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Additional Questions of Mr. Forsythe and Answered by Department of State 



Q. In your testimony, you note that you are opposing a ban on 

 radwaste dumping in the context of a regional convention for 

 the South Pacific. You justify this position on the basis of 

 the ongoing two-year LDC review. Hov/ever, Article 8 of the LDC 

 obligates states to reach regional agreements taking into 

 account "characteristic regional features". This indicates 

 that regional agreements can and should be based on needs or 

 requirements of the region. Why should adoption of these 

 provisions by a regional convention be precluded on the basis 

 of LDC action? 



A. Article VIII of the London Dumping Convention states in 



part, the following: 



"In order to further the objectives of this Convention, the 

 Contracting Parties with common interests to protect the 

 marine environment in a given geographical area shall 

 endeavor, taking into account characteristic regional 

 features, to enter into regional agreements consistent with 

 this Convention for the prevention of pollution, especially 

 by dumping." (As a purely techical matter, it should be 

 borne in mind that out of all the participants in the 

 current South Pacific negotiations, a minority of them are 

 actually party to the LDC as referred to in Article VIII. 

 Of that minority, a number (admittedly the metropolitan 

 States), have not supported a regional ban on radioactive 

 waste disposal. Contracting Parties to the LDC, pursuant 

 to Article VIII, are also obligated to endeavor to act 

 consistently with the provisions of regional agreements. 

 Because of that, we believe that stricter measures than 

 those provided under the LDC, by such agreements require 

 careful consideration in their negotiation.). 



