H.E. Mr Siamand Banaa (Iraq)
Iraq became a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention as of 12 February 2009 and was confirmed by the 14th Session of the Conference of the States Parties as a new member of the OPCW Executive Council for a two-year term beginning in May 2010.
H.E. Mr Siamand Banaa, Iraq’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Netherlands, recalled that Iraq is one of the countries that suffered the “abuses and misuses” of chemical weapons under Saddam Hussein’s regime.
“I personally believe that we have a very important role to serve — we can give an example to the world of the absurdity, if not terror and futility, of the use of chemical weapons,” said Banaa. “We also have the responsibility to contribute as much as we can and share our experiences with our friends throughout the world to rid us of this awful legacy.”