Following are the paragraphs related to universality and external relations contained in the opening statement by the OPCW Director-General to the Executive Council at its 55th session.
As I mentioned earlier, Lebanon and Iraq joined the Convention, which entered into force for these two countries on, respectively, 20 December 2008 and 12 February 2009. Their accession represents an important advance in promoting universality as a factor for advancing peace and security in the region. Accession by these two countries brings us much closer to achieving a full global ban on chemical weapons. For its part, the Technical Secretariat stands ready to work with both countries in their efforts towards effectively implementing the Convention. In particular, we are ready to receive and act upon the declarations that Iraq will have to submit pursuant to the Convention within 30 days of entry into force and that will determine the steps to be taken both by this State Party and by the Technical Secretariat. I wish to underline here that the Secretariat is fully prepared to undertake any inspections that, in the light of Iraq’s forthcoming initial declaration, might be required in that country. Naturally, when the time comes for such inspections, as is the case in all the missions that we carry out, all pertinent considerations will be duly taken into account, including, of course, the priority question of the safety of the OPCW personnel.
There have also been important developments in the Caribbean region. In December 2008, the Deputy Director-General, John Freeman, paid a high-level visit to the Bahamas, where he met both the Governor-General and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Together with him there was also a team of experts from the Technical Secretariat and they all met with different national stakeholders in the Bahamas. The Secretariat was reassured of the firm intention of this State to join the Convention at the earliest and to fully implement its provisions. At the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, two experts from the Secretariat are travelling to the Bahamas at the end of this month in order to participate in a second round of consultations of national stakeholders, and to discuss specific aspects related to declarations. These intensive preparations are indicative of the readiness of the Bahamas to join the Convention soon.
On its part, the Dominican Republic has also made significant progress towards ratifying the Convention. Ratification was endorsed by both Chambers of its Parliament, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently proceeding with the preparation of the instrument of ratification. I have addressed communications to the Secretary of State of the Dominican Republic, commending his country on these important steps and indicating that the Secretariat is ready to provide further assistance to them.
In the case of Myanmar, we continue to look forward to this country joining the Convention at the earliest. Of course, we remain ready and available to provide support in the process. In the case of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, we have made no progress. However, we remain steadfast, as per the mandate from the Second Review Conference, which indicated that all States not Party should join at the earliest and without preconditions. Therefore we will continue our efforts to try and approach the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in order to present the case of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The Secretariat is also continuing the preparations for the workshop on the universality of the Convention in the Middle East and the Mediterranean Basin, to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 16 and 17 April. I am in contact with the Ambassadors of Egypt and Israel in The Hague, and, through my office, with the embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Brussels. This represents a continuation of our dialogue with these countries. Efforts to ensure the success of the Istanbul workshop would benefit certainly from any support that our Member States may provide in encouraging Egypt, Israel, and the Syrian Arab Republic to participate in the event at a suitably high level. It is also my sincere hope that Member States will consider attending the workshop, which will be an important opportunity to discuss and support the promotion of the universality of the Convention in the Middle East, and we have already received indication from some Member States that they will do so. In this context, I wish to once again express our gratitude to Turkey and to H.E. Mr Selahattin Alpar, personally, for the hospitality and invaluable assistance extended to the Technical Secretariat towards making this important event a success.
The Secretariat also remains in contact with the embassies of Egypt and Israel, with a view to scheduling the goodwill technical missions to these countries to which they have both agreed. We now look forward to the early indication of proposed dates for these visits.
The recent dramatic Gaza crisis has underscored the crucial importance of achieving peace in the Middle East. We have always stressed that adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention by all countries in the Middle East could represent a significant contribution towards that objective. For that reason, I will continue vigorously to advocate the cause of universality in the Middle East region and to pursue it with the utmost conviction and commitment, not just for the sake of reaching the goal of ultimate universality as urged by the Second Review Conference, but, equally and with a sense of added urgency, as a tool to prevent and alleviate human suffering and to avoid the loss of innocent lives.
In the area of our cooperation with the United Nations, since the last regular session of the Executive Council, I have addressed the First Committee of the General Assembly on the “Current State of Affairs in the Field of Arms Control and Disarmament and the Role and Contribution of the Respective Organizations” as well as the sixty-third session of the General Assembly on aspects of the cooperation between the United Nations and the OPCW. Those visits to New York also provided an opportunity to meet representatives of States not Party.
In the context of promoting cooperation with other international organisations, in November 2008 I also travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to address the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) on the status of the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the work of the OPCW, and also to meet with the Chairperson of the AU Commission, H.E. Mr Jean Ping. I also met with the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission, as well as with the Chairperson of the African Peace and Security Council. All these high officials reassured me of the African Union’s strong support in the framework of promoting the goals and the full and effective implementation of the Convention in Africa, as well as the achievement of its universality on the continent.
During the period under consideration, I also visited Bulgaria and Argentina. I met in both capitals with high-level officials, who reaffirmed the strong support of their respective countries for the Convention and for the OPCW. In November, I addressed a seminar on the “Present and Future Proliferation Risks and Threats: the Adequacy of the International Non-Proliferation Efforts to Address These Challenges”, an event organised by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in Berlin, Germany. In December, I also had an opportunity to address the Geneva Centre for Security Policy on the topic of “The Chemical Weapons Convention: A Case of Effective Multilateralism”.