WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION COMMISSION REPORT PRESENTED TO DIRECTOR-GENERAL

On 1 June 2006, the report of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC) was officially presented to the Director-General of UNOG, in his capacity as Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament.

Dr. Patricia Lewis, Commissioner of the WMDC and Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, presented the report, entitled “Weapons of Terror: Freeing the World of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Arms” to Director-General Sergei Ordzhonikidze at a short ceremony in front of the Council Chamber. The Permanent Representative of Sweden, Ambassador Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier, spoke of the genesis and purpose of this independent Commission, funded by the Government of Sweden and other institutions.

The WMDC report is the product of the deliberations of 13 Commissioners and their Chairman, Dr. Hans Blix. The report confronts the global challenge posed by weapons of mass destruction and puts forward 60 recommendations for the world community, both Governments and civil society.

In 2003, late Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh asked Dr. Blix to set up an independent international commission to present proposals and recommendations on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The Commission began its work in Stockholm in January 2004 and held its last ordinary meeting in March this year.

This event coincides with the presentation of the WMDC report by Dr. Blix to the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and to the President of the General Assembly and Foreign Minister of Sweden, H.E. Mr. Jan Eliasson, in New York.


More information on the report can be found on the Commission’s website: www.wmdcommission.org.