The Hague, 26 November 2004

Chemical Weapons Ban Annual Conference to Convene in The Hague

The Ninth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention will convene in The Hague from 29 November to 3 December 2004.

All 167 OPCW Member States are invited to attend the Conference. In addition, States not party to the CWC may participate in the Conference as Observer States.

The annual Conference of the States Parties is the OPCW’s principal policy-making organ. At the Ninth Session, delegates will consider requests for the extension of intermediate deadlines for the destruction of chemical weapons, submitted by Albania and Libya.

In accordance with the CWC, Libya has declared a former chemical weapons production facility at Rabta and has requested the approval for the facility’s conversion to peaceful purposes. If approval is granted by this Conference, Libya will convert the facility to produce low-cost pharmaceuticals to be distributed in Africa. Specifically, those medicines most urgently needed to deal with AIDS/HIV, malaria and tuberculosis will be produced at the converted facility.

The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force on 29 April 1997. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) comprises 167 Member States and is one of the largest multilateral, disarmament organisations in the world.

The OPCW implements the chemical weapons ban worldwide by verifying the total elimination of chemical weapons and the capacity to develop and produce them within a strict timeframe. To ensure that new chemical weapons are not produced, the OPCW also verifies that certain chemicals are only used for peaceful purposes.

The Member States of the OPCW also pursue the universal and effective implementation of the CWC, to be certain that all States ratify the CWC and implement it in full.

Member States have the right to request the assistance and protection of their fellow Member States, should chemical weapons ever be used, or their use threatened.

The Member States also promote international cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry.