US embassy cable - 04MANAMA939

UNCLAS MANAMA 000939 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/CT, IO/UNP, INL/AAE, L/T, NEA/ARP, AND NEA/RA 
DEPT PASS NSC FOR NICK RASMUSSEN 
JUSTICE FOR JIM REYNOLDS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, BA 
SUBJECT: KING RATIFIES TWO COUNTERTERRORISM CONVENTIONS 
 
REF: MANAMA 802 
 
1.  This is an action message, please refer to para 4. 
 
2. On June 3, the English language daily "Bahrain Tribune" 
published the announcement of King Hamad's ratification of 
the International Convention For The Suppression Of The 
Financing Of Terrorism and the International Convention For 
The Suppression of Terrorist Bombings.  The Foreign Ministry 
advised in April (reftel) that the instruments of 
ratification would be deposited in New York in September 
during the next U.N. General Assembly. 
 
3. BEGIN TEXT OF ARTICLE: 
 
Law No. 8 for 2004 ratifies Bahrain's membership in the 1999 
U.N. agreement to Prevent and Suppress financing terrorism 
and criminalize the willful provision of funds for such acts. 
 Bahrain signed the agreement on November 14, 2001 at the 
U.N. headquarters in New York with reservations on the 
following articles and clauses: 
 
A. Bahrain dos not consider itself bound to rules of clause 
no. 1 of Article no. 24. 
B. Bahrain does not consider the following agreements within 
the stated addition to regulation A, clause 1 of Artilce 2 of 
the agreement which is as follows: 
 
1. Refrain from providing any form of support, active or 
passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, 
including diplomatic employees, under the agreement signed on 
December 14, 1973. 
2. The interntional agreement against taking hostages signed 
on December 17, 1979. 
3. the agreement on physical protection of nuclear substances 
signed on December 17, 1979. 
4. The agreement on combating illegal actions against the 
safety of marine movement signed on March 10, 1988. 
5. The protocol on combating illegal actions against the 
safety of stationary posts along the continental boundaries 
signed in Rome on March 10, 1988. 
6. The international agreement on combating terrorist attacks 
by the use of bombs which the U.N. General Assembly ratified 
on December 15, 1977. 
 
These reservations will not be valid regarding any agreement 
in case of Bahrain's memberships to it in the future. 
 
HM the King issued Law no. 9 for 2004 related to Bahrain's 
membership in teh international agreement on combating 
terrorist attacks by the use of bombs that the U.N. General 
Assembly ratified on December 15, 1997, with the reservation: 
 Bahrain does not consider itself compelled to clause 1 of 
Article 20 of the agreement. 
 
END TEXT. 
 
4. COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST:  Obtaining National Assembly 
assent to ratify these two conventions was not easy for the 
GOB, but they achieved it despite hash criticism from some 
parliamentarians.  Post would appreciate Department's expert 
opinon on the significance of Bahrain's reservations to the 
two treaties and guidance on whether we should weigh in with 
the GOB on removing the reservations in the future.  END 
COMMENT AND ACTION REQUEST. 
WILLIAMSON