Meetings of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

The meetings of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons began in The Hague at its (103rd) session, which will take place from 23 to 26 Dhu al-Hijja 1444 AH, which corresponds to 11-14 July 2023 AD, Permanent Residence of the Kingdom in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Ziyad bin Maashi Al-Attiyah.

Successful Destruction of Chemical Weapons Stockpiles

At the start of the Kingdom’s address to the session, Ambassador Al-Attiyah welcomed the statement by the organization’s technical secretariat dated 7 July 2023 confirming the destruction of all declared chemical weapons stockpiles, the most recent being the completion of the destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles by the United States of America on 7 July 2023 AD. He said: “Thereby the important and fundamental goal of the Chemical Weapons Convention has been achieved, and this proves beyond any doubt that this agreement is the most successful disarmament agreement in history.” Congratulations to the Delegation of the United States of America on this achievement.

Preventing Re-emergence of Chemical Weapons

Ambassador Al-Attiyah underlined the need to focus in the next phase on preventing the re-emergence of chemical weapons, as well as preventing their use and proliferation, reaffirming the importance the Kingdom attaches to meeting its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention, its belief in the objectives of the agreement aimed at to the strengthening of international peace and security, and to ensure the use of chemicals for various purposes. For peaceful purposes only. And as a continuation of the firm policy of the Kingdom aimed at strengthening cooperation to ban all types of weapons of mass destruction and prevent their proliferation, including the liberation of the Middle East region from weapons of mass destruction.

Reprehensible Use of Chemical Weapons

He emphasized that the use of chemical weapons and pesticides anywhere and under any circumstances is reprehensible and a violation of the provisions of the Convention.

Cooperation with Syrian Arab Republic

Ambassador Al-Attiyah welcomed the meeting held in Beirut between the representatives of the Syrian Republic and the Technical Secretariat team during (22-23) June 2023. He commended the efforts of the Technical Secretariat and its working groups as an integral part of the organization’s teams dealing with the Syrian chemical weapons dossier. He called on the Syrian Arab Republic to cooperate with the technical secretariat of the organization and its working groups to implement all decisions related to the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, and also called on all parties to cooperate in good faith.

Support for Equitable Geographical Representation

He also confirmed the support of the Delegation of the Kingdom for the draft resolution entitled (Establishment of a Working Group on Geographical Representation) and expressed the hope that the draft resolution would be adopted by consensus to the extent possible, and called on the Member States of the Council to support the draft decision in this way to help achieve equitable geographical representation in the functions of the Organization.

Promoting Non-Prohibited Chemical Activities

In conclusion of the Kingdom’s speech, 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 hindering them, in accordance with the content of Article Eleven of the Convention and related decisions, such as the decision of the Conference of the States Parties at its 16th session.) regarding the agreed framework for the full implementation of Article Eleven, including the importance of building national capacity in this area and sharing experiences and knowledge among stakeholders from scientific and academic institutions, the chemical industry sector and others. He also called on all States Parties and the technical secretariat to do everything to improve the implementation of Article Eleven in a way that promotes the benefits of non-prohibited chemical activities in a way that is in the interests of peoples and countries and contributes to development and the world economy.

Promoting Implementation of Article Eleven

Ambassador Al-Attiyah said that the time had come to put forward a new approach to promote the implementation of Article Eleven, especially in light of the opening of the organization’s new Chemical Technology Center, which would make a significant contribution to the implementation of the agreement and be an important bridge to achieve aspirations, especially in the field of technology transfer and technical assistance to participating States. And a beacon of science and knowledge in the field of chemistry, as well as a course towards strengthening the organization’s verification system, preventing the spread of chemical weapons and strengthening national implementation capabilities.

Support for International Cooperation

In this context, Ambassador Al-Attiyah indicated that the Kingdom has donated an amount of (50,000) thousand euros to promote the establishment of a center in support of everything that will strengthen international cooperation in the prohibition of chemical weapons and the prevention of their proliferation, as well as in compliance with the Convention on chemical weapons in connection with its role in strengthening international peace and security.