PR08: New Zealand's Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control to Visit OPCW

The Hague, 24 March 2000			Number 08

Press Release

New Zealand's Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control to Visit OPCW

The New Zealand Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control, H.E. Mr Matt Robson, will pay an official visit to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Monday, 27 March 2000. Mr Robson's visit to the OPCW is part of a European tour which includes Geneva and Vienna, as well as the Hague.

While at the OPCW, Mr Robson is scheduled to meet with Acting Director-General, Mr John Gee, to discuss issues relating to the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

As part of his current European visit, Mr Robson addressed the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, where he emphasized the need to restart global disarmament. "In the year 2000 we must, I believe, signal clearly that there is a new political willingness to get things moving," he said.

Mr Robson is a barrister and is one of the founding members of the Alliance Party in New Zealand. His current portfolio includes being Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as Minister of Corrections and Minister for Courts.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) came into existence on 29 April 1997. Its deed of foundation—the Chemical Weapons Convention—aims to achieve four principal objectives: the elimination of chemical weapons and of the capacity to develop them, the verification of non-proliferation, international assistance and protection in the event of the use or threat of use of chemical weapons, and international cooperation and assistance in the peaceful use of chemistry.

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