Twenty-nine years ago, on 28 June 1987, the peaceful residents of the Iranian township of Sardasht became the victims of a merciless attack involving chemical weapons. The attack brought death and suffering to countless people, and many survivors continue to bear the pain and scars of their injuries.
On behalf of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, I convey our deepest condolences to the people of Sardasht and an assurance of our support.
On this solemn anniversary, we re-dedicate ourselves to the task of eliminating the scourge of chemical weapons to ensure that such tragedies never again blight our humanity.
Since it came into force only ten years after the fateful tragedy in Sardasht, the Chemical Weapons Convention has guided us to the threshold of a world free of chemical weapons. We must continue to do everything in our power to prevent anyone from having recourse to chemicals as a tool of war.
This is the legacy that we owe to our children and to the memory of all victims of chemical weapons.