Executive Council of the OPCW Concludes its Third Session in The Hague

The Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons held its Third Session at the Netherlands Congress Centre in The Hague from 28 July - 1 August 1997. In his opening statement to the Council, the Director-General of the OPCW, Mr José M. Bustani, provided an overview of the principal activities undertaken by the Secretariat since the Second Session of the Council. The Council considered and approved three transitional verification arrangements for facilities which were involved in the destruction of chemical weapons at the time the Convention (CWC) entered into force. The transitional verification arrangements, which will have effect for the first 390 days after entry into force, are designed to allow verification by OPCW inspectors of the identity and quantity of the chemical weapons stocks to be destroyed and to confirm such destruction during this period. After 390 days these transitional arrangements will be replaced by facility agreements which will provide for the long-term verification of the destruction process.

The Director-General submitted a report to the Council on the electronic document management system together with an implementation plan. The Council discussed and endorsed the Director-General's implementation plan and noted his undertaking to report back to the Council at its Fourth Session on progress with it, as well as to provide the Council with an update of the original security study for the information management system for consideration and decision at its Fifth Session. The Director-General also reported to the Council on the detailed procedures put in place governing the registration, protection, handling, archiving, and destruction of confidential information. The Council was also informed of the measures which had been established to restrict access to confidential declarations to the least possible number of staff members of the Secretariat. A large number of States Parties had requested a high level of classification for their declarations. The Director-General, while recognising States Parties' need to protect confidential information, noted in his opening statement to the Council that the broad brush approach to classification was causing difficulties because of the consequent increased workload and drain on the resources of the Secretariat. He urged States Parties to adopt a more targeted approach when classifying their declarations. The Council requested that it receive a further report at an appropriate time on the implementation by the Secretariat of administrative directives and policy related to confidential information and declaration processing. The Secretariat was requested to examine measures to improve the security of electronic communication with National Authorities of States Parties.

The Director-General also submitted a report on the status of implementation of the Convention. This included a review of the receipt of initial declarations and other obligatory notifications required from States Parties and inspections undertaken by the Secretariat. Three months after the entry into force of the Convention, substantial progress had been achieved with its implementation, but, whilst a number of States Parties had made their initial declarations as required under the Convention, some had yet to file their declarations. The Council reiterated its concern about this, noting that more than two months had elapsed since the mandatory deadline for the submission of declarations prescribed by the Convention and three months had passed since the entry into force of the Convention. The Council urged those States Parties which had not yet done so to fulfill their declaration obligations as soon as possible. Noting that the Secretariat had made special contact with the relevant States Parties, providing them with additional declaration forms to assist them in fulfilling their obligations, the Council requested the Director-General to continue such assistance and to continue to report on action taken. The Director-General, motivated by a concern for transparency and a wish to demonstrate that the Convention is being effectively implemented, is seeking approval on an individual basis from the States Parties which have provided declarations, to be able to provide more information to non-Member States, as well as to the media.

The Director-General's report on the status of implementation of the Convention also provided information on on-site inspections verifying the accuracy of declarations, which are proceeding according to plan. The Secretariat had conducted over 30 initial inspections of chemical weapons related and other facilities since early June. Many more inspections were planned in the months ahead - with 35 planned for the month of August alone. OPCW inspection teams had started continuous monitoring activities at two permanently operating destruction facilities, and more such inspections would take place soon.

The Council considered the situation of those States which have not yet ratified the Convention, and emphasised the importance of ensuring the universality of the Convention. To that end, it requested the Director-General to submit a report on the measures necessary to achieve this objective and appealed to Member States to continue to actively contribute to promoting universality. 98 states have so far ratified or acceded to the Convention. An additional 69 States have signed the Convention, but have yet to deposit their instruments of ratification.

The Council considered a number of other issues which had been carried over from its Second Session including the Provisional Interim Staff Rules, the Draft OPCW Financial Rules and the proposed mechanism for updating the OPCW Central Analytical Database. Informal consultations will continue, and the Council agreed to defer finalising the issues at this stage. The Director-General updated the Council on ongoing administrative work, including progress with the construction of the OPCW building, the supply of office furniture and related equipment for the building, and the logo for the Organisation.

The Director-General submitted a separate report on the status of financial contributions by Member States to the OPCW showing that many States Parties had not yet paid their 1997 contributions. While recognising that some States Parties were experiencing problems in processing the payments because the Secretariat could send out the notice of assessment only after the OPCW Budget was approved in May, the Director-General stressed that as a result of these delays, the Secretariat was facing a severe cash-flow problem. The Council urged States Parties which had not yet paid their contributions to do so without delay. The Council also urged the Director-General to monitor the situation closely.

The Council recommended that the Conference of the States Parties at its Second Session, which will be held from 1-5 December, should schedule its Third Session for 16-20 November 1998. As already decided, the Fourth Session of the Executive Council will be held from 1-5 September 1997.

PR9/1997

Categories: Executive Council