VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTC #1347/01 1971005
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161005Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9821
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 001347 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR ISN/CB, VCI/CCB, L/ACV, IO/S 
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISP 
JOINT STAFF FOR DD PMA-A FOR WTC 
COMMERCE FOR BIS (GOLDMAN) 
NSC FOR LEDDY 
WINPAC FOR WALTER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PARM PREL CWC
SUBJECT: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): WRAP-UP FOR THE 
WEEK ENDING JULY 13 
 
This is CWC-64-07. 
 
------------------------------------ 
INDUSTRY CLUSTER - LATE DECLARATIONS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶1. (U) On July 10, the facilitator (Larry Denyer, U.S.) 
chaired a consultation on late declarations, which was 
well-attended.  The discussion centered around the latest 
facilitator's draft decision text, as well as the Technical 
Secretariat's supporting paper, both of which were 
 
SIPDIS 
distributed during the June consultation. 
 
¶2. (U) Even though they requested the paper from the TS, the 
Iranian delegation was quick to point out its supposed flaws. 
 They also made a series of inaccurate statements that showed 
their lack of clear understanding of the issue. 
 
¶3. (U) Although making very helpful interventions throughout, 
the South African delegate was clear about his inability to 
support any "new obligations" for States Parties, suggesting 
that operative paras (a) and (b) be completely removed.  He 
made it clear that his concern was not that of his NA but in 
the name of small National Authorities like most within 
Africa.  The New Zealand delegate made a similar plea on 
behalf of the Pacific Islands SPs, which are not typically 
represented at these consultations. 
 
¶4. (U) Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and Switzerland all 
spoke in favor of the decision.  Canada did, however, in 
light of others' concerns, suggest that the decision could be 
modified to address the impact that the lack of initial 
declarations has on this issue and to focus on timely 
declarations from those that have known declarable chemical 
industry.  Germany (along with the UK) proposed that 
operative para (b) (allowing a one-time "nil" declaration, 
assuming nothing changes) was not needed and not preferable 
to an every-year requirement.  Japan acknowledged that this 
decision was just a first step in fully solving this problem, 
and that the data gathered would allow the TS to know how 
best to help SPs submit declarations on-time. 
 
¶5. (U) The Russian delegation made a surprisingly helpful 
intervention wherein they reminded delegations of the careful 
verification activities that possessor states must undergo 
(which is "appropriate"), while those not submitting 
declarations are allowed to be in "permanent violation."  He 
also compared the idea of "nil declarations" to the voluntary 
measures they are allowing for EC visits as an added measure 
of transparency.  Rather than garnering negative reactions, 
these comments were actually welcomed by other delegations, 
particularly in light of the widely-agreed obligations for 
initial declarations. 
 
¶6. (U) Switzerland once again related the work their NA does 
on behalf of Liechtenstein in preparing declarations.  They 
pointed out the entirety of the industry review process to 
determine if anything needs to be declared takes about four 
hours, while the actual declaration process takes about one 
minute.  They suggested, therefore, that the discussion not 
focus on burden to NAs but rather on how to prevent 
"non-compliance" by those who declare late. 
 
¶7. (U) In light of the discussion, it was obvious that 
consensus on the current text is unachievable.  Knowing that 
time is running out for making a recommendation to the 
Executive Council and then the Conference of States Parties 
(and that this is an issue that remains unresolved from the 
First RevCon and should be addressed before the Second RevCon 
begins), the facilitator will prepare a revised decision text 
based on those items that appear to be capable of consensus - 
e.g., insisting that outstanding initial declarations be 
submitted, stressing the importance of timely declarations, 
requiring those who submit late to explain why and to request 
assistance (if needed). 
 
¶8.  (U) This will go to delegations in the coming weeks so 
that capitals can appropriately react in time for the 
September consultation.  The facilitator will work closely 
 
with interested (and problematic) delegations before the 
September meetings to see if consensus on these more limited 
objectives can be reached and referred to the EC in 
late-September.  The decision will also lay out those items 
that remain to be resolved and should be considered at the 
Second RevCon. 
 
---------- 
ARTICLE XI 
---------- 
 
¶9. (U) The Article XI consultation on July 12 marked the 
first consultation under the new facilitator, Mr. Li Hong of 
the Chinese delegation.  The agenda for the meeting was: (1) 
Report by the DG on the Status of Implementation of Article 
XI (EC-48/DG.12 dated 5 March 2007); (2) TS presentation on 
implementation status; (3) general comments; and (4) any 
other business. 
 
¶10. (U) The bulk of the meeting centered on ICA activities 
(e.g., associate program, research projects, conference 
support, equipment transfer, lab skills development) and 
funding.  This included a presentation by Bijoy Chatterjee, 
head of the International Cooperation Branch, on ongoing 
activities (to be made available on the external server). 
There were several questions about the balance in ICA funding 
between the general budget and voluntary contributions.  Iran 
asked for a more general presentation from the TS, while 
Japan asked for a briefing from the TS on the history of the 
issue.  There was also some discussion about new States 
Parties and whether they are given priority consideration for 
these various programs. 
 
