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CWC: U.S. Hopes to Hold Conference to Oust Bustani The United States is close to gaining enough support to hold a special conference of Chemical Weapons Convention parties in an attempt to force the director of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to leave his position, according to a senior State Department official (see GSN, March 25). The official said the United States has so far garnered the support of 40 of the 145 CWC parties to hold the conference, adding the United States should easily win the support of the 48 states necessary. The conference is tentatively scheduled for April 21 or 22 at The Hague. If the conference is held, the United States would need support from two-thirds of the states in a vote to oust OPCW Director Jose Bustani (Reuters/Yahoo.com, March 29). The State Department plans to launch a major campaign to win support against Bustani, the U.S. official said. The OPCW’s 41-state executive committee last week approved a no-confidence motion against Bustani, but he refused to leave. “He has done no wrong, and he has nothing to hide,” said Bustani’s spokesman. U.S. Complaints The State Department has concerns about Bustani’s “confrontational conduct,” mismanagement issues and Bustani’s “advocacy of inappropriate roles for the OPCW,” a department summary said. The United States also has said Bustani failed to properly manage funds and spending (George Gedda, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, March 29). The United States was opposed to Bustani’s proposals to bring Iraq into the OPCW, although the State Department official said the Iraq issue is only part of U.S. objections. “To get into the subject of Iraq was entirely unnecessary. Mr. Bustani claims we are pursuing his ouster in aid of our plan to invade Iraq and that he alone stands in the way … This of course is silly but is an example of his inflated ego and distorted sense of his responsibilities,” the official said (Reuters/Yahoo.com). “He has refused to resign, however, contrary to what any rational person would have done in this situation,” said a department document. “Almost anybody would be better than this guy,” the State Department official said (Perth Sunday Times, March 31). Bustani’s Response Bustani said the United States never gave him any reasons why he should leave beyond problems with his administration style. “There is a fundamental principle to defend — my position as a director of an international organization should be immune to political interference and not passive to instructions from any government, however powerful,” Bustani said (Axel Bugge, Reuters/Yahoo.com, March 27).
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