“Contributing to a Peaceful World through Chemical Weapons Disarmament”
Distinguished participants,
It is my pleasure to address this Third International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding.
In today’s world, we are seeing how environmental degradation, resource scarcity and the impact of overuse can fuel conflict.
Responsible management of natural resources and cooperation on environmental protection can foster sustainable peacebuilding, bringing hope that these challenges will be overcome.
Peaceful and responsible uses of chemistry, including green chemistry, can play an important role in this, and the OPCW is proud to do its part.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The history of chemical weapons is a long and tragic one.
It began during the First World War, where some 124,000 tonnes of chemical warfare agent were released, killing over 90,000 soldiers, and injuring many more.
The chemical atrocities of the First World War led to the adoption of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which prohibited the use of chemical and biological weapons.
The Protocol, however, did not preclude its signatories from researching or possessing chemical weapons, leaving countries free to continue to manufacture them in great numbers- as they did during the Second World War and well into the Cold War period.
Only when the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997, a comprehensive ban on this cruel method of warfare was established.
The Convention, which was the product of over a decade of negotiations, is absolute in scope.
With 193 States Parties, more than 98% of the world’s population lives under its protection.
The Convention prohibits use, as well as the development, production, and stockpiling of chemical weapons and obligates the destruction of existing arsenals under strict international verification.
Under the Convention, the States Parties also established the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the OPCW, to achieve the object and purpose of the Convention, ensure its implementation, and to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation among States Parties. The OPCW consists of three organs: the Conference of the States Parties and the Executive Council, as well as the Technical Secretariat.
Since its formation, the OPCW has been diligently fulfilling its mandates, particularly by making certain that possessor States Parties get rid of their declared chemical arsenals.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The work of the Organisation to monitor and verify the destruction of chemical weapons arsenals is one way in which it has been making a substantial contribution to environmental protection.
After the Second World War, the large quantities of unused chemical weapons were often disposed of by open-pit burning, land burial, or dumping at sea.
I do not need to explain the environmental consequences of such activities – the magnitude of which, in some instances, were only truly understood much later.
The Convention’s drafters were acutely aware of the potential environmental impact of chemical weapons destruction and obligated that this be conducted in a responsible manner.
As such, they explicitly prohibited these three methods of disposal I just mentioned.
Moreover, the Convention stipulates that States Parties, in destroying their stockpiles, “shall assign the highest priority to ensuring the safety of people and to protecting the environment”.
Apart from this, the Convention also has provisions for dealing with so-called old and abandoned chemical weapons.
Specifically, a State Party that has abandoned chemical weapons on the territory of another State Party, without its consent, is obliged to destroy them in accordance with the Convention.
The Convention thus contributes to international peace and security and pays due regard to the environment at the same time.
Today, the Chemical Weapons Convention is the most successful disarmament instrument in the world.
On 7 July 2023, the United States destroyed its last declared chemical munitions, concluding the destruction of all declared stockpiles by chemical weapons possessor States Parties.
The elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction was a significant moment for international disarmament, peace, and security.
Over 27 years, more than 72,000 metric tonnes of chemical weapons were destroyed under verification by the OPCW, and – importantly – in an environmentally responsible manner.
In fact, the chemical demilitarisation process in the United States incorporated new technologies, as alternatives to destruction by incineration.
Prioritising safety and environmental standards led to the development of specific methodologies for transporting chemical weapons to the destruction facilities, as well as unique destruction technologies.
As a result of these efforts, the US created the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives programme, which employed environmentally acceptable technologies to destroy the remaining stockpiles.
Another example is the elimination of the chemical weapons programme of the Syrian Arab Republic.
When Syria joined the Convention in 2013, it was unable to destroy its weapons due to the ongoing conflict.
In 2013 and 2014, the OPCW-UN Joint Mission oversaw the removal and destruction of 1300 metric tonnes of chemical warfare agent. In accordance with the Convention, this was done in a secure and environmentally responsible manner.
In 2016, the OPCW also oversaw the removal from Libya of the remnants of its chemical weapons programme, which were at risk due to the conflict in that country.
The removal of the toxic chemicals for safe and secure destruction was followed by a clean-up operation to make sure that there was no additional environmental contamination.
In sum, the OPCW has overseen the elimination of tens of thousands of tonnes of toxic warfare agents in different circumstances, thereby strengthening international security and removing a considerable environmental threat.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As I mentioned, prior to the Chemical Weapons Convention, various other methods of destruction for such weapons were used.
Specifically, large quantities were dumped at sea or in other large bodies of water, and most remain there to this day.
The Convention exempts weapons dumped at sea prior to 1985 from declaration and destruction obligations, allowing a State Party to address them at its discretion.
However, as these chemical munitions deteriorate, they can release toxic chemicals into the water, posing a serious environmental threat.
They also present health and safety risks if accidentally recovered by fishermen or washed ashore.
