US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO2016

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 002016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, IO/T 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, AORC, CE, IO 
SUBJECT:  Colombo Plan:  Action Request on proposed 
amendment 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo-SA/INS 11-20-03 class email 
 
-      (B) Colombo 1991 
-      (C) SA/INS-Colombo 11-18-03 class email 
-      (D) State 314650 
-      (E) Colombo 1850 (All Notal) 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. 
Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1.  (U) This is an Action Request -- Please see Para 4. 
 
2.  (C) BACKGROUND:  Ambassador and poloff attended a 
special session of the Colombo Plan Council held on 
November 18 to address pressing matters in the wake of 
the postponed 39th Consultative Committee Meeting (CCM). 
(Ref B provides a readout of decisions made on key 
issues at the November 18 meeting.)  One item on the 
agenda pertained to a proposed amendment to the Colombo 
Plan constitution, which involves withholding training 
opportunities from member states who are four or more 
years in arrears of membership dues.  A November 17 
request to the Department for guidance yielded a 
response of non-support for the proposed amendment (Ref 
C). 
 
3.  (C) The somewhat convoluted history of this proposed 
amendment is as follows: 
 
-- When the 38th CCM met in July 2001, the Colombo Plan 
Council submitted the initial iteration of the proposed 
amendment in an effort to emphasize the fiscal 
responsibility of each state and the vital contribution 
that the annual dues (14,500 USD/member) make to the 
administration of the Secretariat.  (N.B., these dues 
cover only Secretariat costs; all programs are funded by 
voluntary contributions.)  At that time, the draft 
amendment proposed the suspension of membership for 
states with membership payments in arrears of four or 
more years.  The suspension would continue until the 
arrears were fully or partially paid.  (Note:  At 
present, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and 
Indonesia are each in arrears for four or more years, 
and would be subject to any penalties.) 
 
-- At the July 2001 meeting, member states, including 
the U.S., deemed the suspension of membership too strict 
a penalty and referred the matter back to the Council 
for further consultation. 
 
-- A Working Group of Council members was subsequently 
convened, meeting in November 2001 and February 2002 to 
address member states' concerns with the proposed 
amendment.  The Working Group's conclusion was that the 
proposed suspension of membership penalty should be 
reduced to a ban from training opportunities until the 
arrears were paid in full or partially.  At the April 
2002 Council meeting, the Council, without U.S. 
objection, decided to present the revised amendment to 
the 39th CCM, scheduled for April 2003.  (Note:  A copy 
of the proposed amendment was sent to SA/INS in Ref A.) 
 
-- At the November 18 special session, the majority of 
member states were in support of the revised amendment 
revoking access to training opportunities as the only 
penalty.  (Note:  The 39th CCM for April 2003 was 
postponed -- see Ref B -- and its agenda items were 
discussed at the November 18 meeting.)  The members 
further supported a request by Indonesia that the 
penalty not be implemented until March 2004, thus giving 
states in arrears time to pay.  In discussions on the 
subject, the Secretary-General stressed that training 
privileges would be restored as soon as a partial 
payment ("even 10 USD") of arrears was received by the 
Secretariat.  The U.S., per Ref (C), indicated that it 
 
SIPDIS 
could not support the proposed amendment.  It advised 
the Council, however, that in light of the Secretary- 
General's comments and the strong expression of support 
by other member states for the proposal, that it would 
consult further with Washington.  The Colombo Plan 
President then tabled the item, pending the U.S. review. 
 
-- In a conversation after the November 18 meeting, the 
Indonesian representative told us that his government 
was prepared to pay some of its arrears by the 
March 2004 implementation date.  END BACKGROUND. 
 
4.  ACTION REQUEST:  The Council has spent extensive 
time and effort to address the issue of non-paying 
members in a way that the majority of member states now 
supports.  The U.S. had not previously objected to the 
proposed action.  The Colombo Plan Secretary-General, in 
his remarks, underscored that member states should face 
the consequence of not paying dues and the proposed 
amendment represented the most flexible penalty option. 
Given this, Mission requests that the Department 
reevaluate its position of non-support for the proposed 
Colombo Plan amendment.  END ACTION REQUEST. 
 
5.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD