Director General for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Üzümcü recently confirmed that the remaining chemical weapons stocks left in Libya have been successfully removed from the country.
The operation was facilitated in part by the OPCW in response to multiple requests by Libya for assistance in meeting its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The request was approved by the OPCW executive council and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council in July. The removal of the chemicals is the first stage of an ongoing effort to verifiably remove any remnant of Libya’s now-defunct chemical weapons program.
“This OPCW-coordinated international effort has achieved a major milestone in guaranteeing that these chemicals will not fall into the wrong hands,” Üzümcü said.
Üzümcü added that he was encouraged by the ongoing cooperation among contributing countries and expressed confidence that the ultimate objective of verifiably eliminating Libyan chemicals would be achieved in a safe, secure and timely fashion.
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States all responded to the call for assistance by contributing personnel, technical expertise, equipment, financial and other resources. Denmark has already provided maritime assets to transport the chemicals.
The OPCW is dedicated to implementing all provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention with the ultimate goal of eliminating all chemical weapons and the threat of their use.