Archbishop Tutu Addresses the OPCW Executive Council; the OPCW Shows the Way towards a Better World

“You are showing the way by working for a different kind of world.” With these words the Most Reverend Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, concluded his address to the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) at the OPCW Headquarters in The Hague on 8 November 2006.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu addressing the Executive Council on 8 November 2006.

Archbishop Tutu visited the OPCW headquarters at the invitation of Director-General Pfirter and Chairperson of the Executive Council, H.E. Mrs Hlengiwe Buhle Mkhize, the Permanent Representative of South Africa to the OPCW. Ambassador Mkhize had served under Archbishop Tutu’s Chairmanship, as a Commissioner on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

During his visit, Archbishop Tutu met OPCW Director-General, H.E. Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter. In his introduction to the Council, Ambassador Pfirter summarized Archbishop Tutu’s achievements as those of a towering figure on the international scene. He recalled that Archbishop Tutu is an inspirational leader and a man of peace who had brought comfort and courageously promoted peace and justice in the world.

On behalf of millions of South Africans, Archbishop Tutu expressed his gratitude and thankfulness to all of the nations within the international community that supported the black South African movement to end apartheid, one of the most awful systems the world has ever seen.

Although humans have a frightening capacity for evil, as evidenced by the many occurrences of violence and genocide around the world, Archbishop Tutu stressed that many people and institutions demonstrate an exhilarating capacity for achieving great good. He stated that the OPCW was among this group, proving that peoples of diverse faiths and varied ethnic and regional backgrounds can work successfully together for the greater good of humankind.

In establishing a movement in disarmament, Archbishop Tutu commended the OPCW for demonstrating that it is possible in a polarized world for people to find points of agreement and to destroy forever instruments of devastation and destruction. By diverting resources from death and destruction, the OPCW is promoting investment in improving human life, including poverty eradication, education and health care. The OPCW’s experience also shows that people separated by shared hostility and serious differences can be united to achieve common goals. He told the Council that this common vision is based on the understanding that all human beings belong to one family that only through togetherness can hope to survive, prosper and be free.

On behalf of the Council, the Permanent Representative of the United States, H.E. Ambassador Eric Javits, extended the Council’s deep gratitude to Archbishop Tutu for his instructive insight and his ennobling words.

PR78 / 2006

Categories: Africa, Executive Council, Outreach