OPCW Director-General Addresses the 20th Jubilee of the Croatian Society of Chemists and Chemical Engineers

On 26 February 2007, the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, provided the keynote address at Croatian Chemists and Chemical Engineers Association’s 20th Jubilee.

The event was opened by the President of the Republic of Croatia, H.E. Mr. Stjepan Mesić.

Referring to the responsibility of scientists in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Director-General Pfirter highlighted the crucial importance of formulating and upholding ethical standards to ensure that science, particularly chemical research, is dedicated solely to furthering humanity’s well-being. He stressed that these norms should remain the ultimate guide for scientific inventions and discoveries.

In that context, Director-General Pfirter noted that the OPCW together with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry are pursuing a chemical education and outreach project.

Recalling that the establishment of a chemical-weapons free world is an objective the OPCW shares with the Croatian Society of Chemists and Chemical Engineers, Ambassador Pfirter called upon the Society to make future generations aware of their responsibilities as scientists and engineers when dealing with materials that could present a danger to humankind. He urged the scientists participating in the 20th Jubilee to support the development of ethical norms that will sustain the chemical weapons ban over time.

PR12 / 2007

Categories: Disarmament, Eastern Europe, Non-proliferation of chemical weapons, Outreach