three participants total, drawn from the appropriate STATE 00096413 002 OF 003 agencies. -- The workshop will assist participants to create potential components of their national implementation plans and in mapping out their priorities for implementing UNSCR 1540, particularly in the area of biosecurity. Through the effective use of the 1540 Technical Assistance Template, specific regional and international sources of technical support will participate and be identified in the workshop agenda. The workshop will highlight the value of full implementation of UNSCR 1540, which the UNSC unanimously adopted on April 28, 2004 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. -- Although the resolution contains broad obligations on all States to take a series of measures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD),their means of delivery, and related materials to non-state actors, the primary purpose of the workshop is to promote capacity-building to advance full implementation of UNSCR ¶1540. We hope to improve cooperative implementation of UNSCR 1540 by identifying ways that African states can share experience and develop such items as their own national implementation plans, as suggested in UNSCR 1810 (which extended the work of the Committee until April 2011) and by the Committee Report of July 8, 2008. Presenters will also share pertinent information on lessons learned based on the activities of the Committee. -- As with other recent USG-funded UNSCR 1540 outreach events, including the workshops for South Asian and Caribbean countries, this workshop will engage countries on a regional basis and will include African Union members with particular interest in biosafety and security as a means to ensure continent-wide participation. A set of additional documents for the meeting will follow shortly. The workshop organizers will place the invitation documents on a dedicated website for downloading and announce their availability through Posts. The set will include the invitation to the workshop, tentative program, and administrative information. Further general information on UNSCR 1540 is available at http://www.un.org/sc/1540. End non-paper. ¶5. Action request for USUN: Please pass the following information at the next Committee meeting as well as via Note Verbale. The information in Para 4 above may be shared by Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) with African delegations in New York, if asked. Begin text As previously announced, the United States will provide its next in-kind contribution to complement regional UNSCR 1540 workshops at an upcoming workshop in 2010. The U.S. 1540 Coordinator, along with U.S.'s Sandia National Laboratories (SNL),is coordinating with the UNSCR 1540 Committee Panel of Experts and the UNODA, along with other U.S. agencies involved with UNSCR 1540 implementation, effective workshop topics and locales that complement overall activities. In coordination with the Committee, the U.S. government will STATE 00096413 003 OF 003 cooperate with partners to plan and organize a biosciences-focused UNSCR 1540 implementation regional workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, February 2-4, 2010 for African states. This announcement is to provide early notification for planning and selected participation by UNODA and the Committee, as well as the Panel of Experts. We will make all logistical arrangements for the workshop (e.g., venue, audiovisual support, language services) and fund selected participant travel from African countries, including lodging and per diem. A set of additional documents for the meeting will follow shortly. The workshop organizers will place the invitation documents on a dedicated website for downloading and announce their availability through our Embassies. We welcome any and all suggestions from other Committee members as well as invited states and other participants to guarantee an effective outcome that complements ongoing outreach. End text. ¶6. Reporting deadline: Responses should be sent NLT October ¶5. Posts are requested to provide an e-mail and telephone contact both in the capital and at Embassy to best facilitate logistical coordination with SNL. ¶7. POC is U.S. 1540 Coordinator Thomas A. Wuchte, at 202-736-4275 and wuchteta@state.gov. ¶8. Washington appreciates Posts' ongoing support. CLINTON