As an illustration of the scope of this challenge, the Baltic Environment Protection Commission – the Helsinki Commission – estimates that 40,000 tonnes of chemical munitions containing 15,000 tonnes of warfare agent, have been dumped in the Baltic Sea following the Second World War.
There are many such dump sites around the world.
The United Nations General Assembly has encouraged information-sharing, partnerships, assistance and capacity building to manage this issue, referencing the Convention among other things.
In 2013, during the Third Special Session of the Conference, States Parties invited voluntary sharing of information, raising awareness and cooperation on this issue.
Although it is up to the States Parties to determine how to proceed on chemical weapons dumped at sea, the OPCW’s expertise can be valuable on its own and for other actors involved.
Ladies and gentlemen,
With the completion of the destruction of declared stockpiles, the Organisation has deepened its focus on preventing the re-emergence of chemical weapons.
To guarantee that the ban on development, production and stockpiling of chemical weapons as well as their use is effectively implemented, the Secretariat undertakes a range of activities.
States Parties to the Convention are required to declare legitimate chemical facilities that use dangerous chemicals for manufacturing and other such peaceful purposes.
The Secretariat conducts inspections at such facilities to ensure that no illicit activities are being carried out or toxic chemicals are being diverted.
This verification regime provides confidence in adherence to the Convention.
We also work to ensure that States Parties can give effect to the Convention nationally.
Firstly, we support States Parties with strengthening their chemical safety and security measures.
This includes guidelines and other advice, training, and exchanges of best practices with respect to the safe and secure operation of chemical facilities and transportation of chemicals.
We also assist States Parties with developing robust legal frameworks for chemical security, to prevent non-State actors accessing toxic chemicals and equipment, and to avoid chemical incidents and disasters.
Secondly, we provide capacity building for customs authorities to enforce the Convention’s transfer regime.
Illicit transfers of toxic chemicals pose a proliferation and environmental risk, both in terms of the transfer itself and their intended uses.
Thirdly, the Secretariat promotes the peaceful uses of chemistry.
We do this through capacity-building and awareness-raising activities, including training for laboratories and chemical facilities, funding of scientific research, and facilitating the exchange of scientific knowledge and equipment.
Our work on green and sustainable chemistry in particular, which protects human health and the environment, is key to the Convention’s goals.
This involves promoting scientific and technological solutions that use alternative chemical products and processes to minimise the hazards and impact of production and use of chemicals.
Through our International Cooperation Programme on Integrated Chemicals Management, we actively advocate and advance key elements of green chemistry.
In addition to forming part of our capacity-building activities, green and sustainable chemistry is also at the heart of the Hague Ethical Guidelines, developed at the initiative of the OPCW.
Our new Centre for Chemistry and Technology, inaugurated in May last year in the presence of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, will significantly enhance the Secretariat’s ability to implement our preventive activities while contributing to environmental protection in a multilateral setting.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Hague Ethical Guidelines underline that chemical practitioners have a special responsibility for promoting and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Indeed, the Convention states that it must be implemented in a way that does not hamper economic or technological development.
Recently, we have been focusing on how our activities are contributing to the SDG’s.
As a Convention primarily concerned with disarmament and international security, our most direct contribution is to SDG 16.
This goal promotes peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
The ban on chemical weapons, the verified elimination of all declared stockpiles, as well as our efforts to prevent their re-emergence, exemplify how the Convention supports this SDG.
Maintaining the global norm against chemical weapons has a preventive effect and increases security.
The Secretariat provides assistance and protection against the use or threat of use of chemical weapons to States Parties.
This includes training for first responders, our hospital preparedness programme, and guidelines and support for treating chemical warfare victims.
The Secretariat has been providing assistance and protection against the use, or threat of use, of chemical weapons to Ukraine, on its request.
More broadly, this type of capacity building also strengthens the ability of national authorities to deal with serious chemical incidents.
The last point I want to mention relates to SDG 12, which focuses on ensuring sustainable production and consumption patterns, including targets for the sound life cycle management of chemicals and significantly reducing their release.
Our international cooperation and assistance programmes promote green and sustainable chemistry, helping developing countries meet their needs without undue environmental impact.
Looking ahead, we will continue to strengthen these and other preventive efforts, thereby also boosting our contribution to sustainable development and the realisation of the SDGs.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The drafters of the Chemical Weapons Convention took care to include environmental considerations, so that disarmament would not come at the expense of the environment.
As the destruction of declared stockpiles progressed, the Organisation increasingly concentrated on preventive efforts.
These efforts not only have clear security objectives, but also contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development.
In 2018, during the launch of a new UN disarmament agenda, the UN Secretary-General underlined that “disarmament prevents and ends violence. Disarmament supports sustainable development. And disarmament is true to our values and principles.”
It is in that spirit that the OPCW will continue to fulfil the mandates of the Convention and support environmental protection and sustainable development.
I wish you fruitful and productive discussions this week, and I thank you for your kind attention.