Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

As Project of EU Says 1540 Committee "Lacks Credibility," Parallel UN?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 22 -- The European Union's "Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Center of Excellence" project may well be a good thing. The EU has money, with this it is offering help to, among other regions, Central and Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East (although, Inner City Press asked and learned, not Syria).

But documents on the EU project's website show its thinking, stating that

"UN credibility is key for responding to a global threat (UNICRI). Nothing can replace that.

"But 1540 Committee still lacks credibility vis a vis vertical CBRN institutions (IAEA, WHO, OPCW, BTWC, Interpol)"

This was from an October 21, 2011 presentation to EU representatives by Bruno Dupré, Security Policy Division, European External Action Service, entitled "political rationale."

  On Friday Inner City Press asked two EU, and two UNICRI, representatives about it, and more generally to respond to the view that the EU in this case and some others is actually disrespecting the UN system it claims to love, with phrases like the "1540 Committee still lacks credibility."

  The speakers, who were NOT the ones who had been listed for the press conference -- for example, Franz Baumann was listed but not there -- insisted that the project does not compete with or disrespect the UN, rather it is a "means" to "build capacity."

  But what about this statement that the Resolution 1540 committee, chaired by South African Ambassador Baso Sanqu, "lacks credibility"? We'll have more on this - watch this site.