The Director-General opened the workshop on “Analysis of Chemicals Related to the Chemical Weapons Convention” organised by the Finnish Institute for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (VERIFIN) to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Convention. Around 80 participants from 35 OPCW Member States attended the event on 5 September 2007 in Tuusula, Finland.
In his keynote address the Director-General applauded the singular contribution made by VERIFIN towards the success of the CWC, describing it as “an indispensable and reliable partner for the OPCW in support of its critical verification tasks and other important areas of activity”. He stressed that the work done by VERIFIN was of a quality that had “made it possible to demonstrate that chemical disarmament and non-proliferation are not utopian but attainable objectives”.
In her introductory remarks, Dr Paula Vanninen, Director of VERIFIN, welcomed the Director-General and provided an overview of the salient features of the CWC and its verification regime and the relevance of the work of VERIFIN to the verification provisions of the CWC.
PR88 / 2007