Sri Lanka calls for measures to address the menace of chemical terrorism

Sri Lanka calls for measures to address the menace of chemical terrorism

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Sri Lanka has called for ways and means to address the menace of chemical terrorism, in the wake of Non-State Actors acquiring the capability to manufacture and use chemical weapons. 

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Sri Lanka has called for ways and means to address the menace of chemical terrorism, in the wake of Non-State Actors acquiring the capability to manufacture and use chemical weapons. 

Participating in the General Debate on the second day of the 21st Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in The Hague yesterday, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to The Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), A.M.J. Sadiq referred to the recent spate of horrendous terrorist attacks and the rise of Non-State Actors. In this context, he commended the work done by the Open Ended Working Group on Terrorism under the leadership of H.E. Dr Tony Aidoo, Ambassador of Ghana and at the Sub-Working Group on Non-State Actors, chaired by H.E. Maria Teresa Infante, Ambassador of Chile, as being important to explore and strengthen national capacities of Member States. 

Ambassador Sadiq highlighted the urgent need for States to enhance their readiness and ability to meet such threats, and welcomed the establishment of the Rapid Response Assistance Team  (RRAT) as a timely initiative, to enhance the capacity and the readiness of the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW to provide swift responses and assistance to States Parties,  upon request, against the use of chemical weapons. He urged the OPCW not to limit the scope of the RRAT only to chemical weapons related incidents, but extend it to cover chemical accidents, as well. 

The Sri Lankan Ambassador underscored   the crucial need for   international cooperation and assistance in the areas of verification, capacity building and assistance & protection for the peaceful applications of Chemistry and to strengthen the national capacities in chemical emergency responses. 

In this regard, he announced that Sri Lanka is pleased to host the Fifth Regional Basic Training Course on Emergency Response to Chemical Incidents for States Parties in Asia, organized by the National Authority of Sri Lanka with the assistance of the Technical Secretariat from 06th to 10th February 2017, in Colombo. The objective of the Programme is to provide participants adequate training on civil defence, civil  protection, and  decontamination  operations  in  contaminated  areas   and  counter- measures  in  the  event  of  incidents  involving  chemical  warfare  agents  or  toxic  industrial  chemicals.  

Highlighting the role of the private sector in Sri Lanka in collaborating with the OPCW, Ambassador Sadiq stated that Camso Loadstar (Pvt) Ltd hosted the industrial attachment of two participants from Tunisia and Paraguay in September this year, as a part of the OPCW Associate Programme 2016. 

Speaking further, Ambassador Sadiq welcomed the successful removal of precursor chemicals from Libya, on 27 August 2016, as part of an ongoing operation undertaken in close collaboration with the Libyan National Authority, to verifiably eliminate remaining chemical weapons stocks and thanked the Technical Secretariat and all other associated States Parties and organizations for this significant achievement. 

Referring to Syria, Ambassador Sadiq stated that, “Sri Lanka attaches high importance to the Convention on the prohibition of development, production, stockpiling and the use of chemical weapons and on their destruction. In this context, Sri Lanka values the work of the OPCW. The use of chemical weapons anywhere, irrespective of circumstances, cannot be justified. The OPCW and the UN Joint Investigative Mechanism Report highlights the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which is of grave concern and we would like to emphasize the urgent need for decisive action in this regard.” 

Miss Wathsala Amarasinghe, Second Secretary of the Embassy was associated with Ambassador Sadiq, as a member of the Sri Lanka delegation at the Conference. 

The full text of the Country Statement is attached below. 

 

Embassy of Sri Lanka
The Hague, The Netherlands
30th November 2016

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Statement by Ambassador Adam M.J. Sadiq,

Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

At the 21st Session of the Conference of the States Parties,

29th November 2016

 

 

Mr Chairperson,

Director- General,

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, 

At the outset, on behalf of my delegation, allow  me  to  extend  warm  felicitations  to  you, Ambassador Dr. Christoph  Israng of  Germany, on  your  election  as  the  Chairperson  of  the  21st   Session  of  the  Conference  of  the  States  Parties  to  the  Chemical  Weapons Convention(CWC).  I am confident  that  under  your  astute guidance , the  deliberations  of  this  Conference  will  lead to  a  successful  conclusion. 

