FSC/SMALL ARMS REVIEW MEETING: FEW SURPRISES, BUT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 USOSCE 000212

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR VCI/CCA, EUR/RPM
NSC FOR NILSSON, HAYDEN
JCS FOR J5 NORWOOD, COL SMITH
OSD FOR ISA (KEHL, WALLENDER)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCFE OSCE PARM PREL KOMC
SUBJECT: FSC/SMALL ARMS REVIEW MEETING: FEW SURPRISES, BUT
COMMENTS PORTEND CHALLENGES IN 2010 IN UN AT BMS4 (SBU)


1. (SBU) Summary: The OSCE Meeting to Review the OSCE
Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons broke no new ground
and vacillated between those delegations looking to add more
instrumentalities and mechanisms to the OSCE's work on SA/LW
and those, such as the U.S., which advocated more effective
implementation of the protocols and other commitments that
were already in place. Beyond some familiar themes raised
(e.g., destruction versus transfer of surplus),and the
limited number of technical suggestions to amend the OSCE
Document, two interventions stood out.


2. (SBU) First, the Chair-designate of the 2010 UN's Biennial
Meeting of States on the Programme of Action on Small Arms
and Light Weapons (SA/LW),Ambassador Pablo Macedo (Mexico),
was "four-for-four" crossing USG redlines as he advocated: 1)
turning the OSCE documents and decisions on SA/LW into a
legally-binding instrument; 2) adding a munitions controls
component to the SA/LW mechanism; 3) applying SA/LW criteria
from government to private transactions; and, 4) engaging on
the issue of civilian ownership of arms. Second, Russia
(Uliyanov) blamed government-to-government transfers for the
"unstable accumulation" of SA/LW in Georgia as precipitating
regional instability. He called for new SA/LW language that
would unambiguously constrain the transfer of military
equipment to Georgia. Most of the other exchanges were
reviews of different national and regional instruments and
practices to control the transfer of SA/LW. End Summary.

Opening Session: BMS4 Chair-Designate's Comments Portend
Challenges in 2010
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3. (SBU) Two days of discussion September 22-23at the OSCE
Meeting to Review the OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light
Weapons (SA/LW) yielded few surprises. During the Opening
Session the FSC Chair (UK - Cliff) set the development of a
roadmap for further work on the OSCE's efforts to improve its
arms control efforts on SA/LW. Greece (Marinaki,
representing the Chair-in Office) tied SA/LW into addressing
related security risks and emerging threats, including
asymmetric threats by non-state actors (e.g. trafficking in
persons). Greece noted the importance of not duplicating,
but coordinating and cooperating with other International
Organizations. OSCE SecGen Perrin de Brichambaut called for
an effective regulatory mechanism within the OSCE
"complementing and strengthening" the UN Programme of Action.



4. (SBU) In his keynote remarks, the Chair-Designate of the
2010 Biennial Meeting of States on the UN Programme of Action
on SA/LW, Ambassador Macedo (Mexico) spoke about the lack of
progress on effectively curtailing the movement of SA/LW,
increasing violence in Mexico and the importance of
developing common criteria on the export controls and
stockpile management. He also acknowledged going beyond his
role in making specific recommendations to the OSCE
including: 1) turning the OSCE documents and decisions on
Small Arms and Light Weapons (SA/LW) into a legally-binding
instrument; 2) adding a munitions controls component to the
SA/LW mechanism; 3) applying SA/LW criteria from government
to private transactions; and 4) engaging on the issue of
civilian ownership of arms.

Working Session I: Russia Derides Weapons Transfers to
Georgia
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5. (SBU) Spencer Childers of the UK Export Control
Organization moderated the session on international
cooperation, assistance, and capacity building. He
challenged delegates to improve assistance during the
economic downturn. Conflict Prevention Center Director
Salber suggested amending the information exchange template
to incorporate plans for prioritizing destruction assistance
among other improvements aimed at better implementation.

