THE HAGUE, Netherlands–27 October 2021–The Vice President of the Republic of El Salvador, H.E. Mr Félix Ulloa, met on 22 October with the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, at OPCW Headquarters in The Hague.
The Vice President and the Director-General discussed a range of issues related to the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and discussed initiatives to advance the use of chemicals for peaceful and authorised purposes, assistance and protection, and international cooperation. The Director-General briefed H.E. Ulloa on the ongoing construction of the ChemTech Centre – an important upgrade to the OPCW for fulfilling its mandate and supporting Member States in implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The Vice President remarked: “As a country, we maintain firm commitment and unconditional support to all initiatives for the promotion and strengthening of disarmament, international security, and the culture of peace worldwide. We are ready to support those actions aimed at strengthening the disarmament regime, as well as those efforts aimed at renewing the commitment of the international community to advance towards the definitive elimination of weapons of mass destruction, in particular chemical weapons, through the conduct of multilateral negotiations and under the principles of verification, irreversibility, and transparency”.
Director-General Arias stated: “I welcome the opportunity to discuss with El Salvador’s Vice President the OPCW’s efforts to safeguard global adherence to the norms enshrined in the Chemical Weapons Convention. I am thankful for the country’s active stance in an array of initiatives towards the realisation of that goal.”
Background
El Salvador has been an active member of the OPCW since 1997. El Salvador is currently a member of the Executive Council, the OPCW’s executive organ, which is charged with promoting the effective implementation of and compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as supervising the activities of the Organisation’s Technical Secretariat.
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.