Home > News & Publications > Press Releases > 2005 > PR47
| The Hague, 20 September 2005 | Number 47 | ||
On 19 September 2005, the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, opened the Third World Congress on Chemical, Biological and Radiological Terrorism, convening in Dubrovnik, Croatia, from 17-23 September.
The opening session was also addressed by H.E. Mr. Igor Pokaz, Assistant Minister for Defence of the Republic of Croatia, and Major General David B. Poythress, Adjutant General of the State of Georgia Department of Defense, USA.
The Third Congress is the continuation of a series of international gatherings organised jointly by Applied Science and Analysis from Portland, USA and AC Laboratory from Spiez, Switzerland, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of Croatia. The Congress gathers together scientists and experts from around the world seeking efficient responses in the case of attack, or major incidents, involving weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons.
Noting that the OPCW has supported from the outset the work of these scientific meetings through its involvement in the Congress, Director-General Pfirter drew the attention to the assistance and protection activities of the OPCW carried out under the Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
In that context he underlined the exemplary cooperation with the Republic of Croatia, particularly during the first field exercise carried out by the OPCW—Assistex I—in Croatia in 2002. In this regard he referred to the upcoming exercise Joint Assistance, taking place in October 2005 in Ukraine, which is held in close collaboration with the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Relief Coordination Centre, NATO; and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Director-General Pfirter briefed the participants on the progress made in implementing the two major OPCW Action Plans on Universality and on the CWC's National Implementation, highlighting these efforts as the OPCW's effective contributions in preventing both the eventual misuse of chemicals as weapons, as well as terrorist attacks with chemical weapons.
The Director-General also reiterated the expanding cooperation with global chemical industry in the joint effort to prevent the abuse of toxic chemicals for hostile purposes.
He looked forward to the OPCW's continuing support and participation in the Congress' further activities, in particular at its next session to be held in Spiez, Switzerland in May 2006.
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an international, multilateral disarmament treaty which bans the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons. The States Parties to the CWC are obligated to declare any chemical weapons-related activities, to secure and destroy any stockpiles of chemical weapons within the stipulated deadlines, as well as to inactivate and eliminate any chemical weapons production capacity within their jurisdiction.
The CWC entered into force in 1997 and mandated the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to eliminate chemical weapons forever. The OPCW verifies the irreversible destruction of declared chemical weapons stockpiles, as well as the elimination of all declared chemical weapons production facilities. The OPCW Member States, together with OPCW inspectors, monitor the non-diversion of chemicals for activities prohibited under the CWC and verify the consistency of industrial chemical declarations. In addition, OPCW States Parties undertake to provide protection and assistance, if chemical weapons have been used against a State Party, or if such weapons threaten a State Party. The CWC also calls for international cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry.
The CWC is the single disarmament agreement that in its daily application around the world is used to verify the on-going elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction, chemical weapons. OPCW inspections are conducted in dozens of countries, where both military and industrial sites are subject to verification. The verification procedures and the declaration obligations of the States Parties are applied in an entirely non-discriminatory manner, following protocols negotiated and adopted in intensive and transparent multilateral negotiations. All States Parties enjoy the same rights and bear the same obligations, regardless of their declared possession of chemical weapons.
The global chemical weapons ban is approaching universality: as of 28 September 2005, 173 States will be party to the CWC and have taken the sovereign decision to renounce chemical weapons in perpetuity, while voluntarily complying with a strict verification regime. Together, these countries form the OPCW. Only 21 States have not as yet acceded or ratified the CWC. Every country is urged to accede to, or ratify, the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons is illegal everywhere. Universality of the CWC is a key priority in establishing a global and permanent ban of chemical weapons.
The CWC's international jurisdiction and deterrent effect is bolstered by the steadily expanding membership of the OPCW, now encompassing over 95% of the global population, as well as 98% of the relevant global chemical industry. The broad coverage of this disarmament treaty, the most complex and comprehensive international agreement of its kind ever to be adopted, grants States party to the CWC an ever more robust assurance that chemical weapons will no longer be developed, produced, stockpiled, used or transferred.
Six States Parties have declared chemical weapons and must destroy over eight million items, including munitions and containers —in total, over seventy-one thousand metric tonnes of extremely toxic chemical agents. By comparison, one drop of a nerve agent, no larger than the head of a pin, can kill an adult within minutes after exposure.
Every Member State must introduce and apply legislation to make the development, production, use, stockpiling or transfer of chemical weapons by any person or group illegal. Severe penalties must be imposed should this crime be committed. Each Member State is obliged to provide other Member States with its fullest cooperation so as to expedite prosecution.
To make sure that the Convention is implemented effectively, Member States are obliged to designate or establish a “National Authority”. This body participates in and coordinates OPCW inspections of relevant industrial or military sites, makes initial and annual declarations, participates in assisting and protecting those Member States which are threatened by, or have indeed suffered, a chemical attack, and fosters the peaceful uses of chemistry. In addition, the National Authority acts as the focal point in the State Party's interaction with other States Parties and the OPCW's Technical Secretariat. The OPCW Technical Secretariat has established a coordinated mechanism to support Member States in their national implementation of the Convention. The focus of this work is to provide advice and assistance to the staff of National Authorities in order to help them enhance their skills and expertise.
100% of the declared chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) have been deactivated. All are subjected to a verification regime of unprecedented stringency. Over 75% of the declared CWPFs have been eliminated. Over 25% of the 8.6 million chemical munitions and containers covered by the Convention have been verifiably destroyed. Over 14% of the world's declared stockpiles of approximately 71,000 metric tonnes of chemical agent have been verifiably destroyed. Over 2,000 on-site inspections have been conducted in over 70 States Parties to verify compliance with the CWC.
FOR INFORMATION — NOT AN OFFICIAL RECORD
For further information please contact: Media and Public Affairs Branch, + 31 (0) 70 416 3710, media@opcw.org,
Johan de Wittlaan 32, 2517 JR The Hague, The Netherlands.