The Hague, 16July 2001

The Chairman of the OPCW Executive Council, Ambassador Abdel Halim Babu Fatih of Sudan, upon his return from the summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Lusaka, expressed his hope that African leaders will do their utmost to speed up the process which will culminate in the ratification and accession of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) by all countries on the African continent. Ambassador Babu Fatih, who attended the OAU summit on behalf of the OPCW, carried a personal message from OPCW Director-General, José M Bustani, to the Foreign Ministers of those African States that still have to take action on the Convention. He spoke to the Foreign Ministers of Angola, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Uganda. The responses were mostly positive, with some African ministers indicating that their countries would be taking action on the CWC in the near future. During the talks the Council Chairman stressed the importance of sending a strong political signal to the world about Africa’s commitment to chemical non-proliferation. He underlined the many benefits of the Convention for Africa, both in political and security terms, and in relation to increased international cooperation in the field of trade in chemicals. The CWC is a treaty that has a lot to offer to Africa.

"The discussions in Lusaka brought to light new opportunities for African countries to benefit from acceding to the CWC, and illustrated the close relationship between regional security and economic development," said Ambassador Babu Fatih. "The efforts towards establishing an African Union create a new framework for universal adherence to the principles of disarmament and world peace. Chemical weapons disarmament, non-proliferation and international cooperation in the chemical field are important aspects in this regard."

The Chairman expressed satisfaction with the results of his visit, and stressed that it was now important to reaffirm and to reinvigorate the efforts to promote universal adherence to the CWC. The full participation of Africa in the Convention would send a strong signal to the world that the leadership of Africa is wholly committed to the principles of peace, the abolition of all weapons of mass destruction, and international cooperation for the benefit of economic development.