Left to right: Dr Gu Juesheng, Ambassador Abuelgasim Abdelwahid Sheikh Idris, Dr Claude Eon, Dr Ralf Trapp, Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü, Ambassador Noor Farida Ariffin, Ambassador Rolf Ekeus (Chairman), Ambassador Roberto Garcia Moritan, Ambassador Rakesh Sood, Dr Bunro Shiozawa, Ambassador Marcos Castrioto de Azambuja, Ambassador Sergey Batsanov, and Ambassador Eric Javits.
An advisory panel of independent experts, convened by Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü to make recommendations for future OPCW priorities, held its first meeting in The Hague from 14-15 December 2010.
The panel is chaired by Ambassador Rolf Ekeus of Sweden and comprises 14 members coming from a broad geographical distribution of OPCW Member States.* The panel members were selected for their expertise in the fields of arms control and disarmament, chemical industry, and science and technology. The members are wholly independent and serve on the panel in their personal capacities.
Director-General Üzümcü announced the establishment of the panel at the 15th Session of the OPCW Conference of the States Parties on 29 November: “As we look towards the future of the Organisation in the years after 2012, I believe that it is useful to examine a wide range of perspectives,” the Director-General said. “In this light, and in order to reflect on the next phase in the evolution of our Organisation, I have decided to establish an independent advisory panel.”
Following the initial meeting, the advisory panel will hold a small number of additional meetings in 2011 before submitting its report to the Director-General in mid-2011. The Director-General will thereafter share the report with the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in order to assist them in their consideration of issues affecting the evolution of the Organisation.
* Ambassador Rolf Ekeus (Sweden) – Chairman, Ambassador Noor Farida Ariffin (Malaysia), Ambassador Marcos Castrioto de Azambuja (Brazil), Ambassador Sergey Batsanov (Russia), Dr Claude Eon (France), Dr Gu Juesheng (China), Ambassador Abuelgasim Abdelwahid Sheikh Idris (Sudan), Ambassador Eric Javits (USA), Dr Patricia Lewis (UK/Ireland), Ambassador Abdul Minty (South Africa), Ambassador Roberto Garcia Moritan (Argentina), Dr Bunro Shiozawa (Japan), Ambassador Rakesh Sood (India), Dr Ralf Trapp (Germany).