The Hague, 04 July 2001

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is pleased to announce that its 1,000^th inspection has been completed.

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is the first multilateral global disarmament treaty designed to achieve the complete and verifiable elimination of an entire class of weapons of mass destruction. Since the CWC entered into force on 27 April 1997, the OPCW has conducted inspections at former chemical weapons production facilities, at chemical weapons storage locations, at chemical weapons destruction facilities, at sites of abandoned or old chemical weapons and at industrial facilities, engaged in legitimate commercial activities.

The OPCW’s inspectors, coming from over 50 Member States, have, in the course of their hazardous and exacting work, travelled over 21 million miles, equivalent to circumnavigating the globe more than 850 times. Since the Convention entered into force, the OPCW has carried out its uniquely stringent regime of inspections and verification at a total of 462 facilities in 49 Member States.

Less than 50 months after Entry into Force, all of the declared chemical weapons stockpiles have been inventoried, all of the former chemical weapons production facilities, declared by States Parties, have been permanently closed and inactivated. One half of the former chemical weapons production facilities are either already destroyed, or are certified as converted for peaceful purposes. OPCW inspectors monitor the destruction of chemical weapons in the four possessor states as well as verifying that the global chemical industry is not engaged in activities prohibited under the Convention.

The 1,000 missions include 622 chemical weapons-related inspections, in addition a further 378 industrial inspections, to monitor the peaceful uses of chemistry have been conducted. The landmark mission Number 1,000, led by Ms Hua Li and her team of three other inspectors, was carried out at an industrial site in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The inspection team enjoyed the fullest co-operation of the Iranian authorities.

OPCW Director-General, José M Bustani, congratulated both the Inspectorate of the OPCW and the Members States upon reaching this landmark so quickly, " the task of inspection requires complex logistics and close co-operation on the part of the inspectors and the inspected States Parties. Our teams of inspectors are active on every continent, working hard with dedication and perseverance. It is thanks to their resolve, and the commitment and indispensable co-operation of the States Parties, that we have achieved this milestone. Despite current financial difficulties, caused by several factors, including late payments by some Member States, we intend to continue vigorously with verification and other core programmes aimed at full implementation of the treaty. "