Dear Chairperson,
Distinguished Members of the ABAF,
I would like to extend to all of you a very warm welcome to the Fifty-Eighth Session of the ABAF.
Allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr Mangelsdorf, on your election as Chairperson. I wish to sincerely thank all the members for your important service to the OPCW.
I would like to welcome four new members of the ABAF: Ms Shiho Bamba, Mr Terry Dance, Mr Muhammad Junaid and Mr Satendra Singh. Congratulations on your appointments.
Among the important items on your agenda this week are a review of the 2024 Financial Statements for the OPCW and for the OPCW Provident Fund, a presentation by the External Auditor, the 2024 Programme Performance Report, the status of the OPCW’s 2025 financial performance to date, and the work of the Office of Internal Oversight.
You will also be provided with an update on OPCW’s transition to membership of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund.
In addition, we will update you about the in-house management of the OPCW Provident Fund after our external service provider decided to terminate its provident fund services by the end of 2024.
It was a challenge to prepare and implement these significant changes in 2024.
However, they were successful, and I am delighted to report that an agreement with the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund was signed this year with effect from 1 January.
The transfer of Provident Fund balances to the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund was completed successfully and on schedule in May 2025.
I wish to take this opportunity to commend Christopher Buck, the Director of Administration, and Adam Boys, Head of Budget and Finance, and his team for their commitment and professionalism.
Without them, it would not have been possible to make the transition to the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, which is in the interest of both our staff members and the Organisation.
As at the end of May 2025, the overall rate of cash inflows is a little lower compared to the previous year-to-date position.
To avoid the need to draw from the Working Capital Fund, as was last required in 2022, it is vital that States Parties pay their assessed contributions for the year in a timely manner to ensure that the OPCW can meet its obligations and deliver the Organisation’s Programmes.
Although the Working Capital Fund is currently at its fully funded level of 8.1 million Euro, if needed, it can only sustain operational requirements of the OPCW for less than two months.
I am pleased to report that the audit of the OPCW’s 2024 Financial Statements was completed during May this year by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the auditors provided their opinion – free of qualifications – on 31 May, the deadline defined by the Financial Rules and Regulations.
The auditors will join this meeting tomorrow to provide a presentation on their work. The Technical Secretariat appreciates their efforts to provide their opinions of the financial statements on time.
As this ABAF Session will review past budget and financial performance, I am pleased to report that the extraordinary inflation experienced in the previous biennium has substantially moderated.
The overall budget implementation rate for the previous biennium was 99% and included very restrictive control measures to prevent overspending.
In preparing the budget for the current biennium, the cost base took into account the historic global inflation affecting our operations in 2023.
By contrast with the previous biennium, the implementation rate for 2024, the first year of the current biennium, was 92% due to the significant reduction in inflationary pressures.
However, we anticipate a higher level of implementation overall for this biennium. This is due to significant emerging operational requirements for Syria missions and the resumption of more routine staff vacancy rates. The recruitment activity was reduced in 2023 in order to contain rapidly increasing costs due to the then rampant global inflation.
We appreciate the continuing strong financial support of States Parties, despite global fiscal challenges, especially through the timely remittance of assessed contributions but also via substantial voluntary contributions.
This is a very positive signal for the OPCW and its vital mandates. It is also an encouragement for the Secretariat to continue its efforts to deliver its programmes with maximum efficiency.
As usual, we shall return to budgetary matters at the July Session of the ABAF, when we shall present the proposed biennium Programme and Budget for 2026-2027.
We anticipate that the main consideration will be to ensure the necessary resourcing to finally close the outstanding matters relating to the OPCW’s pending mandates in the Syrian Arab Republic.
As you are aware, the OPCW has increased its activities there in light of the historic opportunity presented by the current circumstances.
We look forward to supporting ABAF in your important deliberations, as you prepare your advice on these and other key topics.
Once again, welcome back to The Hague – both in person and virtually for this ABAF meeting.
Thank you for the important contributions you make to the work of the OPCW.
Turning the floor back to you, Chairperson, I wish you fruitful deliberations, and I am confident that the Director of Administration, the Head of Budget and Finance, and the whole Administration team will give you all the support you may need.
Thank you for your kind attention.