US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA2383

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TEGUCIGALPA 002383 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR P, T, WHA, WHA/CEN, PM, AND INR/IAA 
NSC FOR SHANNON 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PARM, PREL, MASS, MCAP, PBTS, PINR, HO 
SUBJECT: ENGLISH SYNOPSIS OF NICARAGUAN ARMS CONTROL PROPOSAL 
 
REF:      A. MANAGUA 2274 
     B. TEGUCIGALPA 2022 
     C. MANAGUA 2575 
     D. MANAGUA 2585 
     E. SECSTATE 249219 
     F. MANAGUA 2659 
     G. USDAO TEGUCIGALPA 041716Z SEP 03 
     H. TEGUCIGALPA 2380 
 
 
1. Below is an informal translation of the substantive parts 
of the Nicaraguan arms control proposal of July 2003, 
formally titled "The Program to Limit and Control Arms in 
Central America to Achieve a Reasonable Balance of Forces and 
Foster Stability, Mutual Confidence, and Transparency"(ref 
A).  Post reported in refs G and H the Honduran response to 
the Nicaraguan proposal. 
 
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Synopsis of Nicaraguan Arms Control Proposal 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
2. Objectives: 
 
The document represents a formal proposal by the Government 
of Nicaragua to limit and control armaments in Central 
America to achieve a reasonable balance of forces and 
establish mutual confidence, transparency, and 
institutionalize civilian control of the military.  The 
Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, 
and other government ministries that handle national defense 
issues endorsed the document.  It was signed on July 16, 
2003. 
 
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The Process 
----------- 
 
Reasonable Balance of Forces 
 
- Outline national reasonable balance of forces 
- OAS concurrence given potential national and regional 
threats 
- Presenting national arms inventories to SICA according to 
the format approved by the Council of Foreign Ministers (Aug 
6, 2003) 
- Format and define the inventories of the public security 
institutions (Aug 6, 2003) 
- Present the arms inventories of the public security 
institutions 
- Establish maximum limits for national armed forces 
 
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Arms Control 
------------ 
 
- Establish a mechanism to verify, limit, and control arms 
inventories in each country and at the regional level.  Also 
develop ways to secure arsenals against theft and 
proliferation.  This can be accomplished by state entities 
working with the OAS. (Proposed time-line:  Three months for 
creation of state entities; six months for regional 
organization) 
- Determine a process to destroy, transfer, or securely store 
excess arms in concordance with national laws and 
international treaty obligations. 
- Determine prohibited offensive weapons that are 
destabilizing to the region 
- Establish a moratorium on the acquisition of new offensive 
weapons 
- Proceed with the gradual and progressive destruction of 
arms that are determined to be prohibited 
- Implement a standardized methodology to track national 
defense spending (done through the UN or the OAS) 
- Destruction of seized arms from illicit activities that 
fall outside of the agreed upon regional balance of forces 
- Establish a uniform national registry for explosives 
 
------------------------------------- 
Modernization and Professionalization 
------------------------------- 
 
- Continue the modernization and professionalization of 
military and public security forces, taking into account 
national law, traditional and non-traditional threats, while 
also focusing on humanitarian aid and response to natural 
disasters 
 
---------------------------- 
Other Confidence Building Measures 
---------------------------------- 
 
