The delegation of the Kingdom participating in the meetings of the Conference was headed by the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Ziyad bin Maashi Al-Attiyah. States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention at its (27th) session, which is being held in The Hague, Kingdom of the Netherlands, from November 28 to December 2, 2022 AD.
Ambassador Al-Attiyah delivered a speech from the Kingdom, congratulating the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the agreement, noting the success of the disarmament agreement, which would not have been achieved without the efforts made by the States Parties to the Convention through the pursuit to the fulfillment of the provisions and obligations contained therein, as well as to continued and effective cooperation with the Technical Secretariat.
He reaffirmed the importance the Kingdom attaches to fulfilling its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, based on its belief in the objectives of the Convention to promote international peace and security, ensure the use of chemistry only for peaceful purposes, and as an extension of the Kingdom’s firm policy of strengthening cooperation to ban all types of weapons of mass destruction and prevent their proliferation, including the liberation of the Middle East from weapons of mass destruction.
Ambassador Al-Attiyah stressed that the use of chemical weapons and poisonous chemicals as weapons anywhere and under any circumstances is reprehensible and a violation of the provisions of the Convention, and in this regard, again called on the Syrian authorities to cooperate with the technical secretariat of the organization and its working groups in the implementation of all resolutions related to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
And based on the Kingdom’s conviction of the importance of the ability of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to carry out its tasks and fulfill its obligations under the Convention in order to achieve the objectives of the Convention and promote international peace and security, Ambassador Al-Attiyah expressed the Kingdom’s support for a number of draft resolutions that will be considered by the Conference during the this session, namely the draft resolution on the draft revised program and budget of the organization for 2023 AD, the draft decision on how to appoint the External Auditor, and the draft decision on the expansion of the organization’s special mission fund.
He explained that the draft resolution on the reappointment of inspectors is very important due to its direct connection with the inspection system in the organization, urging the states parties to the agreement to support this decision and work on studying a mechanism that will lead to a solution to the problem of a shortage of specialized human resources within the current and existing in the organization of employment policy.
Ambassador Al-Attiyah reiterated the importance of economic and technological development in the field of chemical activities for purposes not prohibited by the Convention and not to hinder it in accordance with the content of Article Eleven of the Convention, urging all States Parties and the Technical Secretariat of the Organization to do everything to promote the implementation Article 11. In a manner that promotes the benefits of non-prohibited chemical activities in a manner that is in the interests of peoples and countries, and contributes to development and the global economy.
He noted the recent workshop on the evaluation and review of the resolution adopted by the conference in 2011 concerning international cooperation, including capacity building for Member States.
At the end of the Kingdom’s speech, Ambassador Al Attiyah expressed the Kingdom’s commitment to open a new Chemical Technology Center in May 2023, which is a turning point in the development of the organization and will be an important bridge to achieve goals, especially in the transfer of technology and technical assistance to participating States, as well as a beacon of science and knowledge in the field of chemistry.
