OPCW Director-General Addresses the Sixty-Third Session of the United Nations General Assembly

On 3 November 2008, the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter addressed the 63rd Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, on the theme “Cooperation between the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)”.

Director-General Pfirter noted that the cooperation between the two Organisations is vital for global peace and security. He stressed that, in this common quest the OPCW contributes by implementing its mandate of eliminating all declared chemical weapons and ensuring their non-proliferation through the tools of verification.

Director-General Pfirter underlined the overwhelming support that the Chemical Weapons Convention enjoys from UN Member States, as witnessed at the High Level Meeting convened last year at the UN Headquarters to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Convention’s operation. In this context, he highlighted that the adoption each year of a consensus resolution by the UN General Assembly, reaffirming the importance of the Convention, represents another concrete manifestation of such continuing support and contributes to strengthening the hard-earned norms against the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.

In his address, Ambassador Pfirter referred to the important outcome of the Second Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to Review the Operation of the Convention, held in The Hague in April 2008, which reconfirmed the Member States’ firm commitment and resolve to the goals enshrined in the CWC and towards ensuring its ultimate success. At the same time, he gave an overview of the progress made in the destruction of declared chemical weapons. He noted that the OPCW had verified the destruction of more than 41% of the total stockpiles declared by six States Parties and that two of the six declared possessors — Albania and A State Party — had completely fulfilled their destruction obligations under the Convention.

Director-General Pfirter also referred to the importance of developing the industry verification regime in a manner that is responsive to the need of ensuring the long term validity of the Convention’s non-proliferation objectives. At the same time, he also stressed the importance of achieving the full and effective implementation of the CWC at national level as a necessary step for States Parties to be properly equipped to detect, pursue, and prosecute any breach of the Convention by their nationals on their territory. Director-General Pfirter further drew attention to the Organisation’s international cooperation and assistance programmes, including periodic field exercises for the delivery of assistance in case of use of chemical weapons that the OPCW carries out in collaboration with the UN and other international organisations. He informed the UN General Assembly that the next such exercise is scheduled to be held in Tunisia in 2010.

The Director-General underlined the commonality of objectives between the UN and the OPCW is based on the ideals of the UN Charter for a prosperous and peaceful world, as well as on the importance of mutual cooperation and collaboration, which, he believed, would strengthen further in the years to come.