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| The Hague, 14 December 2005 | |||
A national awareness workshop on the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is being held from 13 to 15 December 2005 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The workshop supports Cambodia in developing the national capacity to effectively implement the CWC. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the Governments of Australia and Japan have jointly sponsored this workshop. Cambodia became a State Party to the CWC on 18 August 2005.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Co-Minister of National Defence of Cambodia, reiterated his government's commitment to the object and purpose of the Convention and referred to the work being done on the implementation of other disarmament and non-proliferation treaties such as the landmines and small arms Conventions. The Deputy Prime Minister noted that his Government had established a CWC Coordination Committee within the Ministry of Defence. The CWC Coordination Committee will assume the tasks leading to the establishment of the Cambodian National Authority and the preparation of the national implementing legislation. The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his thanks to the OPCW and the Governments of Australia and Japan for their support of the Workshop.
H.E. Ms Lisa Filipetto, Ambassador of Australia to Cambodia, stated that: "... the effectiveness of the Chemical Weapons Convention depends on universal participation and compliance, both of which are addressed by Cambodia's ratification and its hosting of this workshop. Indeed, the workshop comes at a critical time, when all 175 States Parties are required to achieve full and effective implementation of the Convention, as agreed at the 8th Conference of States Parties in 2003 and as reiterated last month at the 10th Conference of the States Parties."
Mr S. Inoue, Minister of the Embassy of Japan, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, underscored that “In order to ensure peace and security in Asia , it is essential to fully eliminate all chemical weapons in the region and promote universal adherence to the CWC. With the adherence of Cambodia to the Convention, promotion of universality in Asia has almost been completed. There are still two States not Party in the region, namely Myanmar and North Korea. Japan continues to persuade these two countries to join the CWC as soon as possible."
On behalf of the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, Ms Magda Bauta, Head of Implementation Support, assured the Cambodian Government of the OPCW's commitment to provide the CWC implementation assistance that Cambodia may request. She added that the workshop is designed to enable Cambodia to conclude a National Plan, with clearly defined target dates and that the required information be submitted to the OPCW Executive Council in accordance with the most recent decision taken by the Conference of States Parties.
Presentations by members of the Australian and Japanese National Authorities and OPCW staff will introduce participants to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and provide insight into the process of establishing and effectively operating a National Authority, as well as the legal rights and obligations of States Parties, the legal requirements of CWC implementation and the Convention's verification regime.
Issue-focused meetings on specific implementation matters are to be held on 15 and 16 December 2005.
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 11 November 2005, 175 States are 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 19 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. Nearly 17% 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 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.