THE HAGUE, Netherlands—2 May 2023—The Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil has contributed €49,426 to a special Trust Fund of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to support the construction and operation of the OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology (ChemTech Centre).
The contribution was formalised through an exchange of letters between the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Ms Luciana Barbosa de Oliveira Santos, and the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias.
The Permanent Representative of Brazil to the OPCW, Ambassador Paulo Roberto Caminha de Castilhos França remarked: “Brazil is proud to make a voluntary contribution to the ChemTech Centre project. The new Centre is a milestone achievement for the Organisation and its Member States. It will boost capabilities in several key areas related to the Convention’s implementation, such as verification and international cooperation and assistance,” said Ambassador Caminha de Castilhos França.
“I express sincere appreciation to the Government of Brazil for its contribution. The ChemTech Centre is a major investment that will uphold the norm against chemical weapons. It will be a hub for knowledge sharing and support to the global efforts to ensure chemistry is used only for peaceful purposes,” the Director-General said.
Background
The Federative Republic of Brazil has been an active member of the OPCW since 1997. Brazil is a member of the OPCW Executive Council, the governing body of the Organisation.
The ChemTech Centre will strengthen OPCW’s capabilities to fully address new and emerging chemical weapons threats. The Centre will meet the demands of OPCW Member States for enhanced verification tools, improved detection capabilities and response measures, as well as increased capacity building activities. Following the recent acceptance of the building, the relocation of the current OPCW Laboratory and Equipment Store in Rijswijk will take place in several stages.
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 99% 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.