I wish to take this  opportunity  to  express  our  profound  appreciation  to  Ambassador  Eduardo  Ibarrola–Nicolin  of  Mexico  for  his  able stewardship and wise counsel  during  the  20th   Session  of  the  Conference  of  the  States  Parties. 

Further, I  would  like  to  convey  our  sincere  thanks  to  Director  General  H.E. Ahmet  Üzümcü, for  his  outstanding  leadership  and  the  Technical  Secretariat  for  its  dedicated and indefatigable efforts to  ensure  the  effective  implementation  of  the  Chemical  Weapons  Convention. 

Mr. Chairperson,

My delegation aligns itself with  the  Statement  delivered  by  the  distinguished  Ambassador  of  the  Bolivarian  Republic  of  Venezuela,  H.E. Haifa  Aissami  on  behalf  of  the  NAM  CWC States  Parties  and  China.

We are on the threshold of celebrating the 20th anniversary   of the establishment of the OPCW, which falls  on  29th April  2017,  providing us  yet  another  opportunity  to  reflect  on  the  road  we  have   travelled  so  far in   achieving  the  stated  objective  of  the OPCW of chemical  weapons  disarmament.  Comprising 192 Member States, the CWC is the only disarmament treaty that is dedicated to the total elimination of chemical weapons from the world.   The OPCW, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013, with its vast expertise and reservoir of knowledge stands as the world’s leading chemical security organization, having successfully overseen the destruction of 94% of declared chemical weapons stockpiles in the world. With a record of such remarkable success, still the challenge   of achieving a world free of chemical weapons remains unfulfilled. 

The recent spate of horrendous terrorist attacks and the rise of Non-State Actors  and  their  capability to manufacture  and  use  chemical  weapons  and  toxic  chemicals,  highlight the  urgent  need  for States  to  enhance their readiness and ability to  meet  such  threats. In this context, we commend the establishment of the Rapid Response Assistance Team  (RRAT) as a timely initiative, to enhance the capacity and  the  readiness  of  the  Technical  Secretariat to  provide  swift  responses  and  assistance to  the  States  Parties  upon  request  against  the  use  of  chemical  weapons.  We believe that the scope of the RRAT should not be limited to chemical weapons related incidents but also extended to cover chemical accidents.  

Mr. Chairperson,

My delegation  believes  that  the  ongoing  discussions in the  Open  Ended Working  Group on Terrorism under the able  leadership of  H.E. Dr Tony Aidoo, Ambassador  of Ghana and at the Sub-Working Group on Non-State Actors under the  stewardship  of  H.E. Maria Teresa Infante, Ambassador of Chile,   are of  the  utmost  importance  to explore  ways  and  means to  address  the  menace  of   chemical  terrorism  and  strengthen  national  capacities  of  Member  States. 

Mr Chairperson,

As identified during these deliberations, my delegation believes that the full and effective implementation of Article VII remains paramount in addressing the threat posed by Non-State Actors using chemical weapons, as well as toxic chemicals as weapons. In this regard, Sri Lanka welcomes the assistance provided by the Technical Secretariat to States Parties, which do not have enabling national legislation, to draft relevant laws. However, we believe that the Technical Secretariat should also assist States Parties which already have such legislation, in order to enable them to review and upgrade their existing national measures in keeping with current developments. Technical assistance and support of  such  measures, should be provided through tailor made  programmes,  following a careful  study of  the needs  of  States Parties, since one  size  does  not  fit  all. 