- Strengthen the mechanisms for peaceful resolution of 
conflicts in the Treaty on Democratic Security in Central 
America 
- Develop a regional code of ethics for transparency in the 
transfer of arms 
- Pass national laws for the control of arms with the overall 
objective of reaching a standardization of such regulations 
- Ratify, or speed up the implementation of, the following 
international treaties regarding arms control: 
     Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America; 
     United Nations Registry of Conventional Arms; 
     Standard Report on Military Expenditures; 
     Inter-American Convention Against the Fabrication and 
     Trafficking in Illicit Firearms, Munitions, Explosives, 
     and Other Related Material; 
     Inter-American Convention for the Transparency in the 
     Acquisition of Conventional Arms; 
     Model Regulations for the International Control of 
     Firearms, Components, and Munitions from the Inter- 
     America Convention to Control Drug Abuse; 
     1972 Convention against the Development, Production, or 
     Storage of Biological or Toxic Weapons and for Their 
     Destruction; 
     1993 Convention against the Development, Production, 
     Storage, or Use of Chemical Weapons and for Their 
     Destruction; 
     The last two Protocols of the 1980 Convention Regarding 
     Prohibitions and Restrictions Against the Deployment of 
     Certain Conventional Arms Considered Excessively Harmful 
     or Indiscriminant; 
     1997 Convention Against the Use, Storage, Production, or 
     Transfer or Anti-Personnel Mines and for Their 
     Destruction. 
 
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Implementation 
-------------- 
 
- The Central American Council on Security (SICA) and its 
relevant subcommittees would oversee the implementation of 
this agreement. 
 
- For Implementation:  Ministry's of Foreign Relations, 
Defense, Government and Security in conjunction with Chief of 
the military and police. 
 
- For Compliance:  The above-mentioned body will have the 
support of SICA with the General Secretary of SICA acting as 
a permanent officer for the Council. 
 
Annex I 
 
------------------------- 
Foundation and References 
------------------------- 
 
- Reaffirms the principles and agreements of the Treaty on 
Democratic Security in Central America, particularly those 
established in Title III 
- Reaffirms the international rights established in the 
United Nations Charter and the Organization of American 
States 
- Affirms the decisions established by the Presidents, 
Council of Foreign Ministers, and SICA in their February 19, 
2003 Communiqu adopting the model format for arms 
inventories 
- Refers to the Declaration of the Fifth Conference of 
Defense Ministers of the Americas in Santiago, Chile 18-22 
November 2002 in reference to transparency in the acquisition 
of weapons and defense budgets. 
 
Annex II 
 
Glossary 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Legal Framework for Arms Control Agreement 
------------------------------------------ 
 
The legal framework for this agreement is laid out in the 
Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America which 
obligates each party to the Agreement to deploy armed forces 
in a balanced and reasonable manner for the establishment of 
peaceful, democratic, and prosperous atmosphere in the 
region. 
 
-----Reasonable Balance of Forces 
 
A reasonable balance of forces for each country depends on 
the necessities of each state to confront threats to the 
national interest and the ability to economically sustain 
them. 
-----Maximum Force Levels 
 
During the process of reaching reasonable balanced forces 
each state will define its necessary force levels to confront 
potential threats.  In some cases this could lead states to 
determine that their current force structure is insufficient 
and that in the short term augmentation is necessary. 
However, this would need to proceed with caution so as not to 
be perceived as seeking offensive weapons or skewing the 
military equilibrium.  The idea of collective defense should 
be kept in mind when analyzing transnational threats. 
 
-----Moratorium 
 
To establish a moratorium on the acquisition of newly 
classified offensive weapons it is understood that the 
modernization of the armed forces to replace obsolete 
equipment and allow for regional interoperability is allowed 
within the confines of lawful activity and potential threats 
each state faces. 
 
-----Offensive Arms 
 
Offensive arms are defined as any weapons (sea, air, land) 
that could constitute a possible threat, could be considered 
destabilizing, or could throw of regional equilibrium. 
 
-----Surplus Arms 
 
It is up to each country to determine appropriate force 
levels as long as they are not in violation off international 
treaties. 
 
3. Annex III of the proposed agreement gives detailed 
descriptions of the following parameters, which serve to 
guide the work on these issues: 
 
     Constitutional and Judicial Aspects; 
     Considerations in Determining Necessary Force Levels for 
     Each State; 
     Planning of Optional Force Levels; 
     Implementing of a Reasonable Balance of Forces System; 
     Sustainability of a Reasonable Balance of Forces System; 
     Proposed Methodology and Development of a Reasonable 
     Balance of Forces System. 
 
Palmer