US embassy cable - 04THEHAGUE478

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 000478 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AC/CB, NP/CBM, VC/CCB, L/ACV, IO/S 
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISP 
JOINT STAFF FOR DD PMA-A FOR WTC 
COMMERCE FOR BIS (GOLDMAN) 
NSC FOR CHUPA 
WINPAC FOR LIEPMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PARM, PREL, LY, CWC 
SUBJECT: CHEMCIAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): 
DIRECTOR-GENERAL PFIRTER'S NOTE ON DESTRUCTION OF LIBYAN 
UNFILLED BOMBS 
 
 This is CWC-25-04. 
 
1.  (SBU)  The following is the text of a February 23 note 
provided by OPCW Director General Pfirter to Ambassador Petr 
Kubernat (Czech Republic), the Chairman of the OPCW Executive 
Council, regarding an agreement with Libya on destruction of 
Category 3 munitions (unfilled bombs), which will commence on 
February 27.  Pfirter provided the note due to the fact that 
destruction under the agreement will begin despite the fact 
that the Council has not approved the plans for verification 
of destruction, as required under the Convention, and the 
Council will next convene only on March 23. 
 
2.  (U)  Begin Text. 
 
I have the honour to provide you with the following 
information relating to the activities currently ongoing in 
Libya in the context of the Chemical Weapons Convention. 
 
As you are aware, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab 
Jamahiriya became a State Party to the Chemical Weapons 
Convention on 5 February 2004.  On the occasion of my visit 
to Tripoli between 4 and 6 February, the Libyan authorities 
requested me to send subsequently a team of experts from the 
Verification, Inspectorate and Legal Divisions to conduct a 
technical assistance visit. This took place from 16 to 23 
February 2004. 
 
In the course of the technical assistance visit, on 20 
February 2004, Libya provided the Technical Secretariat with 
a partial initial declaration which contained the required 
information on the Category 3 munitions in its possession. 
At that time Libya also informed the Technical Secretariat of 
its decision to begin destruction of these munitions on 27 
February 2004.  Representatives of the Technical Secretariat 
visited the chemical weapons storage facility that Libya 
intends to use as a destruction facility for its Category 3 
munitions.  Thereafter, Libya and the Technical Secretariat 
agreed on a detailed plan for verification of the destruction 
of the Category 3 munitions at this facility.  It has also 
been agreed with the Libyan authorities that any destruction 
activity would be preceded by an initial inspection at the 
chemical weapons storage facility. 
 
As Your Excellency is no doubt aware, paragraph 56 of Part 
IV(A) of the Verification Annex of the Chemical Weapons 
Convention provides that "agreed detailed plans for 
verification, with an appropriate recommendation by the 
Technical Secretariat, shall be forwarded to the Executive 
Council for review." As stated in the paragraph above, such a 
plan has been prepared and agreed by the Libyan National 
Authority and the Technical Secretariat. A copy of this 
agreed plan is attached. All Council members will receive a 
copy of this agreed verification plan to ensure that they can 
assess its adequacy, as foreseen in paragraph 57 of Part IV 
(A) of the Verification Annex. 
 
Given the timelines imposed by the Libyan decision to proceed 
with the destruction of the materials declared as Category 3 
chemical weapons, it might not be possible to convene a 
meeting of the Executive Council for the consideration 
outlined in the paragraph above. At the same time, since the 
destruction will be conducted under systematic verification 
of the Technical Secretariat, I believe there is merit in the 
Libyan decision to start the destruction of the declared 
Category 3 Chemical Weapons on 27 February. In that context, 
the Technical Secretariat will ensure that, after the initial 
inspection has been conducted and the declaration of these 
Category 3 of Chemical Weapons submitted by Libya has been 
verified, inspectors will remain at the facility and witness 
the complete destruction process to guarantee the 
accountability of the operation. The Technical Secretariat 
will report to the Executive Council in full at its next 
regular session. 
 
This approach would be consistent with the one taken by the 
OPCW in the past in respect of the application of systematic 
verification of destruction operations before approval of the 
verification plan and conclusion of a facility agreement by 
the Council, including during the transitional phase after 
Entry into Force. In addition it would be fully in line with 
the general principle set out in the Convention that States 
Parties should eliminate their chemical weapon stockpiles as 
soon as possible, provided this is done, as in this case, 
under the stringent verification provided for by the 
Convention. 
 
I trust Your Excellency will agree with this approach. 
 
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest 
consideration. 
 
End Text. 
 
3.  (U)  Javits sends. 
SOBEL