The Hague, 11 May 2000

Yugoslav Membership & Destruction of Russian Chemical Weapons Likely to Dominate Discussion

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is to hold its annual 'Conference of the States Parties' in the Hague from 15-19 May 2000, three years after the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) entered into force.

The OPCW will report considerable success in efforts to ban the production, stockpiling or use of chemical weapons.

• More than 4,000 tons of chemical agents have been destroyed.
• Over a million chemical bombs, shells and rockets have been destroyed.
• OPCW staff have made more than 700 inspections in 35 countries, including 460 visits to weapons storage and destruction sites and over 240 inspections of industrial chemical plants.
• 135 nations have joined the CWC and renounced the production, stockpiling or use of chemical weapons. A further 37 have signed but have yet to ratify.

There are still some major challenges to be overcome. For example: the Russian Federation was unable to meet this year's deadline to destroy 1% of its chemical weapons. However Russia is publicly committed to meeting the remaining deadlines, so there is expected to be a discussion of ways to enlist international financial help for the Russian destruction programme.

The announcement that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is to join the OPCW on 20 May 2000 is also likely to be welcomed by delegates, since it is being seen as a significant step towards enhanced stability and security in the Balkans. A delegation from the F.R.Y. will attend the Conference as representatives of a 'Contracting Party', as will Malaysia. It is hoped Malaysia's decision to join (also on 20 May 2000) will encourage the membership of the three remaining ASEAN countries still to join the OPCW (Thailand, Cambodia & Myanmar).

OPCW Director-General Jose Bustani said:
"We have made remarkable progress in the last three years; our verification process is solid and working well; and the destruction of chemical weapons has begun, with three out of four possessor states meeting the first deadline. Now we must help Russia get the assistance it needs to begin to destroy its weapons and encourage the remaining states to join the CWC.
Unfortunately, problems with the nuclear treaties have created a pessimistic view about the future of international disarmament. We can disprove that theory - the CWC is a model for the future - it is multilateral disarmament that works."