Mr.  Chairperson,

My  delegation  underscores   the  crucial  need  for   international  cooperation  and  assistance in  the  areas  of  verification, capacity building  and assistance  &  protection  for  the  peaceful  applications  of  Chemistry  and  to  strengthen  the  national  capacities  in chemical  emergency  responses.   In  this  context,  I  am  pleased  to  announce  that  the  Fifth  Regional  Basic  Training  Course  on  Emergency  Response  to  Chemical  Incidents for  States  Parties  in  Asia, organized  by  the  National  Authority  of  Sri  Lanka  with  the  assistance  of  the  Technical  Secretariat will  be  held  from 06th to 10th February  2017,  in  Colombo,  Sri  Lanka.    The  objective  of  the  Programme  is  to    provide  participants adequate  training  on  civil  defence, civil  protection, and  decontamination  operations  in  contaminated  areas   and  counter- measures  in  the  event  of  incidents  involving  chemical  warfare  agents  or  toxic  industrial  chemicals.  

Further, as a part of the OPCW Associate Programme 2016, Camso Loadstar Pvt Ltd of Sri Lanka hosted the industrial attachment of two participants from Tunisia and Paraguay in September 2016. 

Mr. Chairperson,

In strengthening the future role of the OPCW as an efficient and effective disarmament organization, my  delegation  welcomes  with  profound appreciation,  the  establishment  of the Open  Ended  Working  Group  on  Future  Priorities,   under  the  able  leadership  of  co-chairs, H.E. Sabine Nolke, Ambassador  of Canada and H.E. Bruce Koloane, Ambassador of South Africa.   We  are   confident  that,   given    the  vast  and  multifaceted experience of  the  two  co-Chairs,   the   Working  Group  would  be  able  to  formulate  a balanced, well focused programme  of  work  and  methods  with  the  cooperation  of  States  Parties,  to  be  taken up  at  the  Fourth  Review  Conference  in 2018. 

Mr. Chairperson,

Sri  Lanka,  as  an  early  signatory  to  the  Chemical  Weapons  Convention in 1993,  remains  fully  committed  to  the  principles  on  which  the  OPCW  was  founded.  My  delegation  wishes  to emphasize  that  the  full, effective  and  non-discriminatory  implementation  of  all  provisions  of the Convention, including  Article  XI  is  crucial  in  reaching  the  full  potential  of  the  Convention. In this context, we appreciate the efforts by the Technical Secretariat in organizing the recently concluded “Review  & Evaluation Workshop on the Components of an Agreed Framework for the Full Implementation of Article XI”. 

Mr. Chairperson,

Sri  Lanka  wishes  to  take  this  opportunity  to  remind  Possessor  States  to  take  necessary  steps  without any  further  delay  to  expedite  the destruction of  their declared  chemical  weapons  stockpiles,  old  chemical  weapons  and abandoned  chemical   weapons  as  stipulated,  since  the  existence  of  such  chemical  weapons  continues  to  pose  a  threat  to  global  security.

We welcome the announcement of the successful removal of precursor chemicals from Libya, on 27 August 2016, as part of an ongoing operation undertaken in close collaboration with the Libyan National Authority, to verifiably eliminate remaining chemical weapons stocks and sincerely thank the Technical Secretariat and all  other  associated  States  Parties  and  organizations for  this significant achievement.

Mr. Chairperson,

Sri Lanka attaches high importance to the Convention on the prohibition of development, production, stockpiling and the use of Chemical Weapons and on their destruction. In this context, Sri Lanka values the work of the OPCW. The use of chemical weapons anywhere, irrespective of circumstances, cannot be justified. The OPCW  and the UN  Joint  Investigative  Mechanism  Report  highlights  the  use  of  chemical  weapons  in  Syria ,  which  is  of  grave  concern  and  we  would  like  to emphasize the  urgent  need  for  decisive  action  in  this  regard.  

               Mr. Chairperson,

In conclusion, I would  like  to  request  that  this  Statement  to  be circulated  as  an  official  series document  of  this  Conference  and  to  be  placed  on  the OPCW  website  and  extranet. 

               Thank you. 


 

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