The Hague, 5February 2002

Austria has paid its annual assessed contribution to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

One third of the Organisation’s Member States have paid their contributions in full. However, the total sum of the fully-paid contributions, provided by 48 Member States, equals only 21.5% 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.

OPCW Director-General, Mr José M. Bustani, expressed his appreciation to Austria and the other 47 Members for having paid their assessed contribution for 2002 in full and urged the remaining 97 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.

The following forty-eight Member States of the OPCW have so far paid in full their assessed contributions to the Organisation’s budget for the current financial year.