General view of participants in the Open Forum, held in The Hague on 9 April 2008
On 19 November 2007, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) hosted a meeting between the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The Chairman of the Open-Ended Working Group for the Preparation of the Second Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to Review the Operation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, H.E. Ambassador Lyn Parker, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the OPCW, presided over the meeting.
In total, 14 NGOs attended: the Arms Control Association, the BioWeapons Prevention Project, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Green Peace––War Victims, the Harvard Sussex Program, the International Network of Engineers and Scientists, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the Organisation for Defending Victims of Chemical Weapons, Pugwash International, the Society for Chemical Weapons Victim Support, the University of Leeds, the Verification Research Training and Information Centre, the Weapon of Mass Destruction Injured Society, and the World Federation of Scientific Workers. In addition, Mr Richard Guthrie and Mr Walter Krutzch, two eminent disarmament specialists participated in this meeting.
Representatives of 28 States Parties to the Convention also attended, including: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, China, Cuba, France, Germany, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, the Libyan Arab Jimahiriya, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, the Russian Federation, Serbia, South Africa, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America.
In his introductory remarks, OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, highlighted the invaluable contributions made by NGOs and civil society in accomplishing the objectives of the Chemical Weapons Convention and outlined the work the Technical Secretariat was undertaking to prepare for the Second Review Conference.
During the meeting, Ambassador Lyn Parker updated the participants on ongoing preparations for the Second Review Conference, which will be held in April 2008. A presentation was also made on the work that the Scientific Advisory Board has carried out since the First Review Conference in 2003. The meeting closed with an exchange of views and a discussion between representatives and States Parties.