UNICEF/Ninja Charbonneau. Destroyed buildings in the Syrian city of Aleppo, where chemical weapons were allegedly used. (Data map)
In his message today for the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Chemical Warfare, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for the day to be "the day when we resolve never to use these abominable weapons" and for chemical weapons to be made history in the name of all victims.
The tenth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) decided in 2005 to establish a day of remembrance for all victims of chemical warfare. In 2015, November 30 was officially designated as "Chemical Warfare Victims Remembrance Day".
Users of chemical weapons must not be allowed to go unpunished
Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Chemical Warfare is a solemn occasion to pay tribute to the victims who have been killed or injured as a result of such horrific weapons. He made it clear that ending that scourge meant fulfilling the call of the Chemical Weapons Convention to prevent the use of any chemical weapons and ending impunity for the use of chemical weapons and, in particular, not allowing impunity for the use of such weapons against civilians.
Guterres also said that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the deadly chemical weapons attack in the Ghouta district of Damascus, which caused a large number of civilian casualties, including many children. "Today, we want to remember this horrific event, as well as other events in Syria, the United Kingdom and Malaysia," he said. ”
Take collective measures on the Syrian chemical weapons issue
On 30 November, the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) adopted a decision submitted by 48 States to take collective measures to prevent the direct or indirect transfer to Syria of certain chemical precursors, as well as dual-use chemical manufacturing facilities, equipment and related technologies.
According to the decision, Syria's continued possession and use of chemical weapons, its failure to submit accurate and complete declarations, and its failure to destroy all undeclared chemical weapons and production facilities, "seriously undermines the object and purpose of the Chemical Weapons Convention".
In the decision, the States parties also condemned in the strongest terms the use of chemical weapons by any person under any circumstances and stressed that any use of chemical weapons was unacceptable and contrary to international norms and standards, regardless of time and place.
Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention was adopted in 1993 and entered into force on 29 April 1997. The Convention resolves "to eliminate the total use of chemical weapons through the implementation of the provisions of this Convention for the sake of all mankind". ”
Currently, there are 193 States parties to the Convention, 98 per cent of the global population is protected by the Convention, and 100 per cent of chemical weapons stockpiles declared by possessor States have been destroyed with verification.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is the implementing body of the Convention. In 2013, the organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "its many efforts to eliminate chemical weapons."
