New OPCW Head Appointed
On July 25, members of the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) chose Rogelio Pfirter, a former Argentinean
undersecretary for foreign policy, to head the international body
for the next four years.
The OPCW, which is responsible for implementing the Chemical Weapons
Convention (CWC), had been without a director-general since April,
when Brazilian José Bustani was ousted by a special session
of CWC states-parties. (See ACT,
May 2002.)
The United States led the initiative to remove Bustani from office.
In a speech to states-parties shortly before Bustani’s removal,
Donald Mahley, the U.S. representative to the OPCW, charged the
director-general with destroying staff morale, mismanaging funds,
and refusing to consult with member states. Bustani dismissed the
charges in repeated statements to the press and OPCW members.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher rapidly signaled U.S.
approval of the new OPCW leadership, saying July 25 that Pfirter
“will do an excellent job.”
One of the primary challenges facing the new director-general is
the budget shortfall the OPCW has experienced since January 2001,
which resulted in the organization completing little more than half
of its chemical industry inspections last year. Assuring members
that he shares their budget concerns, Pfirter said during his acceptance
speech at The Hague, “[O]ne of my top priorities will be to
ensure appropriate funding in 2003.”
In a telephone interview August 23, Deputy Director-General of
the OPCW John Gee, who served as acting director-general after Bustani’s
dismissal, called the organization’s financial situation “precarious”
and cited late payments from the four member states that possess
chemical weapons as a major strain on the budget.
The United States, Russia, India, and South Korea have declared
to the OPCW that they possess chemical weapons. According to the
CWC, which outlaws chemical weapons, member states must themselves
fund the destruction of their weapons, including paying for the
continual presence of OPCW inspectors at destruction sites.
Gee said that the member states’ recognizing this as a budget
problem was the first step in correcting it, adding that the OPCW
has established a more efficient invoice system that he hopes will
result in rapid repayments for OPCW services from the four possessors
in the future.
Inaccurate assessment of budget needs has also contributed to budget
problems, Gee said, but noted that it is “very difficult”
for the chemical weapons states to know a year or more in advance
what their destruction operation costs will be. This uncertainty
makes it difficult for the OPCW to predict the number of inspectors
needed, especially as the pace of destroying chemical weapons accelerates
during the next few years.
The OPCW’s executive council, an administrative body composed
of 41 elected members, will address the budget during a September
10-13 meeting.
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