The Hague, 25 January 2002

Switzerland has fully paid its annual assessed contribution to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Forty-four Member States of the OPCW have so far paid in full their assessed contributions to the Organisation’s budget for the current financial year.

This is a welcome development.  However, the fully-paid contributions of 44 Member States, when added up, equal only 20.4% of the total assessed contributions which were due to the Organisation at the beginning of 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 the OPCW’s 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 with implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In this context, the Director‑General of the OPCW, Mr José M. Bustani, thanked the 44 Member States which have paid their contributions so far, and urged the other Member States to follow suit as soon as possible.

The OPCW now has 145 Member States. Since the Convention entered into force, the OPCW has carried out more than 1,100 inspections of civilian and military facilities in 49 States Parties.