INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Pre-Invitation to Africa Regional Workshop On

Published: Wed 16 Sep 2009 08:03 PM
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 096413
SIPDIS
JOINT STAFF FOR USAFRICOM
GENEVA FOR BWC
THE HAGUE FOR OPCW
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC KPAO PREL PTER UNSC XA KE
SUBJECT: PRE-INVITATION TO AFRICA REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON
BIOSAFETY AND BIOSECURITY
1. This is an action request. All addressees please see
para 3; and USUN please see para 5.
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BACKGROUND
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2. UNSCR 1540 obligates all UN Member States to develop and
maintain "appropriate, effective" measures to improve their
indigenous capacities to counter proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) and terrorist threats. The resolution
also established a Committee responsible for implementation
(the Committee). In 2008, the Security Council unanimously
agreed to UNSCR 1810, renewing the Committee for an
additional three years. UNSCR 1810 also outlines funding
mechanisms, including voluntary contributions such as those
used in support of this workshop. African countries to be
invited include: Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso,
Congo-Brazzaville, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Morocco,
Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda.
-------------------------------
Workshop Pre-Invitation To Pass
-------------------------------
3. Action Request for all posts: Please notify appropriate
African and intergovernmental officials (such as IAEA) with
policy responsibility for implementing USNCR 1540 of our
commitment to sponsor the workshop. Post should inform
appropriate officials that handle participation in the UN,
WMD proliferation, disarmament, and human and veterinary
laboratory safety and security. As we go forward, we are
interested in African states' views and cooperation. (NOTE
for Pretoria only: We are particularly interested in South
African participation and views as they were a former
Security Council Member and have advocated often that UNSCR
1540 had no tangible benefit for African States. We view
South African support as crucial to gaining broader regional
cooperation. End note.) Our intent is to coordinate early
and up front with potential participants and appropriate
organizations. The points below are general background on
the workshop pre-invitation and are to be left as a non-paper.
4. Begin non-paper:
-- The African Biosafety and Biosecurity Workshop on the
implementation of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540
will be held February 2-4, 2010 in Nairobi, hosted by the
Government of Kenya with support from the United States (with
funding from the Export Control and Related Border Security
program) and in cooperation with the Committee established
pursuant to UNSCR 1540 (the Committee) and the UN Office of
Disarmament Affairs. The USG will welcome other
contributions and ideas, and will fund expenses for African
participants. Each participating state will be invited to
send three participants total, drawn from the appropriate
STATE 00096413 002 OF 003
agencies.
-- The workshop will assist participants to create potential
components of their national implementation plans and in
mapping out their priorities for implementing UNSCR 1540,
particularly in the area of biosecurity. Through the
effective use of the 1540 Technical Assistance Template,
specific regional and international sources of technical
support will participate and be identified in the workshop
agenda. The workshop will highlight the value of full
implementation of UNSCR 1540, which the UNSC unanimously
adopted on April 28, 2004 under Chapter VII of the UN
Charter.
-- Although the resolution contains broad obligations on all
States to take a series of measures to prevent the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their
means of delivery, and related materials to non-state actors,
the primary purpose of the workshop is to promote
capacity-building to advance full implementation of UNSCR
1540. We hope to improve cooperative implementation of UNSCR
1540 by identifying ways that African states can share
experience and develop such items as their own national
implementation plans, as suggested in UNSCR 1810 (which
extended the work of the Committee until April 2011) and by
the Committee Report of July 8, 2008. Presenters will also
share pertinent information on lessons learned based on the
activities of the Committee.
-- As with other recent USG-funded UNSCR 1540 outreach
events, including the workshops for South Asian and Caribbean
countries, this workshop will engage countries on a regional
basis and will include African Union members with particular
interest in biosafety and security as a means to ensure
continent-wide participation. A set of additional documents
for the meeting will follow shortly. The workshop organizers
will place the invitation documents on a dedicated website
for downloading and announce their availability through
Posts. The set will include the invitation to the workshop,
tentative program, and administrative information. Further
general information on UNSCR 1540 is available at
http://www.un.org/sc/1540.
End non-paper.
5. Action request for USUN: Please pass the following
information at the next Committee meeting as well as via Note
Verbale. The information in Para 4 above may be shared by
Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) with African
delegations in New York, if asked.
Begin text
As previously announced, the United States will provide its
next in-kind contribution to complement regional UNSCR 1540
workshops at an upcoming workshop in 2010. The U.S. 1540
Coordinator, along with U.S.'s Sandia National Laboratories
(SNL), is coordinating with the UNSCR 1540 Committee Panel of
Experts and the UNODA, along with other U.S. agencies
involved with UNSCR 1540 implementation, effective workshop
topics and locales that complement overall activities. In
coordination with the Committee, the U.S. government will
STATE 00096413 003 OF 003
cooperate with partners to plan and organize a
biosciences-focused UNSCR 1540 implementation regional
workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, February 2-4, 2010 for African
states.
This announcement is to provide early notification for
planning and selected participation by UNODA and the
Committee, as well as the Panel of Experts. We will make all
logistical arrangements for the workshop (e.g., venue,
audiovisual support, language services) and fund selected
participant travel from African countries, including lodging
and per diem.
A set of additional documents for the meeting will follow
shortly. The workshop organizers will place the invitation
documents on a dedicated website for downloading and announce
their availability through our Embassies. We welcome any and
all suggestions from other Committee members as well as
invited states and other participants to guarantee an
effective outcome that complements ongoing outreach.
End text.
6. Reporting deadline: Responses should be sent NLT October
5. Posts are requested to provide an e-mail and telephone
contact both in the capital and at Embassy to best facilitate
logistical coordination with SNL.
7. POC is U.S. 1540 Coordinator Thomas A. Wuchte, at
202-736-4275 and wuchteta@state.gov.
8. Washington appreciates Posts' ongoing support.
CLINTON
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