¶11. (U) In response to questions from Iran, Legal Advisor 
Onate discussed SP efforts in the area of reviewing their 
legislation to ensure it is consistent with the CWC, etc.  He 
reported that 57 SPs (31%) had reviewed their legislation and 
found it consistent, 3 SPs (2%) had reviewed their 
legislation and identified necessary modifications to their 
legislation (which are underway), 17 SPs (9%) are still 
reviewing their legislation, 16 SPs (9%) have not yet 
reviewed their legislation, and 89 SPs (49%) have not yet 
responded to the 2004 TS questionnaire.  He also said that 
the TS has no criteria for the legislative review of SPs, but 
rather on what the SPs report. 
 
¶12. (U) China commented on the political will that would be 
necessary to fully tackle this issue.  Iran concurred and 
hinted at a systematic approach like was done under Article 
VII.  However, it was Brazil (who seldom intervenes at all) 
who, obviously at the instigation of others, first mentioned 
the idea of a plan of action for Article XI.  This was 
quickly supported by Algeria and Cuba.  South Africa was 
careful to call for starting with the CSP decision, which 
Mexico supported.  Mexico (whose delegate was one of the 
co-facilitators for the earlier CSP decision), suggested that 
calls for additional information (like those of Iran) were 
probably not needed, as the earlier CSP decision was careful 
to consider all past work on the matter to come to as 
comprehensive a decision as possible.  Del rep was the only 
WEOG delegate to intervene to say that using the CSP decision 
as our guide was preferable to any other plan that could be 
developed. 
 
¶13. (U) Of other general interest, it was announced during 
the meeting that Chatterjee will be leaving the TS in the 
near future. 
 
----------- 
ARTICLE VII 
----------- 
 
¶14. (U) Kimmo Laukkanen (Finland) chaired a consultation on 
Article VII on July 12.  The agenda was focused on updating 
recent developments, plan of activities, and follow-up to the 
action plan. 
 
¶15. (U) In his update, Legal Advisor Onate first reported 
progress on establishment of National Authorities (NA).  He 
E 
 
stated that the TS has received no responses to date to the 
latest letter from the EC Chair to the remaining SPs without 
NAs.  Of the 10 SPs that have yet to establish their NAs: 
-     Mauritania reported at the Algiers universality 
workshop that they are considering establishing their NA 
within their Ministry of Defense. 
-     The TS has not been able to establish any good contacts 
within Timor L'Este, because of the current political 
instability. 
-     In April, Afghanistan provided the TS with a list of 
possible members of their NA. 
-     The TS has had no contact with Cape Verde since 
September. 
-     Cambodia has published a decree to establish their NA. 
However, they have not reported the contact details to the 
TS.  The result is, even though the TS is confident that the 
 
SIPDIS 
NA has been established, they cannot take them off the list 
until they are in a position to contact their NA. 
-     The TS worked extensively with Honduras to provide them 
with draft decrees for NA establishment.  Honduras now 
reports that a draft decree is under consideration, with the 
hope to establish the NA before the end of August. 
-     Montenegro has established its NA by ministerial 
decree.  However, they have not reported the contact details 
to the TS.  The result is, even though the TS is confident 
that the NA has been established, they cannot take them off 
the list until they are in a position to contact their NA. 
-     Comoros has established an interim and provisional NA, 
however the TS has not been informed whether this NA has yet 
been finalized. 
-     The Central African Republic is only awaiting their 
Ministry of Justice to name its representative to their NA 
before this can be finalized. 
-     Barbados (a new SP) has no NA yet. 
 
¶16. (U) Onate also reported that 119 SPs had submitted 
Article VII reports, up from 117.  On the legislative front, 
50 SPs now have comprehensive legislation, up from 47.  The 
three new SPs with legislation are Argentina, Madagascar, and 
Tunisia. 
 
¶17. (U) Onate also reported recent and upcoming TS 
contacts/visits: 
-     During the June 18-19 universality workshop in Algiers, 
Article VII consultations were held on the margins, yielding 
good results. 
-     During the June 20-22 legislative drafting workshop 
held in The Hague, the following SPs left with complete 
drafts of their legislation: Burundi, Central African 
Republic, Congo, Djibouti, Laos, Montenegro, Rwanda, San 
Marino, Swaziland, and Turkmenistan.  This was the first time 
this format had been used, which allowed all of the LAO 
resources to be at hand. 
-     Advanced NA training was held July 2-6 in Spain, 
focusing on criminal enforcement. 
-     A workshop was underway this week in South Africa. 
-     A meeting of parliamentarians from 9 Latin American SPs 
will be held in Bogota on July 27-29. 
-     In early August, VERIFIN will host a training course, 
which will include drafting assistance. 
-     In mid-August, a workshop will be held with 7 SPs in 
the south Pacific. 
Other delegations reported their outreach/training efforts, 
including the ongoing industry workshop in Manila that was 
organized by Japan and Australia. 
 
¶18. (U) Russia was the first delegation to express support 
for a continuation of the work of the action plan after the 
upcoming CSP.  This was supported by the U.S., Germany, 
Sweden, Mexico, France, Algeria, and the UK.  Given the 
ongoing nature of this effort, Iran questioned whether this 
needs to continue to be a priority, which China supported. 
 
¶19. (U) Ito sends. 
GALLAGHER