14th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention Concludes

A total of 122 of the 188 States Parties to the CWC attended, together with 2 signatory States, 8 IGOs, and 30 NGOs and chemical industry associations.

The 14th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) ended on Friday, 4 December 2009 and adopted its final report by consensus.

A total of 122 of the 188 States Parties to the CWC attended the Conference together with two signatory States, Israel and Myanmar, which participated as observers. The Conference also attracted eight international organisations, specialised agencies and other international bodies, as well as 30 NGOs and chemical industry associations.

The Conference was chaired by H.E. Ambassador Vaidotas Verba, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the OPCW, and representatives of 10 States Parties were elected as Vice-Chairpersons*. The Conference elected 20 new members of the 41-member OPCW Executive Council for a two-year term that will start on 12 May 2010.**

Among its decisions taken during the 14th Session, the Conference:

• appointed H.E. Mr Ahmet Üzümcü as the Director-General of the OPCW Technical Secretariat for a term of office beginning on 25 July 2010, and ending on 24 July 2014;
• approved a 2010 Programme and Budget for the OPCW of €74,505,400, making it the Organisation’s fifth consecutive year of zero nominal growth of the budget;
• amended its earlier decision and granted an extension of the deadline by which the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya must destroy all of its Category 1 chemical weapons stockpiles, to 15 May 2011, with the following new intermediate deadlines: phase 1 (1%) to be completed by 1 November 2010, phase 2 (20%) to be completed by 15 December 2010, and phase 3 (45%) to be completed by 31 January 2011;
• requested the Executive Council to intensify consultations to develop concrete measures and recommendations for ensuring the full, effective and non-discriminatory implementation of Article XI (international cooperation in the peaceful uses of chemistry); it also requested the Technical Secretariat to organise a workshop in 2010 for the exchange of ideas among States Parties and relevant stakeholders which could assist, as appropriate, the policy-making organs of the OPCW in developing such concrete measures and recommendations;
• adopted a decision on national implementation measures of Article VII obligations by which it urged States Parties that had yet to do so to notify the OPCW of the designation or establishment of their National Authority and to inform the OPCW of the steps they were taking to enact legislation and/or to adopt administrative measures to implement the Convention; it requested all States Parties to inform the Organisation of any amendment to measures to implement the Convention and it urged States Parties to review their existing regulations in the field of trade in chemicals in order to render them consistent with the Convention; it also encouraged the Secretariat and States Parties to provide assistance for national implementation efforts and provided guidance on how to prepare annual reports on this subject;
• decided to continue the action plan on universality, noting that 33 new States Parties have joined the CWC as a result of the progress achieved since its adoption in 2003; and
• approved the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) by the OPCW for the reporting period beginning 1 January 2011.

On the sidelines of this year’s Conference, Global Green USA convened a special 2-day meeting of more than 30 NGOs from around the world which culminated with the establishment of a new “Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition” to supplement the efforts of the States Parties in ensuring the full implementation of the CWC. The meeting participants discussed and agreed a charter for the coalition stipulating its main goals, objectives, activities, structure and operational modalities. Global Green USA will serve as the coalition’s initial Coordination Hub and five NGO representatives selected on a regional basis will comprise its Advisory Committee

The official Conference documents and final report are available on the OPCW web site at www.opcw.org, together with the national statements of States Parties and information on the NGO events that were held on the sidelines of the Conference.

* Algeria, Cameroon, Germany, Guatemala, Peru, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, and United States of America.

** Africa - Algeria, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, South Africa; Asia - Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka; Eastern Europe - Albania, Romania, Russian Federation; Latin America and the Caribbean - Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador; and Western Europe and Other States - Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey

OPCW NEWS 59/2009

Categories: C-14