A delegation from Iraq visiting the OPCW Headquarters are received by the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — 26 October 2017 —The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, received a delegation from Iraq on 16 October. The delegation was headed by the Director General of the National Counter Terrorism Committee in the Iraqi National Security Advisory, consultant Expert Mahmood ALbayaty and included representatives from the Ministries for Industry, Environment, Health, and Customs. This visit was part of activities coordinated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to strengthen the national capacities on addressing the threat of the dual use of chemical materials for terrorism purposes.
The Director-General and the Iraqi delegation discussed the role of national implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in responding to the threat of non-State actors, and identified what kind of support the OPCW can provide. The Director-General also provided an overview of the recent discussion at the OPCW on the threat posed by non-State actors noting that “our cooperation with Iraq is very timely”.
The Iraqi delegation reaffirmed its commitment to the prohibition of chemical weapons and shared its efforts in the management of dual use chemicals.
Background
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997 – with its 192 States Parties – it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
Over 96 per cent of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared by possessor States have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Prize for Peace.