Hong Kong container terminal Hong Kong port (Photocapy image)
Pfirter: “The verification regime of the Convention requires States Parties to track the import and export of scheduled chemicals and report such data to the OPCW. Such a measure, when applied earnestly by all States Parties, provides a high degree of assurances that international trade in chemicals does not endanger international peace and security.”
The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, on 10 June 2009 opened the Regional Workshop for Customs Authorities in Asia on Technical Aspects of the Transfers Regime of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) that is being co-hosted by the People’s Republic of China and the OPCW and organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR) of China.
The opening ceremony took place in the presence of Mrs Rita Lau, Secretary Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Hong Kong SAR and Mr Wu Haitao, the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.
In his opening address to the Workshop, Director-General Pfirter noted the crucial role that customs authorities play in the effective implementation of the Convention. In this context, Director-General Pfirter underscored that, “Whilst facilitating the international trade in chemicals, the Convention seeks to ensure at the same time that such trade is not misused for purposes prohibited by the Convention. For this, the verification regime of the Convention requires States Parties to track the import and export of scheduled chemicals and report such data to the OPCW. Such a measure, when applied earnestly by all States Parties, provides a high degree of assurances that international trade in chemicals does not endanger international peace and security.”
During his visit to Hong Kong SAR, Director-General Pfirter also met bilaterally with Mr Lu Xinhua, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Hong Kong SAR; Mrs Rita Lau, Secretary, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Hong Kong SAR; and Ms Yvonne Choi, Permanent Secretary, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Hong Kong SAR.
Director-General Pfirter commended the Government of China for its invaluable support for the Chemical Weapons Convention and the work of the OPCW, and expressed his appreciation for Hong Kong SAR’s full and effective implementation of the Convention. Noting that the workshop was held in Hong Kong SAR, he also expressed the hope that countries in the region could benefit from Hong Kong’s practices and experience.
Secretary Lau reiterated Hong Kong SAR’s strong commitment to the goals of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
At the invitation of the Chinese Government, the Director-General is also scheduled to visit Macao Special Adminstrative Region (Macao SAR) on 11 June 2009 and Guang Dong Province on 12 June 2009, for meetings with local authorities in charge of implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The visit to Guang Dong will include a tour of the warehouse for abandoned chemical weapons.
PRESS RELEASE 7/2009