The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü recently addressed the 17th Regular Session of the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE), part of the Organization of American States (OAS), to discuss OPCW’s goals for the full implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Üzümcü detailed his organization’s contributions towards the United Nations’ (UN) Security Council Resolution 1540. The resolution imposes binding obligation to all UN states to adopt legislation to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and establishes domestic control protocols over their precursor materials.
Üzümcü also highlighted OPCW’s contributions towards the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, stressing that cooperation between State Parties of the Chemical Weapons Convention was crucial to its full implementation. The director-general reiterated the organization’s commitment to advance cooperation “with international institutions, regional and sub-regional organizations, scientific communities, the chemical industry and civil society.”
OPCW serves as the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Entered into force in 1997, the convention represents the most-successful disarmament treaty in history targeting an entire class of weapons. To date, approximately 95 percent of all chemical weapons stockpiles declares by OPCW’s 192 member states have been destroyed under the organization’s verification.