OPCW Council Recommends Accepting Delay in Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction: Calls for more international assistance for Russian destruction programme

The Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has agreed to recommend extending the deadline for the Russian Federation to destroy 1% of its Chemical Weapons.

(The final decision whether to approve the Russian request will be taken by the OPCW's supreme governing body, the Conference Of States Parties (CSP) which will consider the Executive Council's recommendation during its Fifth Session which begins on 15 May 2000.)

Under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), states with declared stockpiles of chemical weapons are obliged to destroy at least 1% of those stocks by 29 April 2000 (three years after the Convention entered into force).

However this deadline may be extended by the OPCW's supreme governing body, the Conference Of States Parties (CSP), after considering the recommendation of the Executive Council.

The Council recommended granting the request for a delay on the understanding that Russia will meet the next deadline set by the CWC for weapons destruction (29 April 2002). It also asked for regular reports on the status of the Russian destruction programme from the Russian authorities, the Director-General of the OPCW, and the Chairman of the Executive Council.

The other three states with declared stocks of Chemical Weapons have already met the 29 April deadline.

The Russian Federation has an estimated stockpile of 40,000 tonnes of Chemical Weapons and its destruction is Russia's responsibility. However, the Executive Council, aware of what it called "the continuing grave financial and economic problems" facing Russia, also recommended that the CSP calls for increased international assistance for the Russian chemical weapons destruction programme and that Russia, for its part, should take additional measures to facilitate such international assistance.

13/2000

Categories: Disarmament, Eastern Europe, Executive Council