Switzerland aims to play a leading
role in negotiations at the tenth conference of the Organisation for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which opens on Monday in The Hague.
The week-long meeting is a major forum for discussing and deciding on the
Chemical Weapons Convention, an international treaty that bans the use of
chemical weapons.
swissinfo: What will be the
main topics for discussion at the conference?
Wilhelm Schmidt: The main purpose
of the organisation and the convention is to destroy existing stocks of chemical
weapons and ensure there will never be chemical weapons again.
At the conference we will learn how far we are in this [process of] destruction
by the states that possess chemical weapons. We will of course encourage them
to do more and we will congratulate them if they have done well.
An important secondary aim – which is also a Swiss interest – is to get
all states into this convention. Currently 175 states are members.
We would also encourage and help where possible all members to implement
the convention at a national level – and that needs a lot of work.
swissinfo: This is the tenth conference
– are you going in the right direction?
W.S.: Enormous progress is being
made. The Americans are destroying weapons, the Russians are destroying weapons,
the Albanians are preparing to destroy their little stock, Libya has recently
joined...
Non-proliferation – trying to prevent new chemical weapons – on the other
hand is something that will move to the forefront of our efforts once the
existing stocks are destroyed.
At the moment there is a system of inspections carried out in industries
and that is an obligation you accept when you join the convention.
swissinfo: What does Switzerland contribute
to the conference?
W.S.: We contribute to the budget
and we take an active role in various negotiations, but we have an additional
trump which we use extremely well and that is our Spiez laboratory. It is
world-class and has an important role in contributing to the analysis of potentially
dangerous chemical products.
The laboratory is also designing ways to transmit, receive and evaluate
electronically the piles of documents that keep us all informed. This is
an enormously useful – and greatly appreciated – contribution.
swissinfo: A nuclear non-proliferation
treaty collapsed in May without a deal. The head of the Swiss delegation blamed
an "unholy alliance" between nuclear powers and developing countries. What
are the main hurdles you face?
W.S.: One of the main challenges
is that important states in this field are not yet members – Israel, Egypt,
Syria, North Korea and so on.
This is not something that prevents us from working efficiently but it would
be politically very important if we could get them on board as well.
The other challenge for countries like Switzerland is to see to it that
the stocks are destroyed in the planned deadlines. That should happen by
2012 and the way things are going at the moment that might just be possible.
swissinfo: What will satisfy you on
Friday?
W.S.: This is an ongoing process.
This is number ten – we have number 11 next year. We need to decide a budget
and we have an action plan to achieve national implementation – and if that
goes without a hitch we will be quite happy.
swissinfo-interview: Thomas
Stephens
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