CWC: MEETINGS ON THE MARGINS OF THE CONFERENCE OF

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM PREL CWC
SUBJECT: CWC: MEETINGS ON THE MARGINS OF THE CONFERENCE OF
THE STATES PARTIES (CSP 14)

REF: A. THE HAGUE 746

B. THE HAGUE 738

C. THE HAGUE 755

D. STATE 116290

This is CWC-76-09


1. (U) This contains an action request: see para 13.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On the margins of the 14th
Conference of the States Parties (CSP) (ref A),the
U.S. Delegation met bilaterally with the observer
Israeli delegation, with the Indian delegation to
discuss industry issues, and with the Algerian
delegation to discuss the proposed conference on
chemical safety and security in Algiers. Delreps
also participated in a meeting with interested
parties on a proposal for continued verification of
converted chemical weapons production facilities
(CWPFs) ten years after their conversion. Other
meetings with the Iraqi and Libyan delegations, as
well as the Technical Secretariat (TS),were
reported in Refs B and C. END SUMMARY.

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ISRAEL: JUST CHECKING IN
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3. (SBU) On December 1, Head of Delegation Mikulak
and Delreps met with the observer Israeli
delegation consisting of Tamar Rahamimoff-Honig
(Deputy Director, Arms Control Department, MFA),
Tali Messika (CBRN Policy and International
Cooperation, MOD) and Yair Even (DCM, Israeli
Embassy in The Hague). As during previous
bilateral meetings, discussion was general in
scope, covering major issues at the OPCW and before
the CSP. Throughout the meeting, Rahamimoff-Honig
stated that Israel is adopting a "wait-and-see"
approach to incoming Director-General (DG) Ahmet
Uzumcu. She expressed her hope that Israel could
maintain the good relationship enjoyed with the TS
under current DG Rogelio Pfirter. Rahamimoff-Honig
explicitly noted that the Israeli position
regarding ratification of the Convention has not
changed and is unlikely to do so anytime soon.


4. (SBU) Rahmimoff-Honig asked several questions
about the 2012 deadline for destruction of chemical
weapons (CW) stockpiles, specifically inquiring how
the Organization will manage the possibility of
missing the deadline. Mikulak gave an update on
the status of destruction and conversations within
the Organization, and he stated that any
accommodation beyond 2012 likely would involve a
political compromise rather than amendments to the
Convention.

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INDIA: CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION ON INDUSTRY ISSUES
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5. (SBU) Delreps Clagett, Prather and Weekman met
with Prajapati Trivedi (Head of the Indian National
Authority) and Bijoy Chatterjee (a senior official
in the Indian Department of Chemicals and
Petrochemicals) to continue previous bilateral
discussions on industry-related issues. Weekman
focused on chemical safety and security,
highlighting three areas where member states could
address the issue: posting data about chemical
safety to the OPCW website, the proposed
international chemical terrorism conference in
Algeria, and a chemical safety meeting in the
context of Article XI (economic and technological
development). The Indian delegation was very
receptive to Weekman's ideas and indicated a
Qreceptive to Weekman's ideas and indicated a



willingness to host an Article XI-related workshop
on chemical safety and security.


6. (SBU) When Clagett shared U.S. views on
including degradation mass spectra data in the OPCW
Central Analytical Database (OCAD),the Indian
delegation responded that degradation products must
point to scheduled chemicals. Clagett also talked
about a chart he has developed to assess TS
inspectors during industry inspections in the U.S.;
the Indian delegation requested a copy of the chart
for their use in evaluating the quality of TS
inspectors. The Indian delegation also stated
their intention to conduct experimental sequential
inspections with the TS and thanked the U.S. for
the previously-provided non-paper on sequential
inspections.

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ALGERIA: STILL PLANNING THE CHEMICAL SAFETY WORKSHOP
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7. (SBU) On December 3, Delreps Smith and Weekman
met with Algerian delegates Sid Ali Branci, Charg
d'Affaires in The Hague, and Missoum Ramla from the
National Authority in Algiers, to discuss the
status of preparations for the proposed chemical
terrorism conference in Algiers. Weekman provided
Branci, who arrived in The Hague over the summer,
with a brief history of the proposal and the recent
cable with proposed conference details (ref D).
Branci stated that he had no new information or
guidance from Algiers on the proposal.


8. (SBU) Concerning costs, Weekman maintained as
previously agreed that Algiers should cover most of
the administrative costs with the U.S. funding the
travel and per diem for around fifty participants
through ISN/CTR's Chemical Security Engagement
Program. Branci expressed an interest in also
obtaining funding from the European Union. Branci
agreed to follow up with Algiers to confirm
Algerian support for the conference and to request
the Algerian government coordinate with the African
Center for the Study and Research Against Terrorism
(CAERT) to host the conference and propose dates in
the June 2010 timeframe. Once these confirmations
are made and there is a date to work against,
detailed planning can begin.

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VERIFICATION OF CONVERTERED CWPFS
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9. (U) Delreps Weekman and Prather attended a
short-notice discussion on the United Kingdom's
draft proposal on continued verification measures
at converted chemical weapons production facilities
ten years after conversion. The meeting was
chaired by Dutch Ambassador Lohman in his capacity
as Vice-Chairperson for Destruction issues and
attended by the representatives of the UK, Russia,
South Korea, Germany, the TS, and the U.S. The UK
began the discussion by giving an overview of their
"scorecard" approach to converted facilities
inspections taking into account plant production.


10. (U) Russia outlined problems with the proposal
and stated they would not support a separate
inspection mechanism for converted facilities.
Russia further stated that a converted facility
should be treated as a normal industrial facility
Qshould be treated as a normal industrial facility
under Article VI. South Korea also stated they
would not accept the UK proposal and will not
accept a "separate mechanism."


11. (U) Weekman stated that the U.S. was developing

its position and still needed to assess the
proposal. Weekman stated that there was much
history to this issue and that the Council would
need to carefully consider, among other things,
which facilities were of most concern. This
process would require some education of Council
members. Weekman opined that a risk-based approach
made sense, and that issues such as the past
history of the converted facility, its location and
configuration within the existing plant site, and
its capabilities all needed to be carefully
considered in addition to its current production.


12. (U) In response to a question on costs, the TS
stated that increased expenses due to the
additional converted facility inspections would be
low to the OPCW. The meeting concluded with the TS
agreeing to work with Ambassador Lohman on a new
draft proposal and then to sharing it with
interested parties. Consultations are expected to
resume after the holiday period and prior to the
February Executive Council meeting.


13. (U) Action Request: Del requests guidance on
the UK proposal and, more broadly, a position on
the verification and inspection regime for
converted CWPFs ten years after their conversion.


14. (U) BEIK SENDS.
LEVIN