Global Security: in Search of a New Vision - Center for Strategic ...

122 Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter
IAEA and the OPCW in such areas as capac ity-build ing for pro tec tion and assis tance against weap ons of
mass destruc tion.
Indeed, in the face of increas ing threats of ter ror ism, the salience of OPCW pro grams in the field of
assis tance and pro tec tion has also increased. As we face this scourge, the orga ni za tion will need to con -
tinue to improve its own capa bil ity to effec tively respond to requests for assis tance. The OPCW there -
fore con tin ues its endeav ors to effec tively mobi lize the inter na tional response that would be required in
sit u a tions in which chem i cal weap ons had been used or were threat ened to be used. As part of our efforts
in this con text, the full national imple men ta tion of the con ven tion as envi sioned in its Arti cle VII is not
just an imper a tive for the sake of com pli ance but, increas ingly, a use ful addi tional tool for each coun try’s
secu rity, espe cially since it pro vides a reg u la tory frame work that would deter any use of toxic chem i cals
by any one who intends to per pe trate crime or terror.
It is also cru cial for us to achieve uni ver sal adher ence to the con ven tion at the ear li est pos si ble time.
The con fer ence has reit er ated that uni ver sal ity of the con ven tion is essen tial to achiev ing its objec tive
and pur pose, which is to elim i nate the threat of chem i cal weap ons com pre hen sively and with out excep -
tion. The real iza tion of this goal will remain elu sive so long as there exists even a sin gle coun try that pos -
sesses both the capa bil ity and the inten tion to retain the chem i cal weap ons option.
For tu nately, we know that most of the 11 remain ing states have not joined because they are sim ply
con strained by a lack of resources. At the same time, though, we know that our task will not be easy
because non-party-states in such areas as the Mid dle East and the Korean Pen in sula jus tify their resis -
tance to join ing because of a num ber of con sid er ations relat ing to the polit i cal and secu rity sit u a tion in
their respec tive regions. It will be cru cial for us to con tinue to work with these coun tries to bring them
into the OPCW fam ily at the ear li est pos si ble date.
Our mem ber-states have shown remark able good will and ded i ca tion in build ing a strong and vibrant
mul ti lat eral orga ni za tion. They have done this work through pol icy-mak ing organs and also by fully uti -
liz ing the oppor tu ni ties the OPCW offers as a forum for con sul ta tion and coop er a tion to resolve issues
and pro vide guid ance for better imple men ta tion of the con ven tion and its goals. Our mem ber-states
have made an invalu able con tri bu tion not just to the prac ti cal func tion ing of the OPCW, but to the over -
all con fi dence-build ing pro cess that is indis pens able for the even tual suc cess of the con ven tion.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Although we have good rea sons to be sat is fied with the work of our orga ni za tion and to remain fully
sup port ive of its con tin ued efforts to ful fil its man date, it is also vitally impor tant that we ensure not only
the full and effec tive imple men ta tion of the con ven tion, but also its ready adap ta tion to our fast-chang -
ing world and to the chal lenges, both tech ni cal and secu rity, that it gen er ates.