CWC: THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF OPCW NATIONAL

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000734

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR ISN/CB, VCI/CCA, L/NPV, IO/MPR,
SECDEF FOR OSD/GSA/CN,CP>
JOINT STAFF FOR DD PMA-A FOR WTC
COMMERCE FOR BIS (BROWN, DENYER AND CRISTOFARO)
NSC FOR LUTES
WINPAC FOR WALTER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM PREL CWC
SUBJECT: CWC: THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF OPCW NATIONAL
AUTHORITIES, 27-29 NOVEMBER 2009

This is CWC-70-09

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) The eleventh annual meeting of the National
Authorities was held at the headquarters of the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague on 27-29 November 2009.
As in previous meetings, this one focused on
providing those National Authorities that are
working on establishing functioning offices with
the basic tools for communication and information
transfer with the OPCW. A highlight of this
meeting was the presentation by the Chinese
government of ten new computers to eight African
National Authorities and two related labs in Africa
to assist them in communicating with the OPCW and
submitting a national declaration.


2. (U) During the presentation by the Asian group
on their regional National Authority meeting in
Viet Nam in October 2009, the chairman personally
thanked the United States for its presentation on
chemical safety and security and the continuing
outreach effort by representatives from Washington
(ISN/CB and CTR) in providing support to other
National Authorities in the region.


3. (U) On the margins of the meeting,
representatives from the Portuguese and Indian
National Authorities approached Delreps with
requests for assistance in developing industry
regulations for submission of CWC declarations and
providing legal models to establish criminal
penalties for non-compliance with the Convention.
End Summary.

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NATIONAL AUTHORITIES MEETING
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4. (U) The eleventh annual meeting of National
Authorities was chaired by the Director of the
International Cooperation and Assistance Division
and consisted of three segments spaced over three
days: a segment for presentations and round-table
discussions of basic themes, such as organization
of a National Authority office and declarable
Article VI activities (Activities Not Prohibited
Under the Chemical Weapons Convention); a segment
for regional perspectives on themes such as global
anti-terrorism efforts and safety and security at
chemical plants; and a segment for bilateral
meetings of National Authorities with Technical
Secretariat (TS) officials. The United States did
not participate in the last segment.


5. (U) Director-General Rogelio Pfirter welcomed
the National Authorities, emphasizing the
importance of effective National Authorities for
implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention
(CWC). He stated that they should be alert and
flexible in the face of a shift from chemical
weapons destruction to more industry inspections
and potential changes to the verification regime
resulting from changes in science and technology.
He noted that the Technical Secretariat (TS) was
available to provide capacity building, help in
national implementation, and that there is a
special Program for Africa which has been assisted
by donations from States Parties (SPs).


6. (U) A special closing ceremony was arranged by
the OPCW for the presentation by the Chinese
government of ten new computers to eight African

National Authorities and two CWC-related labs in
Africa to assist them in communicating with the
OPCW and submitting their national declarations.
The ceremony was well-attended with both the
Ambassador of China and the OPCW Director-General
presenting the computers to the corresponding
ambassador of each African country. It generated a
well-publicized press opportunity and helped with
the OPCW's push towards full compliance of CWC
requirements by National Authorities.

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THEMATIC SEGMENT
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7. (U) The entire first day was dedicated to
sharing experiences in implementation of the
Convention by National Authorities. The OPCW Legal
Advisor provided a presentation recapping the legal
bases for National Authorities in the Convention
and discussed the need for national implementation
of the CWC by all States Parties. He noted that
States Parties located their National Authorities
in a variety of different ministries, about half
using their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a
result, National Authorities have to deal with
issues not usually handled by MFAs and may have
coordination problems with their chemical
industries. A round-table discussion followed
where participants shared experiences, including
Uganda, which has no implementing legislation and
is under tight budget constraints on accomplishing
compliance with the Convention; and Albania which
has budget and staffing problems.


8. (U) The second half of the day dealt with the
problem of identification of declarable Article VI
sites and collecting and submitting their
associated declarations. A round)table discussion
by several National Authorities (Canada, South
Africa, Iran, Singapore, and Pakistan) offered
their approaches to determining which industry
sites would come under Article VI declaration
requirements. Approaches included use of
questionnaires, outreach seminars and public
information sources. Canada also gave details of
its approach to Schedule 2 and 3 transfer
discrepancies, a problem encountered by most
National Authorities.

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INFORMATIVE SEGMENT
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9. (U) The second day was dedicated to regional
perspectives of the national implementation process
of the CWC. A representative from the Australian
Counter-Terrorism Section, Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade, made a presentation on the Asia
Pacific Seminar on Chemical Safety and Security to
Counter Terrorism held in Canberra in June 2009.
Unfortunately, his talk focused on how the seminar
was organized, and gave little information about
outcomes. The OPCW Director of Special Projects
then described the OPCW's contribution to global
counter-terrorism activities. Of note in his
presentation was the trend by the OPCW and various
State Parties to utilize Article X (Assistance and
Protection Against Chemical Weapons) as the part of
the Convention most suitable for discussion of
counter-terrorism activities. To that end, the
Iranian National Authority representative made an
intervention asking for help from developed
countries in establishing regional centers to pre-
Qcountries in establishing regional centers to pre-
stage equipment and supplies for contingency use in
the event of a terrorist attack on a State Party to
the Convention.



10. (U) The OPCW Legal Advisor then reviewed the
status of Article VII implementation (National
Implementation Measures) and noted that 126 States
Parties have sought and received help from the TS.
Round-table discussion followed where regional
perspectives were presented by Mexico for the Latin
American Group (GRULAC),Morocco for Africa,
Pakistan for Asia, and Bulgaria for Eastern Europe.
The representatives for GRULAC, Asia and Africa all
indicated interest in pursuing assistance from
other States Parties through Article X
implementation. During the presentation by the
Asian group on their National Authority meeting in
Viet Nam in October 2009, the Pakistani chairman
personally thanked the United States for its
presentation at the meeting on chemical safety and
security and the continuing outreach effort in
providing support to other National Authorities in
the region.


11. (U) During the lunch break, the TS arranged for
one of the participants from the previous Other
Chemical Production Facilities (OCPF) workshop to
provide his presentation on a technical perspective
on the OCPF regime that was not given at the
workshop because of time constraints. With a very
small audience and no official language
interpretation, the Iranian National Authority
representative intervened during the question and
answer session at the end with a prepared statement
requesting State Parties to push for the
termination of the Australia Group and its
associated trade restrictions. Because of the
informal setting and lack of time, no comments were
made in response to the Iranian statement.


12. (U) On the margins of the meeting, a
representative from India approached Delrep and
asked for assistance in developing industry
regulations for submission of CWC declarations and
providing models of criminal penalties for non-
compliance with the Convention. His concern was
with counter-terrorism support, which he said was
lacking in his country, and the fact that his
National Authority office has no legal basis to
prosecute violators of the Convention with regard
to chemical transfers. The U.S. National Authority
will contact the Indian National Authority to
provide any assistance that may be requested. A
request for this type of assistance was also made
by the Portuguese National Authority that has had
similar problems establishing industry regulations.


13. (U) BEIK SENDS.
LEVIN