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Russia (Uliyanov) took umbrage that the SA/LW document
fine-tuning was the issue. He questioned some states'
political commitment to established norms against
destabilizing transfers of SA/LW. Russia cited grievances
against those who contributed to Georgia's "massive offensive
and acts of repression against civilians." Russia blamed
ambiguities within the OSCE's SA/LW document for creating
circumstances that emboldened Georgia to resolve its problems
militarily.


6. (SBU) The U.S. (Neighbour) refuted the Russian account,
noting that its transfers were initially aimed at assisting
Georgia to stop armed insurgents raiding Russia from the
Pankisi Gorge, then were to help Georgia participate in
coalition operations in Iraq. The central point of the U.S.
intervention, however, was to emphasize the importance of
implementation of current SA/SW agreements and obligations,
and the concomitant need for capacity building in addressing
effectively SA/LW issues. Georgia rejected the Russian
accusation, citing the transparency and legality behind
Georgia's defensive arms imports. Other delegations remained
silent on the issue.

Working Session II: Brokering: Two Sides of the Coin
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7. (SBU) The afternoon session focusing on import/export
controls and brokering was moderated by Col. Walter Schweizer
(Germany). Chilvers, briefing on the work of the Group of
Governmental Experts (GGE),noted that by 2008 only 50 states
incorporated laws on arms brokering. In response to a U.S.
question, he elaborated on the challenges of
"extra-territorial controls" over nationals who seek to
circumvent a state's arms export regulatory mechanisms in the
absence of an unambiguous UN embargo. Chilvers also
recommended the OSCE assist those who do not have effective
brokering legislation and that the OSCE amend its document to
conform to recommendations contained in the GGE reports.


8. (SBU) Several delegations described their national
procedures for End-Use Assurances; Russia offered up
assistance for those interested in benefiting from its
experience on effective End-Use Controls. Russia also
complained about the lack of "re-export" controls, advocating
an international treaty of the trade in arms addressing not
only third party transfers but also "industrial piracy" of
technology and unlicensed production as the "only way to come
to terms with the problems of the world trade in armaments."


9. (SBU) The U.S. (Costner) cautioned that a 100 percent
verification scheme was not realistic compared to focusing on
priorities (e.g., Golden Sentry and Blue Lantern). The U.S.
also cautioned that efforts to press for standardization
could have the unintended effect of creating a lowest common
denominator that would actually reduce the effectiveness of
more rigorous SA/LW regimes elsewhere. Chilver's warned that
delegations must keep in mind "one size does not fit all."

Session III: Stockpile Management and Security
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10. (SBU) Larry Schultz from the U.S. Defense Threat
Reduction Agency (USA--DTRA) moderated Working Session III,
which featured presentations from UN Coordinating Actions on
Small Arms (CASA); Germany's Arms Control and Disarmament
Agency, and the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr.
Patrick McCarthy described CASA's work to develop political
norms for ensuring effective stockpile management and
security of SA/LW. Taking center stage was the UN's
initiative to elaborate a set of International Small Arms
Control Standards (ISACS),which includes a module on
stockpile management. McCarthy called on the OSCE to "push
the envelope even more than it already has in establishing
voluntary commitments on stockpile management and security."


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11. (SBU) Lieutenant Colonel Andreas Nehring (Germany)
examined the question of disposal of SA/LW through
destruction versus export. He described the threat posed by
increasing surpluses of SA/LW and fixed responsibility on
governments for countering the threat. Nehring argued that
the delta between the introduction of new weapons and the
disposal of surplus can only be eliminated through increased
destruction. He concluded that States must be encouraged to
destroy surplus stockpiles of SA/LW through financial and
technical support, "new for old" exchanges, mutual assistance
and awareness training. Mr. Stelios Zachariou ended the
session by comparing stockpile management guidelines between
the OSCE, UN and EU. He concluded that a general consensus
on stockpile management guidelines common to these
organizations should make achieving globally accepted
practices for stockpile management much easier to attain.

