Preparatory Commission for the                                 PC-XIV/18             
Organisation for the Prohibition                               24 July 1996          
of Chemical Weapons                                            Original:  ENGLISH    
                                                                                     

(22 - 26 July 1996)

CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE

REPORT ON THE

CREDENTIALS OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MEMBER STATES

1. Introduction

1.1 The Credentials Committee, established by the Preparatory Commission for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at its First Session (PREPCOM/I/4, paragraph 24), held its sixteenth meeting on 24 July 1996. Chile, Ghana, Italy (Chairman), Nepal and the Slovak Republic continued to serve as Members of the Committee, in accordance with Rule 4.2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission.

2. Credentials received during the current intersessional period

2.1 The Committee had before it the Note by the Executive Secretary concerning the Credentials of Representatives of Member States (PC-XIV/17).

2.2 According to that Note, as of 24 July 1996:

(a) original, formal credentials concerning the appointment of Representatives or the replacement of Representatives, in conformity with Rule 3.2 of the Rules of Procedure, have been received by the Executive Secretary since the close of the Thirteenth Session of the Commission from eight Member States: Austria, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Slovak Republic, Swaziland, Thailand and Turkey; and

(b) copies of formal credentials or other official communications concerning Representatives have been received by the Executive Secretary since the close of the Thirteenth Session from 24 Member States: Belarus, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Haiti, India, Ireland, Israel, Kuwait, Mali, Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Russian Federation, Togo, Uganda, Uruguay, Yemen and Zambia. The submission of original, formal credentials, in accordance with Rule 3.2 of the Rules of Procedure, is pending in these cases.

2.3 With respect to the designation of acting Representatives, Member States are reminded of Rule 2.2 of the Rules of Procedure, whereby an accredited Representative may designate an alternate or adviser to act as Representative. The Executive Secretary has indicated that a review of the communications received by the Secretariat from Member States concerning their participation at this Session revealed that this Rule has not been followed in many of the instances when an accredited Representative was unable to attend.

3. Summary of status

3.1 As of the date of this Report, 82 Member States presently have Representatives accredited in conformity with Rule 3.2 of the Rules of Procedure: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

3.2 At the Fourteenth Session, copies of formal credentials or other official communications concerning Representatives have been received by the Executive Secretary from 24 Member States: Belarus, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Haiti, India, Ireland, Israel, Kuwait, Mali, Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Russian Federation, Togo, Uganda, Uruguay, Yemen and Zambia. In accordance with Rule 5 of the Rules of Procedure, the Representatives of these Member States are participating provisionally in the Commission pending submission of original, formal credentials in conformity with Rule 3.2 of the Rules of Procedure.

3.3 The Committee noted that a number of Member States participating provisionally in previous Session(s) of the Commission had not submitted credentials following the close of the Session(s). In some instances, credentials have never been submitted. In other instances, replacement of an accredited Representative was notified, but credentials were never sent. Under Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure, each Member State shall be represented by an accredited representative. The Committee urges Member States which are not in compliance with the Rule 2 to redress this situation to ensure that all representatives are duly accredited.

4. Resignation of Committee member

The Committee was notified by Nepal that, due to personnel constraints, Nepal will not be in a position to continue as a Member of the Credentials Committee. It will thus be necessary for the Commission to appoint a replacement at the Fifteenth Session.

5. Conclusion

Having considered the credentials and communications received by the Executive Secretary, the Committee accepted the formal credentials of the Representatives referred to under subparagraph 2.2(a) above. As an exceptional measure and subject to later validation, the Committee provisionally accepted the communications referred to in subparagraph 2.2(b) above in lieu of formal credentials, on the understanding that formal credentials satisfying the requirements of Rule 3.2 of the Rules of Procedure would be submitted to the Executive Secretary soon after the close of the Fourteenth Session.

6. Recommendations

6.1 The Committee unanimously adopted its Report to the Commission and requested the Commission to note it.

6.2 The Committee recommended that the Commission urge all provisionally participating Member States to comply with Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure as soon as possible. The Committee further noted the problem encountered by the Secretariat with the delayed receipt of credentials in general, and recommended that the Commission request Member States to submit the required documents not less than one week before the date fixed for the opening of each Session.

6.3 The Committee requested the Commission, with reference to Rule 4.1 of the Rules of Procedure, to appoint at its next Session a Member to replace Nepal on the Credentials Committee.

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