US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1085

UNCLAS COLOMBO 001085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS 
THE HAGUE PLEASE PASS TO CWC DEL 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PARM, PREL, CE, CWC 
SUBJECT:  Sri Lanka to support Libya and the technical 
change to Chemical Weapons Convention 
 
Ref:  (A) State 136811 
-     (B) Colombo 977 
-     (C) State 127948 
 
1.  Poloff met on June 28 with Sumedha Ekanayake, MFA 
Assistant Director for UN and Multilateral Affairs, to 
raise the points in Ref A.  Massimo Darchini, Italian 
Charge' d'Affaires was also present.  In responding to 
the joint U.S.-Italy-UK request for support, Ekanayake 
said that Sri Lanka should not have any problems in 
supporting the technical change to the Chemical Weapons 
Convention's verification annex.  He added that it was 
important for the international community to show 
support for Libya in its recent efforts to become more 
open.  He said he would immediately fax the text of the 
technical change to the Sri Lankan delegation in The 
Hague. 
 
2.  Separately, Ekanayake also brought up the issue that 
Sri Lanka has yet to enact implementing legislation for 
the the CWC (Ref B and C).  He said that Sri Lanka was 
in the process of drafting such legislation, but needed 
technical assistance from the Organization for the 
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).  The Sri Lankan 
official drafting the bill had gone to The Hague for 
training and consultations.  Ekanayake stated that the 
GSL hoped to have the legislation completed by September 
2004, but was confident that it would be enacted before 
the November 2005 deadline. 
 
LUNSTEAD