Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
I warmly welcome you all to the launch of the Indicative Guidelines for Safe and Secure Transport of Hazardous Chemicals by Road.
The development of indicative guidelines originated from the Decision of the Conference of the States Parties on the Components of an Agreed Framework for the Full Implementation of Article XI of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
This Decision refers to a needs assessment by the Secretariat on tools and guidance that would be helpful for promoting chemical safety and security.
The development of the guidelines is timely.
In July 2023, the Secretariat completed the verified destruction of all declared chemical weapons stockpiles.
Since then, we have been deepening our focus on preventing the re-emergence of chemical weapons.
Promoting the peaceful uses of chemistry, and fulfilling the purposes of Article XI of the Convention, contributes to this objective.
Chemical safety and security management is an important part of the activities of the OPCW in this context.
These guidelines also come at a critical time when we look at industry developments.
Between 2000 and 2017, the global chemical production capacity increased nearly twofold.
Due to the increase in size and sophistication of the chemical industry, more safety and security measures are needed to protect businesses, workers, the environment and communities that are involved in the transfer of chemicals throughout the supply chain.
The risks associated with failures in transport of hazardous chemicals have lasting human, economic and environmental impact.
These guidelines are intended to contribute to the prevention of such failures.
Allow me to outline the genesis of this tool.
In 2019, building upon the activities of the Secretariat in this area, we formally launched the Chemical Safety and Security Management Tools Development Programme.
This programme is aimed at enhancing the capacities of States Parties through the provision of supportive guidelines and tools.
It is within this context that States Parties and the Secretariat facilitated meetings of external experts to develop the first indicative guidelines in 2021, which concerned chemical safety and security management in small and medium-sized enterprises.
Following the success of the first indicative guidelines, and based on the needs expressed by States Parties, the indicative guidelines on the transportation of hazardous chemicals by road were developed.
Their primary goal is to present best practices for the transportation of hazardous chemicals by road in all OPCW member states.
In the absence of a harmonised approach to such transportation across the world, these guidelines provide a valuable resource.
In addition, the guidelines will be of particular assistance to States Parties that are yet to adopt and implement domestic regulations or legislation about the safe and secure transportation of hazardous chemicals.
Excellencies, distinguished guests,
The development of this important resource would not have been possible without the contributions of multiple stakeholders and experts who participated in virtual discussions and consultations in workshops in Germany in April 2022 and in Malaysia in February 2023.
Participants included government officials, chemical industry representatives, academics, and chemical engineers from a variety of backgrounds in chemical safety and security, as well as chemical transportation.
I would like to express my deep appreciation to the panel experts and all others involved for their diligent work throughout the process, leading to the launch today.
On the part of the Secretariat, we will make use of these guidelines to complement our capacity-building efforts for the benefit of all States Parties.
We will also make the guidelines available to the public through the OPCW website.
We hope that you will share this resource with relevant stakeholders in your countries, including the chemical industry.
Before I conclude, allow me to highlight that the development of practical tools, such as these guidelines, demonstrates the commitment of the OPCW to bolstering the capacities of all States Parties in the area of chemical safety and security management.
I invite you all to promote and use this tool at the national level so that we can contribute together to the peaceful use of chemistry to advance economic and technological development.
I thank you for your kind attention.