PR03: Five More Member States of the OPCW Have Paid Their Contributions to its 2001 Budget

The Hague, 2 February 2001			Number 03

Press Release

Five More Member States of the OPCW Have Paid Their Contributions to its 2001 Budget

As of today, Australia, Bangladesh, Monaco, Sweden, and Tunisia have paid in full their financial contributions to the budget of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for the current financial year.

Member State	Amount Paid (EUR)	Date of Payment
Tunisia	18,875	25 January 2001
Monaco	2,195	26 January 2001
Sweden	592,093	31 January 2001
Bangladesh	5,487	1 February 2001
Australia	813,785	2 February 2001

The Director-General of the OPCW, Mr José M. Bustani, expressed his appreciation to the above-mentioned Member States for their payments, and urged the significant number of Member States which have not yet paid to follow suit as soon as possible. With these additions, 39 Member States have now paid their 2001 assessments in full, which constitute only 17.07% of the total amount assessed to States Parties for 2001.

The timely payment by Member States of their annual contributions is essential for the effective functioning of the OPCW, which is tasked, inter alia, with verifying the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

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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