Secretary-General's message to the Thirteenth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention

The Convention is the first multilateral treaty to ban?with international verification?an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. It is encouraging to know that as of 30 September 2008, more than 41 per cent of the total stockpiles of chemical agents declared by six possessor States have been verifiably destroyed. I call upon all possessor States to complete their destruction according to the required deadlines.

Other significant advances have been made pursuant to the Action Plan on national implementation. Almost all States Parties have now established or designated their National Authority, an administrative measure that will be of practical use in implementing the Convention.

I am hopeful that further progress will be made in each area covered by the Convention: chemical disarmament, non-proliferation, assistance and protection, and international cooperation. As Depositary, I call upon States that remain non-parties to ratify or accede to the Convention without delay.

I also urge States to consolidate and build upon existing disarmament and non-proliferation agreements, and to commit to multilateral cooperation in order to achieve our common objectives in the area of weapons of mass destruction.

The United Nations, for its part, will work with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the international community to continue to promote the universality and full implementation of the Convention and of the decisions taken at the Review Conference this past April.

In that spirit of partnership, please accept my best wishes for a successful conference and for progress in our efforts to strengthen international peace and security.