Mr Gaetan Naudi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion of Malta,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a very great honour and a pleasure for me to address you today at the opening of this regional workshop in Malta on the Chemical Weapons Convention.
I would particularly like to thank the Government of the Republic of Malta, and in particular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion, for its support and its tireless efforts in organising this event at an historic moment for the Government and the people of Malta – as you well know, and as the spectacular celebrations held here earlier this week testify, Malta became a member of the European Union family on May 1st, 2004.
The OPCW family has also been growing at a rapid rate since the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention in April 1997, and Malta has been a member of the OPCW ever since its creation.
The OPCW marked its seventh anniversary just last week. In those seven years, the membership of the Convention and the Organisation has grown from 87 States Parties to a total of 162 States Parties today.
The Chemical Weapons Convention is already, therefore, the fastest growing multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation treaty in history. The need for this rapid rate of growth to continue – until all countries in this region and throughout the world have joined the OPCW family – will be one of the themes of this workshop.
The importance of this regional event is amply demonstrated by the presence here of Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives to the OPCW from a number of key countries, including Italy, Japan, the OPCW’s host country The Netherlands, and the United States of America. I am most appreciative, Excellencies, for your commitment to the Convention and to the OPCW’s work and vision.
Many other Permanent Representations and representatives of National Authorities will also be participating over the coming three days of in-depth discussions, to promote the widest possible adherence to the Convention, and its full and effective implementation by all countries in the region.
You are ideally placed, with the expertise to speak with the greatest authority, whether like Spain and Tunisia as facilitators on issues relating to universality, or like an impressive number of speakers and Heads of National Authorities who have responsibilities for day-to-day implementation of the Convention at the national level.
I am very grateful for your contributions, and I know that your input will be crucial in providing what is often described commercially as “value added” to our interactions with States Parties and States not party to the Convention alike.
I would also like to pay a special tribute to the Permanent Representation of Malta to the OPCW, based in The Hague, headed by Ambassador Adrian Strickland, and most ably supported by Mr Alan Bugeja, who is with us today. Thank you for your key role in ensuring that this workshop has become a reality.
My particular thanks go also to the hard-working team here on the ground in Malta, under Mr Naudi, including Mr Giovanni Miceli, Mr Martin Valentino, and many others from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion, who have done so much to facilitate arrangements and enable the proceedings to run smoothly.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the presence of key regional organisations, including from the Office of the High Representative’s Personal Representative on Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction of the Council of the European Union in Brussels, and from the Department of Disarmament Affairs of the League of Arab States in Cairo. I warmly welcome your presence here today, from organisations whose membership spans all the shores of the Mediterranean basin, and beyond.
It is of some significance therefore, that we are gathering now in Malta, which is not only one of the newest members of the European Union, but also stands at the crossroads, and almost at the precise geographic centre, of this diverse and important region.
Why is this region so important to us?
There are many reasons – strategic, economic, and political, but above all by virtue of the special contribution that countries in this region are in a position to make in advancing the cause of global peace and security, by renouncing chemical weapons and their means of production once and for all.
For this reason, it has been a most timely and welcome development in 2004 that the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has take the signal step of joining the Convention and the OPCW, and has proceeded to declare and destroy all of its stocks of chemical weapons, and associated facilities and equipment.
Also in Africa, Chad and, most recently, Rwanda have also ratified the Convention in the past two months, to become the 161st and 162nd Member States, thereby vastly improving the universality picture southwards of the Mediterranean, where 41 African States are now members.
To the north and east, all European countries have now joined the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Convention’s coverage now extends to all members of the European Union, to all of Eastern Europe and the Central Asian Republics, the Russian Federation, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and all other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the vast majority of members of the League of Arab States, as well as Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and more than three quarters of all Asian States, including China and Japan who are represented here.
At the same time, there remain four States not party to the Convention in the Eastern Mediterranean – Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria – as well as Iraq and three members of the Arab League in Africa – the Comoros, Djibouti, and Somalia.
It is of major concern that fully half of the remaining States which have not signed Convention are in the Middle East region and Africa. The only other non-signatory States in the whole world are North Korea and a handful of small island countries.
This also makes the accession by Libya, which had not previously signed the Convention, all the more significant. More non-signatory States have been joining the Convention in the past year or so than in the previous five years combined. These are indicators of a trend which we hope may continue.
I warmly welcome the participation of two signatory States at this workshop – the Comoros, and Israel. It is now more than ten years since both of these countries signalled their intentions in relation to the CWC, by signing the Convention in Paris in 1993. The Comoros also recently participated in the largest ever OPCW activity for Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last month, attended by more than 90 participants.
I am also greatly heartened by the presence of a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs at this workshop. However, none of the non-signatory States have nominated representatives to attend on this occasion.
It is important that the message is communicated clearly, and that the Chemical Weapons Convention has the opportunity to be considered on its merits. The OPCW is firmly committed to reach out to the international community, including governments, international and non-government organisations, and civil society.
