THE HAGUE, Netherlands–25 September 2020–The Principality of Monaco is contributing €10,000 toward supporting the activities of the Trust Fund for Syria Missions at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which includes the work of the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) and the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM).
The Fund supports the Organisation’s special missions and contingency operations related specifically to the Syrian Arab Republic. Monaco’s contribution aims to assist in full elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme and clarification of facts related to the alleged use of chemical weapons, in accordance with the relevant decisions of the policy-making organs of the OPCW. The funds will support the DAT and the FFM.
The voluntary contribution was formalised yesterday with an agreement signed by the Permanent Representative of the Principality of Monaco to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Isabelle Berro-Amadei, and OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, at the Organisation’s headquarters in The Hague.
Ambassador Berro-Amadei remarked: “The Principality of Monaco will continue, as it has always done, to support the efforts of the OPCW to free the world from the threat of chemical weapons. Since 2016, this support has been demonstrated by a voluntary contribution to the Special Trust Fund for Syria Missions.”
Expressing his gratitude for Monaco’s contribution, the Director-General emphasised the country’s commitment to the norms and principles of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and its full implementation by all State Parties. “Voluntary contributions such as Monaco’s make it possible for the Organisation to continue its crucial work in Syria,” stressed the Director-General.
Background
Monaco has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997.
The Declaration Assessment Team was established in 2014 to engage the relevant Syrian authorities to resolve the identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies in the Syrian declaration.
The OPCW Fact Finding Mission was set up in the same year in response to persistent allegations of chemical weapon attacks in Syria, with the task to establish facts surrounding allegations of the use of toxic chemicals, reportedly chlorine, for hostile purposes.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
Over 98% of all declared chemical weapon stockpiles have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.