Preparatory Commission for the                                      PC-X/15

Organisation for the Prohibition                                               3 April 1995

of Chemical Weapons                                                                     ENGLISH Original:  SPANISH

STATEMENT BY THE LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN GROUP AT THE OPENING MEETING OF THE TENTH SESSION OF THE PREPARATORY commission FOR THE opcw

1.         The Latin American and Caribbean Group (LACG) welcomes the ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention by nine Member States during the last intersessional period and trusts that all other Member States, in particular those countries that possess chemical weapons and those that have the majority of facilities to be declared, will continue with their ratification procedures to expedite the entry into force of the Convention.

2.         The process of ratification is a key element for the work of the Preparatory Commission. The universalisation of the Convention will only be possible if it is attractive for the majority of countries. To that end it is necessary for the procedures agreed by the Commission for implementation of the Convention to be accessible, transparent, non-discriminatory, equitable and free of imprecision.

3.         In the light of the recent increase in the number of ratifications, the LACG considers that we are offered an opportunity to make the methods of work of the Commission more dynamic so as to ensure the completion of its mandate before the entry into force of the Convention. The Group considers that the improvement in methods of work is an ongoing process and must be continuously under review.

4.         The LACG considers that the report by the Chairman of the Commission and the Executive Secretary on improved methods of work, contained in document PC-IX/8 of 2 December 1994, is a useful document for the consultations that have been entrusted to the Chairman with a view to improving the transparency of the Commission's work. The Group reaffirms its willingness to contribute promptly to the analysis of this matter which once again appears on the agenda of the current session of the Commission.

5.         The LACG wishes to express its satisfaction at the progress achieved on the subjects of confidentiality, inspection procedures, data systems and, to a lesser extent, technical cooperation and assistance. Similarly, the meetings of Working Groups A and B, held during the last intersessional period, have demonstrated their usefulness by addressing the priorities and the pace of progress in the work of the various Expert Groups. This exercise of analysis and reflection should be repeated during the next intersessional period.

6.         Notwithstanding the progress referred to above, the LACG expresses its concern at the lack of consensus within the Commission, up to the present time, with respect to challenge inspections, and the subjects of chemical weapons and of old and abandoned chemical weapons. In addition to this group of substantive matters there are others which are also fundamental and which must be expeditiously resolved in the expectation that the trigger point for Phase II can be reached towards the end of 1995.

7.         Similarly, the LACG calls for the mandate of the Commission to be carried out in strict accordance with the Convention, the Paris Resolution and the Programme of Work of the Commission, prepared by the Expert Group on Programme of Work and Budget.

8.         To that end, and in order to improve working methods, the LACG is in favour, during Plenary Sessions, of maintaining the exchange of ideas on matters of substance affecting the activity of the Commission and the Working Groups and of reviewing the work done in accordance with our original mandate and setting priorities for outstanding work, the preparation of which would be entrusted to the Provisional Technical Secretariat and the Expert Groups. Nevertheless, the LACG states that no discussion on the functioning of the Commission in general, or on any of its Expert Groups in particular, must imply the possibility of reinterpreting the Convention. At the same time, the LACG considers it appropriate for the methods of work and practical aspects proposed in document PC-IX/8 to be put into effect without any change necessarily being made in the names of the subsidiary bodies of the Commission.

            The LACG requests the Secretariat to have this statement distributed as an official document of the Tenth Session of the Commission.

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