PH Elected to the OPCW Executive Council for Term 2020-2022
THE HAGUE 06 January 2020 — The Philippines was elected anew by acclamation to the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for the term 2020-2022 at the 24th session of the Conference of the States Parties (CSP) to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) held in The Hague, the Netherlands on 25-29 November 2019.
The Philippine Delegation was headed by Permanent Representative to the CWC Ambassador Jaime Victor B. Ledda and composed of the following delegates from various government agencies: Office of the President Senior Deputy Executive Secretary, Atty. Michael P. Ong, House of Representatives, Committee on Public Order and Safety Hon. Jorge Antonio P. Bustos, Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines-Munitions Control Center (AFP-MCC) Commander BGen. Fernando V. Felipe, Philippine Embassy in The Hague Second Secretary and Consul Ma. Theresa M. Alders, Strategy and Performance Management Division, AFP-MCC Chief Maj. Emerson A. Borja, Bureau of Customs Special Police Major Camilo P. Cascolan, Jr., Office of Representative Bustos, House of Representatives Chief Political Affairs Officer Atty. Genevieve E. Velicaria-Guevarra, and Philippine Embassy in The Hague Attaché Jenny J. Pelasol. It was the first time since the Philippines joined the CWC that the country’s participation to the CSP was well-represented by government agencies that are stakeholders to the CWC.
Three other States Parties from the Asian Group were also elected alongside the Philippines, namely Iran, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Other countries from different regional groups were likewise elected, as follows: Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa of the African group; Lithuania, Poland and Russian Federation of the Eastern European group; and Australia, Austria, Belgium, Norway, and Spain of the Western European and other group.
The last time that the Philippines held a membership of the Executive Council (EC) was in 2006 when it was elected during the 10th session of the CSP for a two-year term. At that time, Philippine Ambassador Romeo Arguelles was also elected as Chair of the EC from 2007 to 2008.
The Philippines will begin its term in May 2020. END
For more information, visit https://www.thehaguepe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinTheNetherlands/.