AMBASSADOR RICE DISCUSSES DISARMAMENT AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000769 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/12/2019 TAGS: PARM PREL KNNP KACT UNSC SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE DISCUSSES DISARMAMENT AND NON-PROLIFERATION WITH UN U/SYG SERGIO DUARTE Classified By: Ambassador Rice for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. During a substantive introductory meeting on August 12, Ambassador Rice and Sergio Duarte, UN Undersecretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, discussed active U.S. engagement on disarmament, especially the planned summit-level UNSC meeting during September, the UN 1540 Committee, and planning for the 2010 NPT Review Conference. Duarte welcomed President Obama's commitment to nuclear disarmament and the USG's positive signals. Duarte remarked that U.S. help in assisting further funding of a key position to support the work of the 1540 Committee would be well received. He offered advice on steps the U.S. could take to facilitate a successful NPT Review Conference. End Summary. ¶2. (C) In an August 12 introductory meeting, Sergio Duarte, UN Undersecretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, told Ambassador Rice he was very excited about President Obama's initiative to convene a heads-of-state summit during the U.S. Presidency of the Security Council in September. He commented that this positive step was well received by the UN, particularly as it mirrored the Secretary-General's "five-point plan" on nuclear disarmament delivered in New York on October 24, 2008. Ambassador Rice asked Duarte for his ideas about how best the U.S. could prepare for the summit. He responded that the summit will be deemed a success if it produces a product that adheres to international law, and if it follows ongoing bilateral efforts between the U.S. and Russia. He highlighted the meeting in London between President Obama and Medvedev, which explicitly endorsed Article VI of the NPT, which requires signatories to make efforts toward nuclear disarmament. This reference, he said, was unique among the nuclear powers and clearly showed the President's endorsement of disarmament. ¶3. (C) When asked by Ambassador Rice what steps can be taken to strengthen the 1540 Committee, Duarte said that the Office of Disarmament Affairs (ODA) has been involved with its work since its inception in 2004 to increase the capacity of developing countries to counter WMD proliferation. He lamented that budgetary limitations mean that ODA and the Committee have to do more with less, and he honed in on one position in ODA that needed continued funding to support the 1540 Committee's work. He said ODA received a bridge grant in 2007 from the MacArthur Foundation, a portion of which went toward supporting a P5 position in the Secretariat. That grant ends at the end of 2009, according to Duarte, and despite ODA's efforts to include this line item in the UN's regular budget the P5 position will be terminated. ¶4. (C) Regarding the NPT Review Conference in 2010, Duarte said President Obama gives renewed hope for a positive outcome, unlike the 2005 Review Conference that ended without forward movement. He said in 2005, a number of countries used their own particular interests to scuttle broad agreement. As a result, he advises that equal attention be paid to the three pillars of the NPT--nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Duarte said it is easy to enhance the non-proliferation regime, for example, by focusing on the Additional Protocol, but he said disarmament is trickier since little has been done on it. He said the U.K. is moving in the right direction; France says it is curtailing its nuclear stockpile but in reality is not; and China is doing nothing. A right balance must be struck, and a sign that the nuclear-weapons states are committing themselves to disarmament would pay dividends. Ambassador Rice asked about France's reluctance to adhere to the goal of disarmament. Duarte said France will always resist, but "if the U.S. leads, they will follow." To further facilitate a successful Review Conference, Duarte suggested using the time between the NPT Preparatory Committee, which ended its work in mid-May, and the 2010 Review Conference to engage key countries on the NPT, would be time well spent. ¶5. (C) Ambassador Rice inquired about how the USG could handle the Middle East issue on disarmament and non-proliferation as it relates to the Review Conference. Duarte responded that Middle Eastern countries (the Arab states) need to be given something. He said that for 14 years the states in the region have expected follow-on from the decision adopted during the 1995 NPT Review Conference, which called for a nuclear-weapons free zone and for all states in the Middle East to accede to the NPT and adopt its Safeguards Agreement. He suggested a special coordinator be named to implement the 1995 decision as a sign of good will. RICE