H.E. Mr. Luis Vassy, Permanent Representative of the French Republic to the OPCW, and H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, Director-General of the OPCW
THE HAGUE, Netherlands–25 June 2021–The Government of France has contributed €500,000 to a special Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Trust Fund for Security and Business Continuity.
The contribution will allow the OPCW to ensure users and systems are well protected against current and future cybersecurity threats. Further, it will support OPCW’s ability to maintain critical operations when business disruptions occur.
The contribution was formalised today during a ceremony between the Permanent Representative of France to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Luis Vassy, and OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, which was held at OPCW Headquarters in The Hague.
Ambassador Vassy remarked: “I am very honoured to announce today this voluntary contribution from France, which supports the OPCW in its efforts to enhance its resilience capabilities. This is critical in a pandemic period, but also more broadly for the future and for the Organisation to protect itself against malicious cyber activity. France recalls its unwavering commitment to the CWC, for a world free from chemical weapons.”
The Director-General underlined: “I am grateful to the Government of France for its ongoing support to OPCW’s mission to uphold the global norm against chemical weapons. Safeguarding the Organisation’s cybersecurity and ability to ensure business continuity are fundamental to accomplishing that goal.”
Background
France has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997. France is a member of the Executive Council, the OPCW’s executive organ, which is charged with promoting the effective implementation of and compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as supervising the activities of the Organisation’s Technical Secretariat.
The Trust Fund for Security and Business Continuity helps the OPCW to enhance its digital resilience to ensure that the Organisation’s people, operations and information are protected effectively. To date, the trust fund has been utilised to improve the security assurance of all OPCW’s networks and systems and enhance the business continuity for the organisation through policy and design preparedness, especially with the realisation of the CCT project.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
Over 98% of all declared chemical weapon stockpiles have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.