The Hague, 29 April 2004

African Union Calls for Chemical Weapons-Free Zone in Africa

The Workshop on the Universality and the Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), conducted jointly by the Government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 20 to 22 April 2004, has concluded. This Workshop, organised in close collaboration with the Commission of the African Union (AU), was attended by representatives of 38 States Parties to the CWC, six States not Party to the CWC, the European Union Council Secretariat, the League of Arab States and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

The Workshop was convened to increase awareness among African States of the need to achieve the widest possible adherence to the chemical weapons ban in Africa and raise awareness of the benefits of membership in the OPCW. Participants received briefings and information on achieving full and uniform compliance with the Convention’s obligations, drafting and implementing national legislation, international cooperation programmes and cooperation between the OPCW and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.

All participating States at the Addis Ababa Workshop also welcomed the rapid pace of accession to, and ratification of, the CWC in Africa, notably the accession of Libya and the ratification by Chad and Rwanda, bringing the number of African States Parties to the CWC to 41. The express willingness of Comoros, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar and Sierra Leone to join the CWC was welcomed by the Workshop. The OPCW was urged by the Workshop to exert every effort in partnership with the African Union to make Africa a Chemical Weapons Free Zone.

The remaining twelve African States not Party to the CWC, as well as States not Party to the CWC from other regions, were urged by the Workshop to accede or ratify the CWC without delay.

All African States were called upon by the Workshop to ratify disarmament treaties relating to weapons of mass destruction, including the Pelindaba Treaty, the Treaty on the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Africa.

In its Recommendations, the Workshop stressed that each State’s own national security interests are its primary motivation to join and implement the CWC, noting that the full implementation of the CWC could serve as a powerful deterrent to terrorists.

Adherence to the CWC also provides concrete benefits for all OPCW Member States. The OPCW supports programmes to enhance Member States’ national capacity to implement the Convention, to protect civilian populations against chemical weapons and to facilitate the international cooperation among States Parties to promote the peaceful uses of chemistry.