Agence France-Presse,
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) used its 10th anniversary Wednesday to call on all countries to sign the convention it monitors.
“Joining the convention would be an important contribution” to peace and security, the OPCW's director general Rogelio Pfirter told the press, at the organisation's seat in The Hague.
So far, 181 countries have signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Eight states, like Israel, have signed but not ratified the treaty. North Korea, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria refuse outright to sign it.
“Unfortunately, North Korea is the only one which has not responded to any of our overtures,” Pfirter said, adding “there have been allegations” that Pyongyang had chemical weapons.
“The six-party talks (between North and South Korea, Russia, China, Japan and the United States) have prioritized the nuclear issue,” he said.
“(That) should not in any way diminish the urgency of dealing with the chemical weapons,” he stressed.
As for the Middle Eastern countries “they all make links to other issues”. the OPCW chief said.
“For Israel, (and) the overall situation in the region, the Arab countries want to link the issue of chemical weapons with the nuclear issue,” he explained.
Talking about the delays granted in December by the OPCW member states to the United States (by the end of 2012), India (end 2008), Russia (end 2012) and Libya (end 2010) to reduce their stockpiles Pfirter said the process was “costlier and more complex” than in the beginning.
However “it is a not entirely satisfactory pace,” he admitted.
The problems with the reduction are linked to environmental issues with rules in that respect now stricter then ten years ago, he explained.
In an earlier meeting with journalists Tuesday, the US Assistant Secretary for the bureau of Verification, Compliance and Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Paula DeSutter, echoed the same sentiments.
She stressed that the United States had started by tackling the weapons that were most difficult to destroy and that Washington would have no trouble adhering to the new deadline.
At a special commemorative ceremony at the OPCW later Wednesday, Dutch Queen Beatrix unveiled a monument to honour the memory of victims of chemical weapons.
The OPCW is the world's first chemical weapons watchdog agency — established by the Chemical Weapons Convention– to eliminate chemical weapons and to verify the destruction of stockpiles within specific timeframes.
