ROMULO CALLS FOR TOTAL ELIMINATION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS

27 September 2007, United Nations, New York – The Philippine Delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo, attended the High Level Meeting on the 10^th Anniversary of the Chemical Weapons Convention today at the United Nations Headquarters.

The participation of the Philippine delegation in this commemoratory event organized by the Foreign Ministries of the Netherlands and Poland was to express the Philippines ’ strong commitment and desire to rid the world of chemical weapons stockpiles.

“Chemical weapons rarely leave scars on the battlefield. But they destroy the lives of all those who feel their cruel and deadly touch,” the Secretary told the meeting. “Ten years ago we decided to eliminate this scourge -- to reverse this perversion of man’s great knowledge of science and chemistry,” he added.

The Philippines became a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993 and ratified it in 1996. The agreement stipulates that all States Parties will not develop nor produce chemical weapons and that they will destroy whatever stockpiles they possess within given deadlines. The agreement is being administered by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and entered into force in 1997.

“As the Philippines joins the other Member States present today in remembering the victims of chemical weapons, we reiterate the call for the full, universal, and non-discriminatory implementation of the Convention,” Secretary Romulo told the meeting.

He also urged all States that are not yet party to the Convention to become so at the soonest possible time and for possessor States Parties to the Convention to destroy their chemical weapons stockpiles within the deadlines provided by the Conference of States Parties.

In making these calls, the Secretary said that the Philippines reaffirms its “faith and commitment to cooperation and multilateralism in the field of disarmament -- the best way of ensuring that these weapons will indeed be eliminated and never again unleashed.”  

The High Level Meeting resulted in a statement, which reaffirms the commitments of the States Parties and other delegations present to the elimination, destruction, and non-use of chemical weapons. END.