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CTBT: U.S. Seeks to Replace Head of Test Ban Treaty Organization By David Ruppe Wolfgang Hoffmann, executive secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), however, indicated he has no plans to leave his Vienna post. The Bush administration is seeking to find a successor for Hoffmann, a long-time German diplomat, once he has completed seven years of running the organization in 2004. CTBTO rules require that all professional staff leave after a maximum seven years and the U.S. view is that the seven-year rule applies to Hoffmann. “We are not trying to remove Ambassador Hoffmann prior to the end of his tenure in office. However, there is a limited tenure policy with the CTBTO and, therefore, given the importance of the job we do think it is important to look for a good replacement recognizing that Ambassador Hoffmann is not going to be able to remain in the job indefinitely,” according to the official. Hoffmann’s administration maintains that that tenure rule does not apply to the executive secretary, who is reappointed to his post annually through a vote each November of the treaty’s signatory states. “Mr. Hoffmann is not a staff member and the rule applies to staff members in the professional category,” CTBTO spokeswoman Daniela Rozgonova said from Vienna. A Matter of Principle The decision to find a replacement for Hoffmann is motivated by a matter of principle and not his politics or management record, the U.S. official said. “If we have a tenure policy, and if we exempt the director from tenure policy, and that’s the only person we exempt from tenure policy, what you’re going to end up with is a bunch of lawsuits in the ILO [International Labor Organization] from other people who get removed by the tenure policy,” the official said. In a separate matter over that policy, at least 44 CTBTO staffers filed a complaint last October with the ILO, which adjudicates labor disputes involving international organizations, asking that the seven-year rule begin counting in 1999, when the rule was passed, and not retroactively for people hired before then (see GSN, Jan. 10). The U.S. official said once a suitable replacement is identified, “then the issue is to try to talk to both Hoffmann and the Germans to make sure that a transition happens in as quiet and peaceful a fashion as possible.” If no suitable replacement is found, then changing the organization’s tenure policy might be considered, though U.S. officials do not favor that course, the official said. U.S. Disputes Hoffman’s Exemption Hoffmann’s spokeswoman Rozgonova asserted the whole matter was settled during meetings, which were mediated by the United Kingdom, earlier this month and said Hoffmann will stay on for as many years as he continues to receive an annual reappointment. “That issue has been resolved and Mr. Hoffmann will continue to serve, to carry out his duties leading the Secretariat,” she said. The U.S. official responded, “It’s the first we’ve heard about it. I know Hoffmann considers himself above the PTS [Provisional Technical Secretariat] and therefore that the seven-year rule does not apply to him. But that is not a position that we have taken formally and I do not think that this matter has been formally resolved yet.” The Provisional Technical Secretariat consists of the organization’s 250-member professional staff responsible for supervising and coordinating a global monitoring system to detect nuclear testing. Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a press attache at the German embassy in Washington, said his government does not view the matter as “a major political issue,” but rather a technical one. “What it boils down to is a technicality. It’s a matter for the lawyers who are looking at it,” he said. A Critic of the U.S. View Hoffmann has led the CTBTO since its creation on November 19, 1996, enlisting 166 signatories and 97 ratifications to the test ban treaty in nearly seven years. Presently, 27 countries have not signed and 96 countries have not ratified, including the United States. President George W. Bush’s determination not to ratify the pact, as well as the refusal of 12 other countries to join, effectively prevents the treaty from entering into force under its rules. A prominent critic of the Bush administration’s nuclear testing policy criticized the U.S. position that Hoffmann should be replaced. “I find it interesting that the United States is so bold as to have an opinion about matters of principle on the CTBT when it has abandoned its solemn commitments and promises to pursue the entry into force of the CTBT and has done much to undermine the CTBTO by unilaterally withdrawing support for work related to on-site inspections,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington. “Ambassador Hoffmann has built the CTBTO from the ground up and by all accounts he has done a very good job. What probably matters more than arbitrary rotation rules is that the best person remains in the job,” he said. While the Bush administration policy opposes ratification of the treaty and an inspections mechanism for checking suspicious activity, the United States nevertheless historically has contributed at least one-fifth of annual funding to the organization in accordance with treaty rules. U.S. military officials previously have said they value CTBTO’s network of more than 100 monitoring stations worldwide and growing as a supplement to U.S. capabilities (see GSN, March 19, 2002). Management, Politics Said Not an Issue The Bush administration last year drew some criticism when it led the ouster of the head of another international arms control organization, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which implements the Chemical Weapons Convention. In that case, U.S. officials published a long list of grievances against OPCW head Jose Bustani and asserted he was mismanaging the organization by, among other things, budgeting for activities beyond the scope of the organization (see GSN, April 12, 2002), a view backed by many independent arms control experts. Bustani, now Brazil’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, maintained his removal was sought because of political differences, chiefly, that that the Bush administration did not favor his official views on inspections of chemical facilities that might affect the United States or on Iraq. Bustani advocated encouraging Iraq to sign the treaty, which would make Iraq subject to chemical inspections. U.S. officials last year privately expressed concern that such inspections might undermine efforts to compel Iraq to disarm by forestalling the threat of force. The United States was criticized for pressuring for Bustani’s ouster, rather than allowing him to be voted out at the end of his term, and for withholding its substantial annual dues to the OPCW until Bustani was removed. In the case of Hoffmann, the senior U.S. official said the U.S. search was not motivated by any concerns with Hoffmann’s management or politics. “He’s been doing as good a job as can be expected under the circumstances. He’s got an organization … for a treaty that’s not about to enter into force. He’s therefore limited very severely in terms of what kinds of activities he is able to engage in and that gives you a certain amount of difficulty in terms of budget size and morale of your staff, and we think he’s done a pretty good job with those things,” the official said. The Bush administration admittedly differs with Hoffmann on a couple of key issues: whether the treaty should enter into force and whether the organization should make preparations to conduct on-site inspections of suspected tests. U.S. officials say no to both. Bush has indicated he will not ratify the treaty which then-President Bill Clinton signed in 1996. U.S. officials have said they prefer to keep U.S. options open for possible future testing, though there are no plans to break a current moratorium. Some within the administration have argued testing could be needed to ensure the viability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and possibly for proving new nuclear weapons, as the administration is presently considering whether to develop low-yield weapons for destroying bunkers with reduced potential damage to surrounding areas. The administration last year unsuccessfully sought congressional approval for reducing the preparation time for resumed testing if a decision is made. Unlike during the Clinton administration, the current State Department Web site does not list the treaty in its sections on “current treaties and agreements” or “past treaties and agreements.” With respect to CTBTO dues, the administration also last year began withholding money for inspections-related activities, maintaining they are unnecessary since the treaty has no chance of entering into force. Asked whether the U.S. view on Hoffmann’s tenure was at all related to his advocacy of entering the treaty into force, the official said: “No. Wolfgang is free to express his views on that is he will express them certainly in some respects in the responsibility of the position he holds. I wouldn’t say we’ve agreed with all of his views on that,” the official said.
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