OPCW

Technical Secretariat

 

Office of the Legal Adviser

 

S/112/99

 

6 May 1999

 

Original: ENGLISH

 

 

(PERMANENT) REPRESENTATIVES, ALTERNATES AND ADVISERS

 

Accreditation

 

 

1. Taking into account the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (the "Convention"), the OPCW Headquarters Agreement, and the respective Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the States Parties and the Executive Council, three types of delegation are possible within the framework of the OPCW, and three capacities are possible within those delegations:

 

1. DELEGATION TO THE OPCW OR PERMANENT MISSION

(Article VIII, paragraph 49, of the Convention and

Article 1, paragraphs (k) and (l) of the OPCW Headquarters Agreement)

 

Capacity

Accreditation and formalities

 

Head:

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE

 

 

 

- upon appointment, the submission of credentials issued by the Head of State or Government, or by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State Party concerned, or by any other authority acting on their behalf;

- entitled to receive classified documents from the Secretariat;

- may represent the State Party before subsidiary organ(s) and bodies and, if so accredited, the Conference of the States Parties and the Executive Council;

- designates alternates and advisers.

 

 

Member(s):

ALTERNATE(S)

 

 

- designated by the Permanent Representative or by note verbale;

- entitled to receive classified documents from the Secretariat;

- may be accredited in the same manner as the Permanent Representative if the State Party wishes the alternate to be authorised to act temporarily as a principal on its behalf at any time.

 

ADVISER(S)

- designated by the Permanent Representative or by note verbale.

 

 

 

 

 

2. DELEGATION TO THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

(Article VIII, paragraph 49 of the Convention;

Article 1, paragraphs (i) and (j) of the OPCW Headquarters Agreement; and

Rules 1 to 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council)

Capacity

Accreditation and formalities

Head:

REPRESENTATIVE

 

 

 

- following election of the State Party to the Executive Council, the submission of credentials (issued by the Head of State or Government, or by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State Party concerned, or by any other authority acting on their behalf) at least 24 hours in advance of the first session or meeting which the Representative will attend. The credentials should remain valid until the end of the State Party’s term in the Executive Council or the Representative’s departure;

- entitled to receive classified documents from the Secretariat;

- authorised to vote or take decisions on behalf of the government of the State Party in sessions and meetings of the Executive Council;

- should be available to participate in Executive Council sessions and meetings at short notice, and to take decisions within a 12-hour period;

- designates alternates and advisers.

 

Member(s):

ALTERNATE(S)

- designated in writing by the Representative to the Executive Council or by note verbale;

- entitled to receive classified documents from the Secretariat;

- may be accredited in the same manner as the Representative if the State Party wishes the alternate to be able to act temporarily as a principal on its behalf in sessions or meetings of the Executive Council;

- should be available to assemble in Executive Council sessions or meetings at short notice, within a 12-hour period.

 

ADVISER(S)

- designated in writing by the Representative to the Executive Council or by note verbale.

 

3. DELEGATION TO THE CONFERENCE OF THE STATES PARTIES

(Article VIII, paragraphs 9 and 49 of the Convention;

Article 1, paragraphs (i) and (j) of the OPCW Headquarters Agreement; and

Rules 23 to 26 of the Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the States Parties)

Capacity

Accreditation and formalities

Head:

REPRESENTATIVE

 

 

 

- not less than 7 days in advance of each session of the Conference, the submission of credentials issued by the Head of State or Government, or by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State Party concerned, or by any other authority acting on their behalf;

- entitled to receive classified documents from the Secretariat;

- authorised to vote or take decisions on behalf of the government of the State Party during the sessions of the Conference of the States Parties;

- designates alternates and advisers.

 

Member(s):

ALTERNATE(S)

- designated in writing by the Representative to the Conference of the States Parties or by note verbale;

- entitled to receive classified documents from the Secretariat;

- may be accredited in the same manner as the Representative if the State Party wishes the alternate to be authorised to act temporarily as a principal on its behalf in sessions of the Conference of the States Parties.

 

ADVISER(S)

- designated in writing by the Representative or by note verbale.

 

 

2. Accreditation to the OPCW is entirely separate from accreditation to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The (Permanent) Representative may, or may not, already be accredited in another capacity in the Netherlands.

