Ireland to back US move on chemical weapon watchdog

The EU is to back US moves this weekend to have the director general of the international chemical weapons watchdog removed from office despite fears it will damage the credibility of the organisation, ireland.comhas learned.

Mr Jose Bustani

The United States has called a special session of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which enforces the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) banning the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons, to vote on a motion of no-confidence in its director-general, Mr Jose Bustani.

The Bush administration has laid charges of "financial mismanagement" "demoralisation of staff" and "ill-considered initiatives" against Mr Bustani.

Mr Bustani has angrily rejected these charges and says the effort to remove him raises serious concerns about the future for international diplomacy. "If one member state or even a few can dictate the departure of the director-general today, then who will do it tomorrow, and for what reason?" he asked.

Ireland’s permanent representative on the Hague-based OPCW is Mr Richard Townsend, the ambassador to the Netherlands.

A spokesman for the Irish delegation in the Hague told ireland.comthis afternoon that although Ireland had not "taken a final decision on the matter as we are seeking to establish a common EU position" there is "a strong possibility" that the Government will back the US-led motion on the removal of Mr Bustani.

The organisation's largest donor, the US, has been witholding its dues over recent months leading to fears amongst some member states that the OPCW could be forced to wind up its operations.

The Labour Party spokesman, Mr Michael D Higgins, has called on the Government to reject any moves against Mr Bustani which would damage the impartiality and credibity of the organisation.

"It is of absolute urgency that Ireland makes its view known in this regard and takes a strong position on the defence of the principal of objective multilateralism and unbiased application of that principal," he said.

"People will be watching to see what position Ireland takes on this issue."

The Green Party’s spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Mr John Gormley has also called on the Government to resist attempts by the US government to have Mr Jose Bustani removed.

"This move by the United States is unprecedented and is a very dangerous attack against the international community and UN regulatory bodies," Mr Gormley said.

"Mr Bustani’s only crime appears to be that he is very effective at doing his job. His inspectors have overseen the destruction of two million chemical weapons and two-thirds of the world’s chemical weapon facilities. He has approached his work with complete impartiality. This reputation leads many to believe he can be effective in defusing the Iraqi chemical weapons situation.

"However, it appears the US government does not want the Iraqi crisis resolved peacefully. Mr Bustani requires the full backing of the UN Security Council, not only to survive in his post, but to pursue a successful weapons inspection in Iraq.

"The Government is ideally placed as a Security Council member to press the case for Mr Bustani," Mr Gormley said.

The OPCW was created under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), a multilateral disarmament agreement which was designed to provide for the elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction within a fixed timeframe.

Mr Bustani has been its director-general since its foundation in 1997 and was re-elected unanimously by the member states for a second five-year term in 2000.

Until this year, he appeared to be both popular within the organisation and successful in getting states to sign the convention - at present 174 states have signed the CWC or acceded to it.

Last year, the US Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed his gratitude to Bustani for his "very impressive" work.

In January, however, in an apparent volte faceand in direct contravention of the CWC, which states "the Director-General ... shall not seek or receive instructions from any government", the US State Department requested that the Brazilian government recall Mr Butani, because it did not like his "management style".

The Brazilian government refused the request resulting in the no-confidence motion to be tabled this weekend at the first special session of the organisation in its five-year history.