Ambassador H.E. Mr Hugh Adsett, Permanent Representative of Canada to the OPCW, tours the OPCW ChemTech Centre in The Hague
THE HAGUE, Netherlands—15 May 2023— The Government of Canada has voluntarily contributed CAD 2,140,000 to two trust funds of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW): the Trust Fund for Syria Missions and the Trust Fund for the Implementation of Article X.
The amount of CAD 1,390,000 will be used to support the full elimination of the Syrian Chemical Weapons Programme, as well as to establish facts surrounding the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria, in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, relevant decisions of the policy-making organs of the OPCW and resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
The amount of CAD 750,000 is earmarked for OPCW assistance and protection activities related to Ukraine, including the provision of chemical detection equipment and training.
“Chemical weapons threats posed by states and non-state actors continue to evolve and demand a robust international response. As underscored by these latest financial contributions from Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program, the Government of Canada remains firmly committed to collaboration with and support for the OPCW to prevent, detect and respond to all manner of global chemical weapons threats,” said the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Canada to the OPCW, H.E. Mr Hugh Adsett.
The Director-General stated: “I express my sincere appreciation to Canada for its financial and political support to the OPCW’s mission to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. We are facing various challenges related to the implementation of the Convention today. For example, rapid developments in science and technology, including in Artificial Intelligence, could have a significant impact on the re-emergence and spread of chemical weapons. We continue our work to ensure the Organisation maintains and develops its knowledge and expertise to address these challenges.”
“Canada’s new contributions will help the Organisation continue its critical work to support the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and help uphold the universal norm against the use of chemical weapons,” he added.
Background
Canada has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997. Canada 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.
To date Canada has provided nearly CAD 50,000,000 in voluntary contributions to the OPCW to support the destruction, verification, monitoring, training, and investigation of chemical weapons. This has been done through Weapons Threat Reduction Program (WTRP), which is Canada’s contribution to the G7-led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.
The OPCW 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 for hostile purposes. The OPCW Investigation and Identification Team began its work in 2019 and is responsible for identifying the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Under Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Member States “[…]have the right to participate in, the fullest possible exchange of equipment, material and scientific and technological information concerning means of protection against chemical weapons.” Ukraine requested aid under Article X in March 2022 in assistance, detection, protective, and decontamination equipment; medical devices and medicine for treatment; and advice on protective measures.
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.
In 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.