On 7 November 2005, Dr. Kim Howells, MP, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, paid an official visit to the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Pfirter, briefed Minister Howells on the status of implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) by the OPCW Member States.
In their meeting, Minister Howells and Director-General Pfirter discussed in detail the continuing efforts by OPCW Member States to achieve full and effective implementation of the chemical weapons ban. Minister Howells stressed the need to ensure that all Member States outlaw chemical weapons and put in place national controls on the international transfer of toxic chemicals in line with the Chemical Weapons Convention, in order to strengthen their defences against chemical terrorism.
On behalf of the Organisation, Director-General Pfirter expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the European Union’s continuing support for the OPCW, which has resulted in a generous voluntary contribution provided through a European Union Joint Action. He emphasized that the Joint Action serves to increase the Organisation’s membership, as well as to enhance individual Member States’ ability to enact and to apply the national controls needed to prevent the production or use of chemical weapons. Director-General Pfirter noted that under the United Kingdom’s Presidency, the European Union was considering the continuation of the Joint Action in 2006.
On the occasion of the Tenth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, Minister Howells stressed that the European Union’s firm commitment to the goals and aims of the CWC and its strong support for the OPCW as reflected in the European Union’s Joint Action with the OPCW. He stated that the European Union supports the OPCW in seeking to achieve universal and effective adherence to the chemical weapons ban by helping to increase States Parties’ capacities to implement the Convention.
Dr Howells congratulated the OPCW on the successful conduct of the recently-held field exercise, Joint Assistance 2005, which was co-organised by the OPCW, Ukraine, and NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Relief Coordination Centre (EADRCC).
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