PR4: Bulgaria and the Netherlands Have Paid Their Assessed Contributions to the OPCW 2002 Budget

The Hague, 22 January 2002			Number 4

Press Release

Bulgaria and the Netherlands Have Paid Their Assessed Contributions to the OPCW 2002 Budget

Bulgaria and the Netherlands have paid their annual assessed contribution in full. At present, 43 Member States of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have so far paid in full their assessed contributions to its budget for the current financial year.

While this is a welcome development, taken together, the fully paid contributions of 43 Member States, equals only 19.1 % of the total assessed contributions due to the Organisation in 2002.

Annual contributions to the OPCW by each Member State are calculated primarily on the basis of the United Nations scale of assessment, which is adjusted to match the composition of the OPCW's membership. In accordance with the Organisation's financial regulations, Member States are obliged to pay their contributions to its budget by 1 January of each year.

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.

In this context, the Director?General of the OPCW, Mr José M. Bustani, thanked the above?mentioned Member States for their timely payments, and urged the other Member States to follow suit as soon as possible.

The membership of the OPCW has grown from 129 Member States in January 2000 to 145 Member States in January 2002. Since the Convention entered into force, on 29 April 1997, the OPCW has carried out more than 1,100 inspections on civilian and military facilities in 49 States Parties.

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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