Session IV: Participating States Share Experience on Post
Manufacture Marking and Tracing
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12. (SBU) Session IV featured presentations on the UN's
International Tracing Instrument (ITI) and a comparative
analysis of post manufacturing marking and tracing. Agnes
Marcaillou, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, described the
UN's ITI and its implications for the OSCE commitments on
SA/LW. Marcaillou noted that none of the OSCE's documents or
supplementary decisions on SA/LW refer to the adoption of the
ITI by the UNGA. She argued that it is of great importance
that participating States (pS) are familiar with the
provisions for the ITI and effectively implement marking,
record keeping, and tracing measures. She proposed that pS
consider developing region-specific, measurable, and
time-bound implementation goals for the OSCE region and
aligning regional implementation with the global cycle of
SA/LW meetings (i.e. BMS). In response to a question from
Greece, Marcaillou said that the UN is moving from
theoretical discussion to the practical training and needs
equipment from donor countries. She cited as an example a
recent meeting in the Czech Republic where participants
described a "sudden awakening" as the delegates worked
practical tracing scenarios on the computers provided by
INTERPOL.


13. (SBU) Giacomo Persi Paoli, UN Institute for Disarmament
Research outlined the results of a comparative analysis of
post manufacture marking instruments and practices for SA/LW.
He provided a detailed review of international and regional
regulatory frameworks, national legislation, practices, and
procedures. Following his presentation, the U.S. (Kullman),
Russia and Italy summarized national practices and advances
in post manufacturer marking and tracing. Kullman sketched
out the state of U.S. efforts in post manufacturing marking
and tracing, encouraging pS to consider how far states have
progressed in this field since 2000. Russia described new
methods under development that utilize micro release seals to
imprint coded information on weapons and shells. In
addition, Russia noted that it plans to introduce hidden
markings on police and military firearms. Finally Italy
provided a detailed explanation of the advantages and
disadvantages of various marking techniques.

Closing Session: Time to Summarize...but First, Let's
Incorporate Ammunition with SA/LW
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14. (SBU) Turkey took advantage of the invitation by the
Chair for any last suggestions to succinctly call for the FSC
to combine OSCE documents on SA/LW and Ammunition. Russia
intervened once more to express its disappointment that the
two-day session focused solely on technical issues, ignoring
broader principled problems such as illegal transfers of
weapons to Georgia.


15. (SBU) In summation, the Chair (UK--Cliff) noted that

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SA/LW remains high on the OSCE agenda and that members are
eager to continue their work on this issue. He recalled the
major elements of discussion, highlighting the following main
themes:

-- The need for full implementation;
-- The need to update assistance mechanisms;
-- The need for increased international cooperation;
-- Consideration of gender issues in the Document;
-- The need for a common understanding of language and
terminology;
-- The need for effective verification measures;
-- The need for measures to prevent technology transfer and
diversion;
-- Consider making some of the elements of existing Best
Practice Guides politically binding;
-- The need to share lessons learned; and
-- Consider assistance for financial, legal and technical
issues connected with post-manufacture and import markings.


16. (SBU) Finally, Cliff urged pS to take the initiative
based on the forthcoming detailed survey of suggestions to:

-- Develop suggestions into specific Draft Decisions for
the FSC; and
-- Prepare the OSCE's contribution to BMS 4.


17. (SBU) Comment. Despite the lack of substantially new
information, or changes in national positions, Washington's
participation, particularly in moderating Session III, seemed
greatly appreciated by pS and USOSCE. Strong interventions
by Costner (PM-WRA) and Kullman (ATF) helped to reinforce
with OSCE permanent delegations U.S. positions with regard to
brokering, marking and tracing, and will greatly assist
Mission in protecting U.S. equities during subsequent
discussions.


18. (SBU) Note: The Annotated agenda for the meeting was
issued on 18 September 2009 as FSC.GAL/87/09/Rev.1. The list
of participants was issued as SEC.INF/36/09/Rev.2 dated 23
September 2009. Requests for these documents or specific
presentations should be forwarded by email to VCI-CCA-CON-DL.
End Note.
CHRISTENSEN