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O P 191936Z MAR 09
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TO RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO IMMEDIATE 0000
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA IMMEDIATE 0000
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INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0000
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0000
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RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 0000

UNCLAS STATE 026631 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC KPAO EUE PREL PTER UNSC EUN SAARC
SUBJECT: INVITATION TO SOUTH ASIA REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON 
UNSCR 1540 IMPLEMENTATION 
 
REF: A. 08 STATE 110381 (08) -- UNSCR 1540 -- IN-KIND 
        CONTRIBUTION FOR 1540 
     ¶B. 08 BRUSSELS 1638 -- EU WELCOMES US 1540 IN-KIND 
        CONTRIBUTION 
     ¶C. STATE 13976 -- SOUTH ASIA WORKSHOP ON UNSCR 1540 
 
¶1.  This is an action request for all Posts with host 
governments who are current members of the South Asian 
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as well as 
UNVIE, The Hague (OPCW), Geneva (BWC), EU, and USNATO -- see 
relevant paras 2 and 3, additional for USEU (see para 4), 
additional USUN New York (see para 5).  Info for SAARC 
observer posts. 
 
¶2. Action request for Posts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, 
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka as 
well as EU, UNVIE, The Hague, USNATO, and Geneva: 
 
-- Please notify appropriate officials in your host 
government with policy responsibility for UNSCR 1540 (in the 
case of the IAEA, OPCW, BWC, EU, and NATO, please notify the 
appropriate representatives working on UNSCR 1540) of our 
commitment to host a South Asia Regional Workshop on UNSCR 
1540 implementation to take place June 23-25, 2009 in 
Colombo, Sri Lanka (leave text in para 6 for background). As 
in the case of other recent USG-funded UNSCR 1540 outreach 
events, including the workshops for OAS and MERCOSUR 
countries, this workshop will engage countries on a regional, 
geographic basis and will include SAARC members as a means to 
ensuring broad, regional South Asian participation.  Post 
should note that SAARC is being used in this sense as a 
geographical designation and that the workshop itself is not 
an official SAARC-sponsored event.  A set of additional 
documents for the meeting is to follow shortly through a 
dedicated web portal. 
 
-- Post should inform appropriate officials that handle host 
country participation in the SAARC, United Nations, as well 
as WMD nonproliferation and/or disarmament. We are interested 
in hosting participants from capitals with broad policy 
responsibility in the area of WMD nonproliferation and who 
contributed to the host government's report to the UNSCR 1540 
Committee. 
 
¶3. These invitation documents will be placed for downloading 
from a secure website by the workshop coordinator, who will 
announce their availability through Posts. The document set 
will include the following documents: invitation to 1540 
workshop, tentative program of activities, and administrative 
arrangements. Further general information and background on 
UNSCR 1540 can be downloaded from: http://www.un.org/sc/1540. 
 
¶4.  Washington requests that USEU relay the following 
objectives, which are considered essential to our further 
funding of 1540 nonproliferation implementation programs in 
cooperation with the United Nations 1540 Committee.  This may 
be left as a nonpaper for EU Commission and Council of 
Europe.  Begin text: 
 
The objective of the workshop is to promote capacity-building 
on national and regional levels to advance full 
implementation of resolution 1540 (2004). The workshop is 
hosted by the Government of Sri Lanka with support and 
funding from the United States and in cooperation with the 
Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004) and 
the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs. 
 
We are interested in your views and cooperation going 
forward.  Our intent is to coordinate early and up front with 
both potential participants and appropriate regional, 
intergovernmental, and nongovernmental organizations. 
 
The workshop should result in assisting participants to 
create potential components of their summary action plans and 
in mapping out their priorities and plans for implementing 
the key provisions of resolution 1540 (2004), particularly in 
the area of export controls. Through the effective use of the 
1540 Technical Assistance Template, specific regional and 
international sources of technical support will be identified. 
 
The workshop will encourage experience-sharing in related 
areas among the participating States and also the 
identification of specific capacity-building measures which 
are responsive to regional and specific national 
requirements. Pertinent information on lessons learned based 
on the activities of the 1540 Committee will also be shared. 
 
End text. 
¶5. Action request for USUN New York: please distribute at the 
next 1540 Committee meeting (or no later than March 30) the 
text below: 
As previously announced in October 2008, the United Sates is 
proceeding to provide an in-kind contribution to complement 
regional UNSCR 1540  Workshops.  The U.S. 1540 Coordinator, 
along with Sandia National Labs, is coordinating with the UN 
1540 Committee Panel of Experts and the United Nations Office 
of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), along with the National 
Security Council and all other U.S. agencies involved with 
UNSCR 1540 implementation to determine the most effective 
workshop topics and locales. U.S. contributions in kind will 
have the following characteristics: (1) clearly defined goals 
keyed to the needs of each specific country with whom work is 
contemplated; (2) non-duplicative activities; and (3) 
measurable and recorded outcomes. 
In coordination with the UN 1540 Committee the U.S. 
government will: 
-- Plan and organize a UNSCR 1540 implementation regional 
workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka June 23-25, 2009 for SAARC 
member countries. 
-- Make all logistical arrangements for the workshop (e.g. 
venue, audiovisual support, interpreter support/equipment, 
fund selected participant travel from SAARC member countries, 
lodging, and per diem). 
 
-- We welcome any and all suggestions from other Committee 
members to make this an effective outcome that is 
complementary in nature. 
 
End text. 
 
¶6.  Text for background to all posts. 
 
Begin text: 
 
We are pleased to announce this save-the-date with Sri Lanka 
to host the South Asia Regional Workshop on implementation of 
Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) to be held June 
23-25, 2009 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 
 
The objective of the workshop is to promote capacity-building 
on national and regional levels to advance full 
implementation of resolution 1540 (2004). The planned 
workshop is to be hosted by the Government of Sri Lanka with 
support and funding from the United States and in cooperation 
with the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 
(2004) and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs.  We will 
welcome other donor contributions and ideas, and will fund 
all expenses for SAARC member country participants. 
 
The workshop will highlight the importance of full 
implementation of UNSCR 1540, which the United Nations 
Security Council unanimously adopted on April 28, 2004 under 
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.  The Resolution 
imposes binding obligations on all States to take a series of 
measures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass 
destruction, their means of delivery, and related materials. 
 
The primary focus of the workshop will be on furthering the 
cooperative implementation of UNSCR 1540 by identifying ways 
that SAARC and Partner Member States can share lessons 
learned and develop such items as their own national 
implementation plans, as suggested in UNSCR 1810 that 
extended the work of the Committee until April, 2011 and the 
&Report of the Committee pursuant to Resolution 1540 
(2004)8 dated July 2008. 
 
End text. 
 
¶7.  Reporting deadline:  Post support is greatly appreciated. 
Washington requests a response NLT March 31. 
 
POINT OF CONTACT 
¶8. The primary POC for this action and for questions, SAARC 
follow-up and WMD proliferation questions is U.S. 1540 
coordinator, Tom Wuchte (202-736-4275, wuchteta@state.gov). 
CLINTON