US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA5395

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 005395 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PM/WRA STEPHANIE PICO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, CO, MOPS 
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA: SA/LW NEGOTIATIONS ON MARKING AND TRACING 
 
REF: SECSTATE 99866 
 
1. (C) Post delivered reftel demarche to MFA Disarmament 
Coordinator Diana Aguilar June 1.  She said Colombia wants 
uniform standards for marking of weapons and ammunition, but 
would be flexible regarding a legally binding document. 
 
2. (C) Trafficking in small arms and light weapons is a 
crucial issue for Colombia, said Aguilar, due to the 
activities of illegal armed groups.  She understood poloff's 
points regarding the marking of ammunition but responded that 
the GOC would press for marking of ammunition at the OEWG, 
and noted that Colombia's state arms manufactory, INDUMIL, 
marks the ammunition it produces.  She presumed that with the 
opposition of the U.S., Russia, China, and Japan a legally 
binding document (the GOC's preferred outcome) would not be 
feasible; she thus expressed the hope for a "politically 
binding" document.  Aguilar stressed the importance of common 
standards for marking.  She pointed to the recent seizure of 
ammunition of Indonesian origin in a cache of the FARC FTO as 
an example of the usefulness of marking.  Aguilar noted that 
the EU supports marking of ammunition as do most Latin 
American nations.  Noting that the life span of small arms 
was around 50 years, she said the GOC favors record keeping 
for 15 years. 
DRUCKER