VZCZCXRO4705
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHNT #0208/01 0550827
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240827Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0507
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0001
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 0049
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0001
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 0061
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0021
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0052
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0001
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0121
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 000208 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
SENSITIVE 
DEPT FOR ISN/CPI TOM WUCHTE 
EXBS FOR JEFF HARTSHORN 
AND 
INL/AAE FOR ANDREW BUHLER 
USOSCE FOR ELIZABETH KAUFMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KNNP AORC OSCE UNSC UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEK WORKSHOP FOR IMPLEMENTING UNSCR 1540 -- A REGIONAL 
PERSPECTIVE 
 
TASHKENT 00000208  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  On February 10-11 a workshop on 
implementation of the United Nations Security Council 
Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 was jointly sponsored in Tashkent 
by the Export and Related Border Security (EXBS) program 
and the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  This cable 
addresses broader regional 1540 implementation based on 
the ongoing work of the 1540 Committee, our USG approach 
to multilateral implementation of UNSCR 1540 through 
effective use of regional and intergovernmental 
organizations, as well as bilateral discussions at the 
workshop with EU, UNODC, OSCE, and 1540 Committee Experts 
attending the Uzbekistan Workshop.  A more detailed 
workshop report will be provided SEPTEL.  End summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2. (U) On February 10-11 a UNSCR 1540 workshop was held 
in Tashkent with joint sponsorship from EXBS and the 
Uzbek Government.  We previously supported two 1540 
events in this region (they were organized by the 
Monterey Center for Nonproliferation Studies but using 
funding from the Norwegian government).  Those events 
stressed awareness raising and we were not able to elicit 
follow through on next steps beyond each state announcing 
that it conducted a workshop, which at the time was a 
realistic outcome.  This was our first event for 
bilateral training after UNSCR 1810 (through our EXBS 
program) which is funding Monterey  and there were 
several discussions that validated the significance of 
our other funding with respect to UN outreach, regional 
organizations, and through funding in cooperation with 
Sandia National Laboratories. 
 
Implementation a Long-Term Process 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) As a general view after three workshops in a 
region with numerous important borders, we have created 
good conditions to complement our approach to regional 
cooperation and making better use of the synergies 
existent in Vienna through the OSCE, IAEA, and UNODC. 
Uzbek officials were receptive to all three organizations 
both in the open forum and in private discussions. 
Moreover, they demonstrated a good working understanding 
in the more programmatic areas (Commerce, Health, 
Agriculture, Energy).  On the other hand, the MFA 
officials largely deferred to the Uzbek delegation in New 
York when discussing obligations and saw their role as 
monitoring the adherence to reporting requirements.  As 
with other Central Asian countries, the Uzbeks are 
interested in assistance but different ministries want to 
see a broader focus than just meeting UN reporting 
requirements. 
 
¶4. (U) There was no disagreement that implementation of 
Resolution 1540 (2004) is a long-term and continual 
process; there was a continuing need to exchange 
experiences on the priority assigned to the issue of 
weapons of mass destruction; that concrete challenges 
exist with respect to the implementation of the 
resolution; and that this issue was accepted as 
legitimate work on furthering non-proliferation as long 
as it supported overall developmental needs. 
 
A Central Role for OSCE 
----------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The OSCE Project Coordination Office in Tashkent 
appeared receptive to supporting a regional 
nonproliferation event in Central Asia dedicated to UNSCR 
 
TASHKENT 00000208  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶1540.  On February 10, 1540 Coordinator Tom Wuchte and 
poloff met with OSCE Ambassador in Tashkent Istvan 
Venczel and his staff to discuss prospects for this type 
of activity.  Wuchte, citing remarks from the 1540 
Committee Chairman at the OSCE in December, noted that 
OSCE field missions could play a useful role in raising 
awareness of nonproliferation issues by including 1540 as 
a mechanism to promote regional follow up.  Venczel 
proposed preparing a project for next year, but warned 
that it is unclear whether the Government of Uzbekistan 
will accept this given its limited mandate.  However, the 
themes being discussed in Vienna on using both the Forum 
for Security Cooperation and Permanent Council received 
no objection from Venczel or his staff -- albeit they 
largely deferred to the OSCE Action Against Terrorism 
Unit (ATU) to define policy. 
 
¶6. (SBU) We noted that the OSCE approach included efforts 
to integrate this issue with the United Nations Office of 
Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and OSCE field mission officials 
advised coordinating with UNODC and Uzbekistans Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs on any such regional plans and 
submitting a proposal by September given Uzbekistans 
upcoming parliamentary elections in December.  OSCE 
Senior Project Coordinator Caroline Milow said that OSCE 
would welcome funding from participating states, 
including the United States and Germany, that could 
complement this type of approach -- she was particularly 
interested in the work of the Financial Action Task Force 
(FATF). 
 
