VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0569/01 1791736
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 271736Z JUN 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4505
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN IMMEDIATE 0945
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA IMMEDIATE 1053
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO IMMEDIATE 8495

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000569 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL AORC KPAO PTER UNSC
SUBJECT: UNSCR 1540:  COMMITTEE NEARS AGREEMENT ON REPORT 
 
REF: A. STATE 30483 
     ¶B. STATE 66384 
     ¶C. STATE 63111 
     ¶D. STATE 49749 
     ¶E. STATE 28412 
     ¶F. STATE 80042 (07) 
     ¶G. STATE 13539 
     ¶H. JAPANESE NONPAPER - DRAFT AGENDA 
     ¶I. GERMAN PAPER ON 2007 1540 DEMARCHE RESULTS 
 
¶1.  BEGIN SUMMARY:  The Security Council Committee 
established pursuant to resolution 1540 ("1540 Committee") 
agreed ad referendum on June 25 on revisions to the 
Committee's draft report to the Security Council on States' 
compliance with resolution 1540 (2004).  Per ref (C), USUN 
also proposed that the Committee should write the Japanese 
Presidency of the G-8 Non-Proliferation Directors' Group 
(NPDG) before the end of July with recommendations on how the 
G-8 can better support the work of the 1540 Committee.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  At an informal meeting on June 25, the 1540 Committee 
agreed provisionally on final revisions to its draft report 
to the Security Council.  P-5 Committee members had 
negotiated those revisions previously, and Committee members 
generally welcomed them. The Committee also agreed to minor 
clarifications to two sentences and a new paragraph proposed 
by South Africa concerning the issue of illicit trafficking 
by non-State actors in nuclear, chemical and biological 
weapons, their means of delivery and related materials.  To 
address South African concerns about the penultimate 
paragraph, the Committee also agreed to the following new 
language:  "The information obtained by the Committee, during 
the reporting period, clearly demonstrates that States have 
initiated measures to meet more fully their obligations under 
resolution 1540 (2004).  The full implementation of the 
resolution, however, is a long-term endeavour requiring 
ongoing outreach and assistance programmes tailored to the 
needs of each State.  To that end, in resolution 1810 (2008), 
the Security Council decided to extend the 1540 Committee's 
mandate for a further period of three years." 
 
¶3.  Resolution 1673 (2006) required the Committee to submit a 
report on states' compliance with resolution 1540 by April 
28, and resolution 1810 (2008) extended that deadline until 
July 31.  The 1540 Committee's Group of Experts will 
incorporate the revisions into the text, which will be 
circulated to delegations within one week.  The 1540 
Committee will then meet to approve the report for submission 
to the Security Council. 
 
¶4.  Following consultations with the G-8 members of the 1540 
Committee, at which USUN delivered points per ref B, USUN 
proposed that the Committee send recommendations to the G-8 
NPDG by the end of the July concerning how the G-8 can better 
support the Committee.  In USUN's earlier discussions with 
G-8 members on the Committee, several had expressed support 
in principle for the idea, while noting they needed 
instructions, but recommended that USUN circulate a draft 
letter for Committee members to review.  In those 
discussions, the French Committee member had suggested that 
the G-8 could assist the Committee by sending subject-matter 
experts to accompany the 1540 Committee's Group of Experts on 
targeted visits to assist countries with their 1540 
implementation.  He also argued that the G-8 could provide 
useful assistance by focusing its efforts on countries facing 
the greatest proliferation risk. 
 
¶5.  During the Committee's brief discussion of USUN's 
proposal, USUN offered to circulate a draft letter for 
delegations' consideration as soon as possible.  The Russian 
delegation expressed support in principle for sending a 
letter to the G-8 NPDG but added that the timing might not be 
appropriate, since the G-8 summit will be occurring in July. 
On the margins of the meeting, USUN responded that any letter 
from the Committee would be consistent with any G-8 summit 
outcome and stressed that the G-8 NPDG has already sought 
input from the 1540 Committee so it can decide on a way ahead 
at a future NPDG meeting. 
 
¶6.  Also on the margins of the meeting, Nikita Smidovich of 
the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs sought U.S. views on 
planning for a 1540-related outreach workshop in September in 
Bangkok, which is tentatively scheduled to take place at the 
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA).  Smidovich 
informed USUN that the Thai government has expressed 
reluctance to negotiate a host country agreement with the 
United Nations, which would be necessary if the UN holds the 
outreach workshop at the ILEA rather than a UN facility. 
Smidovich asked if the United States would agree to having 
the workshop at another venue.  The UN would still give the 
United States credit for assisting with the workshop and 
would seek U.S. assistance with the substantive portions of 
the workshop, as well as with a field visit to a port 
security facility. 
Khalilzad