Director-General of the OPCW Addresses Important African Summit

President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir of the Sudan welcomed the Director-General of the OPCW, José M. Bustani, to the country on his first official visit to Africa, 8-10 January 2002. During this visit, the Director-General also met with the Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mustafa Osman Ismail, and the Sudanese Minister of Justice, Mr Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin. It was noteworthy that the Director-General was invited to address the Heads of State and the Governments participating in the Ninth Summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which was being held in Khartoum at the same time.

IGAD is a regional organisation comprised of seven East African states: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, the Sudan, and Uganda. Government ministers from Italy and Norway (who were acting as Co-Chairs of the IGAD Partners Forum) and the United Kingdom also participated in the summit.

The essential purpose of the visit was to promote the universality of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), by reaching out to the following countries not party to the Convention which were attending the summit: IGAD members Djibouti and Somalia, as well as representatives from Egypt and Libya. The Director?General made an appeal to the five members of IGAD which are States Parties to act as "ambassadors" for the OPCW, by promoting adherence to the CWC by the 17 States of Africa which have not joined the Convention.

In his address to the summit, Mr Bustani made a strong plea for multilateralism, for global disarmament, and for non-proliferation in general; in addition, he highlighted the key security benefits to be gained from adherence to the CWC. The Director-General also emphasised the OPCW's efforts to promote economic, scientific, and technological development. Seeking to encourage States to grasp the opportunities which membership of the OPCW offers, Director-General Bustani stated, "The OPCW has developed a number of projects and programmes in the field of international cooperation, which are tailored to the specific needs of the developing world…which includes assistance in the development of scientific and technical infrastructures of Member States…".

Mr Bustani used the occasion of his visit and of his address to the summit to foster enhanced dialogue in Africa with civil society, and with non-governmental organisations, as well as with other official regional organisations. To this end, he participated in a UN-sponsored panel discussion, which included UN Under-Secretary-General Olara Otunnu.

The President of the Sudan expressed his personal interest in the Convention, and in promoting it within Africa. The Director-General welcomed the efforts made by the Sudan, particularly through its chairmanship of the Executive-Council, and through its co-sponsorship of an OPCW workshop on the universality and implementation of the CWC, which will be held in Khartoum in March 2002.

03/2002

Categories: Africa, Outreach