§ Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will be governed until a replacement for Jose Bustani is appointed. [57950]
602W
§ Mr. BradshawThe Executive Council, which is the Executive organ of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, will continue to function as normal. Its next meeting is on 31 May. The Director-General heads the Technical Secretariat that is responsible for assisting the Executive Council in the performance of its function. Until a new Director-General is appointed, the Technical Secretariat will be headed by the Deputy Director-General.
§ Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects a new Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to be appointed. [57949]
§ Mr. BradshawThe Special Conference of States Parties (The Hague, 21–24 April) decided that it would reconvene no later than 10 June to appoint a new Director-General, following the formal recommendation of the Executive Council which is due to meet on 31 May.
§ Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries that are members of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. [57948]
§ Mr. BradshawThere are currently 145 State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). All States Parties to the CWC are members of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). They are as follows: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, E1 Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Fiji, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guyana, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
603W
§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many chemical weapons inspectors have been employed by the OPCW in each year since its creation; and what the projected numbers are for 2003; [58088]
(2) if he will list the staff at directorate and branch head level in the OPCW, together with the nationality of the (a) current and (b) immediate past incumbent. [58087]
§ Mr. BradshawWe do not hold this information. We will make enquiries and I will write to my hon. Friend, and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaneau Gwent (Llew Smith), of 8 May,Official Report, column 241W, on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, if he will make a statement on the reasons underlying his assessement that Mr. Bustani has lost confidence of a significant number of the OPCW's Executive Council. [57938]
§ Mr. BradshawThe assessment was based on the views expressed by members of the OPCW represented on the Executive Council. It was borne out by the subsequent vote in which 17 supported the vote of no confidence, 18 abstained and only 5 opposed.
§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his definition is of major shareholder in the context of member states of the OPCW; and what the implications are of the definition for the independence of the organisations. [58091]
§ Mr. BradshawThere is no agreed definition of a major shareholder in the context of the OPCW. The use of this term has no implications for the independence of the Organisation, where each member has one vote. This term has, however, occasionally been used to describe those members who have continually been represented on the Executive Council, and the six largest financial contributors who provide approximately 70 per cent of the OPCW budget (the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK and Italy).