27 September 2006

Governments Discuss Stopping Sea-Borne Weapons Trafficking

Focus is cooperation to thwart weapons of mass destruction shipments

Washington –- A U.S. government delegation met in London with officials from 19 countries and representatives from the shipping industry to discuss expanding cooperation under the Proliferation Security Initiative to prevent international trafficking in weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related technologies, according to the U.S. State and Defense departments.

Twenty nations participated in the workshop, which took place September 25-26.  The focus, according to the official statements, was on enhancing PSI participants' and maritime industry partners' "operational capability" to stop or prevent international trafficking in weapons of mass destruction and related materials.

The Proliferation Security Initiative was proposed by President Bush in May 2003 as a method for cooperating governments to use a variety of robust tools within national and international law to defeat the proliferation of WMD around the world. More than 75 countries now support PSI. (See related article.)

David Cooper, director of nonproliferation policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, led the U.S. delegation to the London workshop.  He said the workshop identified "how governments working with maritime industry, can intercept WMD-related shipments, while minimizing the disruption of legitimate cargo flows."  For Cooper, the London gathering reflected continued efforts by PSI governments and industry partners to cooperate against WMD-related proliferation traffickers.

The workshops are also important sources of information for the PSI Operational Experts Group, which develops concepts of operation and fosters development of cooperative relationships between PSI governments and industry experts.

This was the third PSI government-industry workshop.  A previous workshop on maritime issues took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August 2004, and then an air cargo workshop was held in Los Angeles in September 2005. 

Specific topics discussed in London included port governance, the roles of freight forwarders and shipping line owners and operators, the disposition of cargo, implications of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, the government decision-making process, and means by which industry can participate further with PSI supporting nations.

The full text of a State Department media note on the meeting is available on the department’s Web site. The full text of a Defense Department press release on the meeting is available on the Defense Department Web site.

For more about U.S. nonproliferation efforts, see Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)