The Government of the Principality of Andorra has voluntarily contributed EUR 10,000 to two trust funds of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW): Trust Fund for the International Support Network for Victims of Chemical Weapons and Trust Fund for Training.
The contribution was formalised recently in an agreement signed between the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Andorra to the OPCW, H.E. Mr Vicenç Mate, and the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias.
Half of the contribution, EUR 5,000, will be allocated to activities of the International Support Network for Victims of Chemical Weapons , which was established in 2011. Andorra's contribution will be earmarked for activities that integrate the gender perspective.
The other EUR 5,000 contribution to the Trust Fund for Training will support activities aimed at enhancing the preparedness of States Parties to respond to and manage incidents involving chemical weapons and industrial toxic chemicals under Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Ambassador Mate said: "Andorra reaffirms its commitment to the OPCW by making a voluntary contribution to further support the vital work of the International Support Network for Victims of Chemical Weapons. Through its contribution to the Trust Fund for Training, Andorra confirms once again its strong engagement with the ChemTech Centre and its training initiatives, an essential priority for the Organisation and a key instrument for advancing towards a world free of chemical weapons."
Director-General Arias stated: "I express my sincere appreciation to Andorra for its continuous support to the important activities of the OPCW. To honour the memory of all victims of chemical warfare, we must uphold the global norm against chemical weapons, and prevent others from falling victim to these abhorrent weapons."
"Andorra's contribution will support the OPCW in further enhancing its capacity-building and preparedness programmes, assisting States Parties in strengthening national and regional capabilities to respond to incidents involving chemical weapons or toxic industrial chemicals. Such efforts are vital to the effective and sustained implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention," he added.
Background
Andorra has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) entered into force in 1997.
Since 2016, Andorra has made voluntary contributions totalling EUR 100,000 including 90,000 to the Trust Fund for Syria Missions.
In 2011, the Conference of the States Parties established the International Support Network for Victims of Chemical Weapons and a voluntary trust fund for this purpose. The OPCW Member States Parties can support the Network by providing medical treatment to victims of chemical weapons in their countries; organising events to raise awareness at the national level on victims of chemical weapons; exchanging information on experiences related to treatment of victims of chemical weapons, through e.g. providing research scholarships to the developing States Parties in the field of the treatment of victims of chemical weapons; and facilitating materials- and equipment-related assistance to States Parties to assist and support the victims of chemical weapons.
Under Article X of the Convention, the Secretariat organises trainings for first responders, government experts and emergency response units designed to build and develop national and regional capabilities and emergency response systems against the use, or threat of use, of chemical weapons.
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.
In 2023, the OPCW verified that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997 - totalling 72,304 metric tonnes of chemical agents - have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW's strict verification regime.
For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.
