Intervention by India during the Annual meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the CCW on Agenda Item No.4 relating to Establishment of Working Capital Fund Geneva, November 14, 2019

We share the continued concern on the precarious financial situation of the CCW and support the efforts undertaken by you for ensuring greater predictability and stability in the financial resources of the Convention.      

2.      Among various measures, there is a proposal to establish a WCF.  It is a well-established principle that core activities of a Convention or Treaty must be funded by assessed contributions.  The proposal on the table to establish a WCF through voluntary contributions, goes against this principle.  It would be important to recall here that under similar circumstances, OPCW had also established a WCF, but from assessed contributions based on the decision of the Conference of State Parties to the CWC.

3.      While we understand the difficulties faced by some of the High Contracting Parties in meeting their financial obligations for various reasons, we believe that WCF should not become a tool to incentivize or ignore non-payment of their assessed contributions by High Contracting Parties.  Having said this, in view of the difficult situation that we are confronted with, India would not come in the way of establishing a WCF, as proposed by you, with the condition that this decision will be reviewed by the Review Conference in 2021.  This is based on a similar decision adopted last year in the context of BWC.