¶7. (U) In a separate meeting on February 10, a UNODC 
representative also told us that UNODC is likely to host 
a regional event in December in Turkmenistan that focuses 
on both counterterrorism and nonproliferation, with UNSCR 
1540 one of the central parts.  A separate OSCE project 
could bring together Central Asian States (for example) 
in Tashkent for a more detailed nonproliferation-focused 
topic -- such as a legislative drafting exercise. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment:  As an outcome from the Monterey (EXBS- 
funded) workshop, it was clear that the OSCE Project 
Coordinators Office could play an important role in 
encouraging Uzbekistan to take additional measures in 
implementing UNSCR 1540 in the country (as could other 
regional OSCE field offices).  These would complement 
other United Nations activities in this field.  For 
example, Uzbekistans legislation relevant to 1540 can be 
strengthened through additional engagement including 
workshops and roundtables.  According to the 1540 
Committee report, Uzbekistan is party to none of the 
international export control regimes and probably lacks 
lists of dual-use items whose exports need to be 
licensed, while Article 255 of the Criminal Code makes no 
reference to nuclear weapons.  Moreover, Uzbekistan could 
be encouraged by the OSCE (based on its commitments 
agreed with Ministers) to use the 1540 Committees 
technical assistance template in order to refine an 
implementation plan.  End comment. 
 
Recommendations from the Margins 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The following recommendations were proposed at 
the end of the seminar on the margins which could be 
implemented in coordination with the 1540 Committee, 
OSCE, UNODC, and post: 
 
-- Uzbekistan should now be familiar with the technical 
assistance template from the Committee and submit more 
detailed information since it had requested training 
among other follow on areas. 
 
TASHKENT 00000208  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
-- Many states, for example, have already provided the 
1540 Committee with a thorough overview of its existing 
assistance programs.  In working with states that are 
seeking assistance, Uzbekistan could use the 1540 
Committee's technical assistance template to help its 
state refine its implementation plan. 
 
-- Uzbekistan can set an example by submitting, as 
appropriate, a national implementation plan  and follow 
up as an OSCE participating State on its agreement by 
supporting the OSCE 2006 Ministerial decision on UNSCR 
¶1540. 
 
-- Just as we have identified good points of contact on 
Small Arms/Light Weapons (SA/LW) issues, we should 
encourage states in the OSCE region to do the same with 
UNSCR 1540 and to share points of contact with the 1540 
Committee, as UNSCR 1810 requests.  (Note:  When 
discussed at the workshop, Uzbekistan did not see the 
value of an official coordinating the interagency effort 
and simply said its point of contact is in New York 
within its Permanent Mission.  This is a validation that 
the USOSCE suggestion in December for the OSCE to 
maintain a list of contacts would be an effective 
contribution, and one that would be simple to help 
reinforce the work of the Committee and the need for 
interagency cooperation on UNSCR 1540.  End Note.) 
 
-- Work is underway on preparations for UNSCR 1540 
workshops and other events in several regions later in 
¶2009.  We should continue to view the OSCE as the leading 
regional organization through ongoing cooperation and 
seek Uzbekistan's continued cooperation as a member of 
the OSCE. 
 
Support for the 1540 Committee Crucial 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) On the margins, Isabella Interlandi, the 
Committee Expert in attendance, inquired about whether 
the Program of Work could effectively empower her and the 
other seven experts to effectively implement the broad 
tasks outlined in UNSCR 1810 that extended the Committee 
for an additional three years.  She expressed her 
disappointment that such items as working groups were 
meeting resistance, as the Committee structure and lack 
of capital involvement impeded their ability to 
effectively handle such areas as assistance offers and 
requests.  (Note:  Lack of capital involvement refers to 
nonproliferation experts in capitals since the UN 
Committee, like many similar multilateral organizations, 
is not staffed with functional experts but rather with 
general diplomatic representatives who cover a wide 
variety of issues.  End note.)  When informed that we had 
not abandoned these ideas as originally proposed by many 
of the experts and UN Office of Disarmament Affairs 
(ODA), she said the continued support was seen as crucial 
to making the comprehensive review meeting for UN Member 
States and IGOs planned for the end of 2009 successful. 
 
¶11. (U) This message was drafted by the visiting USG 1540 
Coordinator. 
NORLAND 
 
To view the entire SMART message, go to URL http://repository.state.sgov.gov/_layouts/OSS SearchResults.aspx?k=messageid:f09ebcc2-7363- 4ae0-a744-a74fac66bd30