Chemical weapons: No 1 threat

2005-05-19 13:42

Kuala Lumpur - Many countries feel that a chemical weapon attack by terrorists is their number one potential threat, said a United Nations official, while adding that he had no evidence that al-Qaeda cells had acquired such weapons.

Director-general of the UN's organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Rogelio Pfirter, said chemical terrorism was a worry that goes beyond the concerns about existing stockpiles of chemical weapons by governments including the United States and Russia.

He said on Wednesday: "Now we have this other threat posed by individuals whose evil purposes might include the use of chemical weapons." He was in Malaysia for a regional conference on chemicals weapons earlier this week.

Chemical terrorism in different regions

He said: "We all agree that if they would wish to use means of mass destruction, a chemical weapon is of easier access and less sophistication and complexity."

"The use of chemicals for terrorism purposes is a source for well founded concerns. In fact chemical terrorism has been identified in different regions of the world as the number one potential threat."

He said he did not have any specific knowledge on whether al-Qaeda had chemical weapons, but "it is a certainly a fear that terrorists would make use of it."

Pfirter also urged that the remaining 26 countries which included North Korea, Myanmar, Cambodia and some Middle Eastern nations to quickly ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997, which banned the use of chemical weapons.

He said countries that acceded to the treaty would have to better regulate and control access to chemical agents as well formulate laws to arrest and punish those seeking to make or use chemical weapons.

'Degree of progress, considerably less'

Pfirter was especially critical of North Korea, a reclusive communist country that he said was "reluctant to participate in treaties or organisations that look for transparency and restraint."

He said the US was "actively destroying" its stockpile of chemical weapons, but "the degree of progress has been considerably less" in Russia, which had the largest stockpile in the world.

He said: "We have no doubt about the political commitment of the government. But, I think Russia will be the first one to agree with us that much more work would be desirable."

He expressed confidence that Russia would be able to destroy its stockpiles by the UN treaty deadline of 2012.

He said Iraq's new government was expected to sign the treaty soon, while Cambodia had also given a positive response. However, efforts to persuade Myanmar to join the treaty had yet to produce results.

- AP