DYB2011-Part-II-web

United Nations Disarmament Yearbook 2011: Part II
66
nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction, expected to be
convened in Finland, regarding modalities for such a zone, taking into account
work previously undertaken and experience gained. 47 In response to this
decision, OPCW continued to provide support to this initiative. In this regard,
the OPCW Director-General met with Jaakko Laajava, Under-Secretary of
State of Finland, in Helsinki in December.
Throughout the year, the Director-General and Deputy Director-General
of OPCW addressed various international, academic and scientific forums,
including, inter alia, the First Committee of the United Nations General
Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the
Conference on Disarmament, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and
the Seventh BWC Review Conference. They also welcomed a number of
high-level visitors at OPCW headquarters.
On 28 April, a ceremony to commemorate the Day of Remembrance
for All Victims of Chemical Warfare was held at OPCW headquarters.
Representatives of OPCW member States and other international organizations
attended the event. In his message, the United Nations Secretary-General
stressed that “this annual remembrance day, marking the anniversary of the
entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997, [was] an
opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare and to reaffirm
the international community’s condemnation of an inhumane weapon of mass
destruction.” 48
Export controls
Australia Group
From 6 to 10 June, the Australia Group49 held its annual plenary meeting
in Paris. The Governments of Australia and France co-hosted the meeting.
47 NPT/CONF.2010/50 (Vol. I), p. 30.
48 Message of Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General, on the 2011 Day of
Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare, New York, 29 April 2011. Available
from http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=5233 (accessed 12 April 2012).
49 The Australia Group is a cooperative and voluntary group working to counter the spread
of technologies and materials that may facilitate the development or acquisition of
chemical and biological weapons by States of concern and terrorists. Australia Group
participants are committed to ensuring that their export controls do not hinder legitimate
trade and technical cooperation in the chemical and biological sectors. Participants
include the European Commission and 40 member States: Argentina, Australia, Austria,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine,
United Kingdom and United States. More information is available from http://www.
australiagroup.net/en/index.html.