While I can understand the larger issues involved in relation to such matters for certain countries, it is the OPCW’s task to explore all possible avenues and alternatives, at the different levels, and to seek to make one positive step at a time.
This workshop is intended as one small step in that direction, but I have no doubt regarding its real and potentially far-reaching value. It will address issues related to building up capacities for the implementation of the Convention, and for strengthening non-proliferation efforts.
The programme for the workshop has been tailored to address issues of direct relevance to the region, including the export and import provisions of the CWC, the Convention’s verification regime, national implementing legislation, and implementation support mechanisms.
I am confident that through intense interaction and exchange of views among participants, including by sharing of practical experiences by representatives of States Parties and with the support of officers from the OPCW Technical Secretariat and other international organisation, the end result will be highly rewarding for all of you.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
The Chemical Weapons Convention is the first global disarmament treaty that aims at eliminating forever an entire category of weapons of mass destruction, under stringent international verification.
It is based on equal treatment of all participating States, respect for their national needs and desires, and cooperation among them. In addition to its provisions on disarmament and non-proliferation, the Convention contains important economic provisions that can benefit developing States directly.
OPCW membership already extends to nearly 95% of the world’s population and landmass, and 98% of global chemical industry. Membership includes all five permanent Members of the UN Security Council and almost all countries with significant chemical industry.
It should be stressed that the world’s chemical industry fully supports the CWC, and has been cooperating unreservedly with OPCW verification measures including on-site inspections. The Chemical Weapons Convention includes important provisions for declaration and inspection not only of chemical weapons stocks, but also of the facilities that produce a wide range of toxic chemicals and precursors.
At the same time, there are global concerns about the risk of the spread of weapons of mass destruction, the need for more attention to be paid to national counter-proliferation measures, and to address the threat of terrorism. The risk of terrorists gaining access to weapons of mass destruction requires concrete actions by all States and international organisations.
Last week, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1540. That resolution specifically mentions the OPCW and the Chemical Weapons Convention. As a mandatory resolution adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, it places binding obligations upon all States, including those few States which remain outside the CWC framework, to ensure non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, and their means of delivery.
It requires all UN members to adopt laws criminalising proliferation activities and preventing access to such weapons and means of delivery by “non-state actors”, to secure sensitive materials, and to develop strong export controls and enforcement efforts “to detect, deter, prevent and combat … the illicit trafficking and brokering in such items”.
Although the OPCW is not a counter-terrorism agency, we are playing our role in line with relevant Security Council resolutions. However, international efforts to prevent acts of terrorism, including to curb such activities by non-state actors, must be done in coordination with other agencies. Our actions fall fully within our mandate. Recent resolutions of the Security Council add new urgency and depth to this task.
The world expects that existing CW stockpiles be destroyed as soon as possible. All of the chemical weapons production capacity around the world – declared by 12 States Parties – has been inactivated. Of that amount, fully two-thirds of that capacity has been either destroyed or converted to peaceful purposes. And two million out of eight and a half million munitions or containers with chemical agents have been destroyed already. This includes chemical weapons delivery systems – both filled and unfilled.
The joint challenge is to prevent the re-emergence of chemical weapons. As of end of April 2004, 1723 inspections had been completed at 726 sites in 63 States Parties. Of course, what matters most is not the impressive number of facilities inspected, but the fact that a large number of States without any past experience with international inspections in the area of arms control have received such inspections as a matter of routine, and without significant problems in terms of acceptance or procedure.
Today, the international norm outlawing chemical weapons is firmly established – there is no “residual legitimacy” for the possession of chemical weapons – by any country, by any terrorist group, or by anyone.
Moreover, certain chemicals listed in the Convention may not be transferred to any country that has not yet joined the Convention. This is why the full and effective implementation of the Convention by all States Parties, including the adoption of comprehensive national implementing legislation, is also of the highest importance to achieve the goals of the CWC.
The OPCW policy-making organs have developed detailed plans of action to achieve universality of the Convention and its implementation. The Universality Action Plan is already seeing results in all regions, including in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Within the region, I am also working with the Arab League Secretariat, and particularly with the Secretary-General, Mr Amr Moussa, to identify the best ways and means of reaching out to the States not party to the Convention in this region in a spirit which takes on board the peace and security interests of one and all.
There is no officially confirmed data on where undeclared and un-safeguarded stockpiles of chemical weapons are, and how big they may be. But such stocks do exist, together with the military programmes and doctrines associated with their potential use.
The Chemical Weapons Convention is a major instrument in the international system for dealing with this problem. And it is an international instrument that operates as part of a broader system that includes national, bilateral, regional and other creative solutions.
Only when all States capable of producing and using chemical weapons have joined the CWC and are implementing it faithfully, will it be able to succeed in providing universal assurance against the possible use of chemical weapons.
The Chemical Weapons Convention and the OPCW carry a message of hope. But it is a hard-edged message. It is a serious message that requires hard, step-by-step decisions to be made, in order for that hope to become a reality.
I wish you well in your deliberations during the coming days. Let this workshop be one small step in the process towards a world free of all chemical weapons.
Thank you very much for your attention.