The Hague, 3 December 1997

Second Session of the Conference of the States Parties Opens in The Hague

The Conference of the States Parties of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) convened on 1 December in The Hague for its Second Session. In his message to the Session, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi A. Annan praised the Convention for playing an important role as a confidence-building measure, for providing for the exchange of technical know-how for peaceful purposes, and therefore acting as a spur to additional disarmament initiatives. Mr Annan offered his best wishes for success.

As required by its Rules of Procedure, the Conference elected representatives of the following countries, all of whom will hold office until their successors are elected at the next regular session of the Conference.

• Chairman H.E. Mr. Simbarashe Simbanenduku Mumbengegwi (Zimbabwe)
• Vice Chairmen Algeria and Kenya (Africa)
• Pakistan and Republic of Korea (Asia)
• Belarus and Bulgaria (Eastern Europe)
• Chile and Mexico (Latin America & Caribbean)
• France and United States of America (Western Europe and Others)
• Chairman of the Committee of the Whole H.E. Mr. Bjorn Barth (Norway)

The Director-General of the OPCW, Mr José M. Bustani, in his statement, provided a brief overview of the activities of the OPCW since the First Session of the Conference of the States Parties. He also highlighted a number of important issues facing the OPCW including the need to fully implement the provisions of Article XI (Economic and Technological Development), the need to develop and maintain a culture of transparency, to continue to promote the universality of the Convention and to protect confidential information.

The following issues were, interalia, highlighted during the general debate:

• Recent ratifications of the Convention by Iran, Pakistan, Russian Federation and Nepal and accession by Jordan were welcomed
• The need to ensure that all States Parties fully comply with all provisions of the Convention in a timely manner, so as to avoid discriminatory verification was stressed
• Concern at how some unresolved issues before the OPCW might be resolved was expressed
• The need to approve a budget for operations in 1998, including agreement on how costs of verification related to chemical weapons facilities are to be reimbursed by the State Party concerned was outlined

Specifically, the statement by the People's Republic of China stressed that the Convention should be implemented in a fair and balanced manner and that this could only be achieved if all States Parties fulfilled all their obligations. The need for guidelines in relation to the treatment of old and abandoned chemical weapons was highlighted as was the need to ensure that the challenge inspection provisions in the Convention were not abused. Japan expressed concern at the absence of agreed guidelines in respect to old and abandoned chemical weapons and industry related facilities. Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Luxembourg reiterated the EU's offer of assistance to the Russian Federation with the destruction of its stockpiles of chemical weapons. The statement also stressed that the Convention should be applied in a balanced and non-discriminatory manner so as to avoid unfair competitive advantage. South Africa urged all States Parties to observe their obligations, in particular those relating to declarations and payment of financial contributions. It was stressed that Africa's participation in the Convention ought to be reflected in its level of representation in the staffing structure of the Technical Secretariat. Norway noted the great deal of progress which has been made in universality and implementation since entry into force of the Convention. Norway urged full compliance with declaration requirements while conceding the difficulties involved.

The Russian Federation, noting that it will become a State Party to the Convention on 5 December, expressed appreciation to the States Parties, as well as to the Director-General of the OPCW, for their active support in the ratification process. The Russian Federation stated that it would count on the cooperation of other States Parties in implementing its programme on destruction of its chemical weapons stockpiles. The statement went on to express the belief that decisions would be taken in the course of this Session of the Conference to ensure that the Russian Federation would be represented in the working bodies of the OPCW to the extent that would adequately reflect its role and significance in the implementation of the Convention. The statement noted that the OPCW's policy towards the conversion of former chemical weapons production facilities should be "rational". The United States of America, while noting the special significance of ratification by the Russian Federation, pointed out that there were as yet a number of countries still outside the Convention which have or have had chemical weapons programs and that the momentum towards universality needed to be maintained. The United States also urged that the OPCW be as transparent as possible in its activities and noted that it remains ready to join the Russian Federation in bilateral verification. It hoped that its own implementing legislation which would allow industry declarations, would be passed early in 1998.

The Czech Republic advised the Conference about its implementation activities and thanked the Eastern European regional group for its support in its candidature for membership of the Executive Council for the period 1998-2000. The Republic of Chile also provided details of its national implementation and expressed the view that the Convention's controls on scheduled chemicals should not operate to hinder free trade between States Parties. Switzerland announced that it has put itself forward as a candidate for the Executive Council for the period 1998-2000 and also expressed its concern at the significant number of countries which have as yet not made full declarations to the OPCW. Australia expressed the view that there must be non-discriminatory application of all verification related activities and that resolution was also required on all tasks related to the Paris Resolution. The importance of preserving and promoting transparency was also stressed. Bulgaria advised the Conference about its national implementation activities. The Republic of Korea stressed the importance of universality and the need to protect confidential information. Cuba expressed concern that the cooperation aspects of the Convention should be fully implemented and reserved the right to raise with the OPCW any trade embargo which it felt might breach the free trade provisions of the Convention. Hungary joined other delegations in advising the Conference about its national implementation measures and noted that despite the recent ratifications, universality is still an objective.

Saudi Arabia expressed the view that all rights and obligations under the Convention should be universal. It also expressed concern that financial obligations were not being honoured and emphasised the importance of implementing Article XI of the Convention related to economic and technological development. Poland noted that universality remains one of the basic prerequisites of a successful Convention and noted that timely compliance should be the common practice. Poland also expressed the view that the unresolved issues should be dealt with as soon as possible. Pakistan stated that its recent ratification illustrated its support for eliminating chemical weapons regionally and globally. The statement stressed the importance of Article XI and urged resolution of outstanding issues which might cause complications in verification. The need for fair representation of staff from all regions, particularly from those regions where security is a concern, to be included in the Technical Secretariat was stressed. Canada was encouraged by the recent ratifications but stated that this was no reason for complacency because initial declarations are the bedrock of the verification system. It also warned against veering away from the Convention's requirements as regards costs of verification. Slovenia appealed to those countries which have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention to do so and provided details of its national implementing procedures. It also called for strict implementation of the Convention in order to build confidence.

India referred to the renewed and reinforced hope at the start of this session of the Conference and stated that while there has been significant progress, those issues remaining outstanding must be resolved in order to avoid serious implications for implementation activities. Article XI was of particular importance to India, and it hoped that the recent ratifications would help enhance security. Malta joined the appeal for those states still outside the regime to join, but noted that ratification is not an end in itself, and that the Convention must also be implemented in a proper manner. Croatia advised the Conference of its national implementation measures and noted that the draft Budget before the Conference was one of the most important issues before it. Ukraine stated that ratification of the Convention is one of its highest priorities but explained that the process was a complex one given the need to determine if there have been chemical weapons dumped or buried on its territory prior to its independence only six years ago. Depending on the outcome, of this issue it was pointed out that Ukraine might need to seek financial assistance. Italy expressed dissatisfaction with the pace towards universality and also in relation to the implementation of the Convention. Chemical industries of states which have made such declarations, it stated, felt that a distortion of competition will result from incomplete compliance.

The Conference took decisions on the participation at this Session of non-Signatory States, representatives of the United Nations and of the specialised agencies, other international organisations and non-governmental organisations. In all cases, it was decided that all such representatives may attend the plenary meetings of the Conference but without the right to participate in a vote.

The Committee of the Whole, a subsidiary body of the Conference of the States Parties, also met during these days to discuss the OPCW Programme of Work and Budget for 1998, as well as the outstanding issues before the Conference of the States Parties and the Terms of Reference for the Scientific Advisory Board. The Conference is expected to continue until 5 December.