Director-General Addresses 27th International Workshop on Global Security in Berlin

In the context of his recent visit to Berlin, the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, participated as a guest speaker in the 27th International Workshop on Global Security on 6 June 2010. The event was presented by the Center for Strategic Decision Research with the sponsorship of the German Ministry of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense and EADS.

Director-General Pfirter participated in a panel discussion on “Global Security from a Latin American Perspective” with two other speakers: H.E. Jorge Arguello, the Argentine Ambassador to the United Nations, and H.E. Dr. Everton Vieira Vargas, the Brazilian Ambassador to Germany.

In his remarks on “Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Personal View”, the Director-General noted that the international community has widely and appropriately recognised the proliferation of WMDs as a threat to international peace and security, as was affirmed by the UN Security Council for the first time in 1992 and reaffirmed in September 2009. He further noted that UNSCR 1540 and the UN General Assembly’s Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy underscored the urgency of the potential threat of access to WMD by non-state actors.

The Director-General said the experience of the OPCW in developing an all-encompassing regime to ban chemical weapons could offer lessons for other disarmament and non-proliferation fora as well. Regarding the non-proliferation dimension, he observed that inspections of commercial enterprises are specific to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and represent a unique example of collaboration between the public and private sectors in promoting security while not prejudicing legitimate business interests. The Director-General added that the OPCW must continue refining and taking to an adequate level the number and intensity of industry inspections, and that the regime must also adapt to keep pace with developments in the science and technology of chemical production.

He concluded by stressing that collective strategies, collective institutions and a sense of collective responsibility are indispensable to the goal of ensuring international peace and security. Together with greater adherence to the rules of international law, stronger international institutions promoting cooperation among States are vital in creating a more effective global security system.

OPCW NEWS  17/2010 | THE HAGUE, 10 JUNE 2010

Categories: Outreach