 

3. Credentials are issued by the Head of State or Government, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State Party concerned, or by any other authority acting on their behalf. Credentials are submitted to the Director-General. Sample forms of credentials are contained in the annex to this document.

 

4. There is no chargé d’affaires capacity in the OPCW framework. In order to cover any eventual absences from The Hague, (Permanent) Representatives should designate in writing, addressed to the Protocol Branch of the Secretariat, (an) alternate(s) who may participate in sessions or meetings on their behalf and receive confidential documents. This is especially important for the effective functioning of the Executive Council, which may be called upon to assemble and take decisions within a 12-hour period. If the alternate has been accredited in the same way as the (Permanent) Representative (see paragraph 3 above), he/she may serve temporarily in the principal capacity, at any time.

 

5. For situations not fitting into the basic schema established above, Article 1, paragraphs (m) and (n), of the OPCW Headquarters Agreement provides for the designation of "Delegates of States Parties" and "Experts." These were included to cover instances when participation is necessary in other bodies such as the Confidentiality Commission, the Scientific Advisory Board, and the Advisory Body on Administrative and Financial Matters, or in ad hoc meetings.

 

6. All notifications concerning the appointment and the departure of (Permanent) Representatives, alternates and advisers should be addressed to the Protocol Branch of the Secretariat, which maintains the register of delegations (the OPCW Directory). Notification of delegates or experts who will require a security badge to attend a given meeting should also be addressed to the Protocol Branch. Queries regarding credentials should be addressed to the Office of the Legal Adviser.

 

7. A detailed explanation of the above is contained in document S/71/98, dated 31 August 1998, entitled "Accreditation of Permanent Representatives to the OPCW, Representatives to the Conference of the States Parties, Representatives to the Executive Council and Related Matters".

 

 

 

Annex

 

Annex

 

 

 

SAMPLE FORM OF CREDENTIALS

 

(PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE)

 

 

 

 

WHEREAS the Government of ......................(State Party)...................... [has set up at the seat of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) a permanent mission to maintain necessary contact with the OPCW] [wishes to accredit a Permanent Representative to maintain necessary contact with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)],*

 

NOW THEREFORE we ......................(name and title)...................... have appointed and by these presents do confirm as Permanent Representative to the OPCW:

 

(His)(Her) Excellency

.......................(name)......................

......................(title)......................

 

 

The Permanent Representative has full powers to act and take decisions on behalf of the Government of ......................(State Party)......................

 

IN FAITH WHEREOF we have signed these presents at .................................................. on ..................................................

 

 

Signature ....................................................

(title)

 

(Head of State or Head of Government or Minister of Foreign Affairs or any other authority acting on their behalf)

 

 

 

 

 

SAMPLE FORM OF CREDENTIALS

 

(REPRESENTATIVE TO THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL)

 

 

 

 

 

WHEREAS ......................(State Party)...................... has been elected member of the Executive Council by the Conference of the States Parties of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW),

 

NOW THEREFORE we ......................(name and title)...................... have appointed and by these presents do confirm as representative of ......................(State Party)...................... to the Executive Council of the OPCW:

 

(His)(Her) Excellency

.......................(name)......................

......................(title)......................

 

 

The Representative has full powers to act and take decisions on behalf of the Government of ......................(State Party)......................

 

IN FAITH WHEREOF we have signed these presents at .................................................. on ..................................................

 

 

Signature ....................................................

(title)

  (Head of State or Head of Government or Minister of Foreign Affairs or any other authority acting on their behalf)

 

 

SAMPLE FORM OF CREDENTIALS

 

(REPRESENTATIVE TO THE CONFERENCE OF THE STATES PARTIES)

 

 

 

 

 

WHEREAS ......................(State Party)...................... desires to be represented at the …………… Session of the Conference of the States Parties of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to be held in The Hague, the Netherlands from …………….. to ………………,

 

NOW THEREFORE we ......................(name and title)...................... have appointed and by these presents do confirm as representative of ......................(State Party)...................... to the Conference of the States Parties of the OPCW:

 

(His)(Her) Excellency

.......................(name)......................

......................(title)......................

 

 

The representative has full powers to act and take decisions on behalf of the Government of ......................(State Party)......................

 

IN FAITH WHEREOF we have signed these presents at .................................................. on ..................................................

 

 

Signature ....................................................

(title)

 

  (Head of State or Head of Government or Minister of Foreign Affairs or any other authority acting on their behalf)

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