The Thirtieth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CSP-30) opened today in The Hague, Netherlands. The session is livestreamed on the OPCW website .
"We convene, once again, in a degraded international security environment. Although we have achieved the verification of the destruction of all declared stockpiles, since July 2023, documented cases of use in recent years in Iraq, Malaysia, Syria, the United Kingdom, and in other instances, as well as numerous allegations of toxic chemicals use since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, show that the OPCW's mission is far from complete. Where the Secretariat has been seized, we have responded, and will continue to do so" said OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias, at the opening of the Conference.
Key discussion topics during the Conference will be:
Status of the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC);
Addressing the threat of chemical weapons use;
Approval of the programme and biannual budget for 2026-2027.
Election of members of the Executive Council and appointment of the next Director General;
Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and their impact on CWC implementation;
Promoting peaceful applications of chemistry and ensuring safe production and secure use of chemicals;
Promoting universality of the CWC;
Strengthening institutional governance at the OPCW.
The Conference is chaired by H.E. Mr Agustín Vásquez Gómez, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the OPCW, who assumed his duties from the outgoing Chairperson, Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the OPCW, H.E. Mr Almir Šahović.
On Monday, 24 November, an official ceremony for the OPCW-The Hague Award was held. This year the award honours three recipients: Major General Ichiro Akiyama, Ambassador Kenneth Ward and Rear Admiral Torben Mikkelsen.
On Wednesday, 26 November, the Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare will be observed with a minute of silence. The Conference will reaffirm its commitment to the norm against chemical weapons in all circumstances.
On Thursday, 27 November, the appointment of the next OPCW Director-General will take place. Based on the recommendation of the Executive Council, the Conference will be requested to appoint Ambassador Sabrina Dallafior Matter of Switzerland as the next OPCW Director-General for a four-year tenure which will start from 27 July 2026. Ambassador Dallafior Matter is currently serving as Ambassador of Switzerland to Finland, based in Helsinki.
A number of side events focusing on topics related to the CWC are taking place in the margins of the Conference.
Background
The Conference of the States Parties (CSP) is the principal and plenary organ of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), composed of the OPCW's 193 Member States. The weeklong annual meeting of the Conference brings together high-level officials from OPCW Member States, as well as representatives from international organisations, the chemical industry, and civil society. The CSP oversees the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), promotes the Convention's objectives and reviews compliance with the treaty.
The CSP, at its 20th Session, decided that a Memorial Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare would be observed annually during the Conference. This commemoration provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare, as well as to reaffirm OPCW's commitment to achieve a world free 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.
