On 8 November 2005, Mr Peter Lichtenbaum, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, met Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.
Director-General Pfirter and Assistant Secretary Lichtenbaum held detailed discussions on the current status of the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
On behalf of his Government, Mr Lichtenbaum expressed the firm commitment of the United States in supporting the goals of the CWC and expressed his Government’s staunch support for the OPCW and its full and effective implementation of the chemical weapons ban.
Director-General Pfirter commended the effort undertaken by the United States for its on-going and considerable support provided to the OPCW and individual Member States to promote the full and effective application of the chemical weapons ban.
Assistant Secretary Lichtenbaum expressed his appreciation for the efforts being undertaken by the OPCW in its efforts to ensure that States Parties fulfil their CWC obligations.
In his address to the Tenth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the CWC, Assistant Secretary Lichtenbaum noted that there were signs of progress in States Parties’ enactment of the national legislation and administrative measures to ensure that the CWC can be enforced at the national level. He stressed that, although the OPCW is far from the finish line, the Organisation must decide on further, concrete steps to achieve full and universal compliance with Article VII obligations, relating to national implementation. Assistant Secretary Lichtenbaum underlined that true success can only be measured by one hundred percent compliance with Article VII by all States Parties.
73/2005