Ambassador Fernando Arias, Director-General of the OPCW, meets with H.E. Dr Reza Najafi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and their respective delegations.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands—29 November 2023—The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Fernando Arias, met with the Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Mr Reza Najafi, on 27 November 2023, on the sidelines of the Twenty-Eighth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CSP-28) in The Hague, Netherlands.
The Director-General and the Deputy Foreign Minister discussed contemporary issues in disarmament and non-proliferation and their impact on the implementation of the Convention. Ambassador Arias briefed the Deputy Foreign Minister on the Organisation’s efforts to counter the threat of use of chemical weapons, including preventing their re-emergence, and strengthen international cooperation and capacity building in chemical emergency preparedness in Member States. He underscored the important role of the OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology (ChemTech Centre) in enhancing the Organisation’s activities in all areas of work relevant to the implementation of the Convention.
“I welcome the discussion with the Iranian Government on areas of collaboration to eliminate the use, threat, and re-emergence of chemical weapons. Joint action by all States Parties is crucial to achieve the OPCW’s mandate to safeguard and advance the global norm against chemical weapons,” the Director-General said.
The Director-General also gave an overview of the OPCW’s efforts to achieve universality of the Convention. He briefed the Deputy Foreign Minister on the recently issued joint communiqué between the Republic of South Sudan and the OPCW.
“Achieving universality of the Convention is critical to its successful implementation and ensuring that chemical weapons are permanently eliminated. The OPCW has a key role to play in this regard,” said the Deputy Foreign Minister.
“It is a legal and moral responsibility of all of us to ensure that victims of chemical weapons get adequate medical support and assistance. Unfortunately, imposition of unilateral sanctions has exacerbated the health care and availability of medications for victims of chemical weapons in Iran. We commend the OPCW Director-General’s efforts to find a way to meet their urgent medical needs and request him to continue his good work in this regard,” he emphasised.
“Allegations of chemical weapons use in Gaza are alarming and the OPCW should monitor the situation closely,” he added.
Background
The Islamic Republic of Iran has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997. Iran is 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.
On 7 July 2023, the OPCW verified that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997 — totalling 72,304 metric tonnes of chemical agents — have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW’s strict verification regime.
For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.