The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland announced a contribution of £500,000 to support the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The voluntary contribution was announced yesterday by the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, H.E. Ambassador Ms Joanna Roper CMG, at a ceremony attended by the Director-General of the OPCW, Ambassador Fernando Arias.
The contribution will be used to support the OPCW and its efforts to eliminate the use and the threat of use of chemical weapons worldwide. It will support programmes that focus on:
- providing support to laboratories that aspire to become an OPCW Designated Laboratory;
- building capacity among OPCW Member States to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including under Article X (assistance and protection);
- countering State and non-state threats to the implementation of the Convention;
- strengthening the OPCW Technical Secretariat's capacity to support the full implementation of the Convention.
Ambassador Roper stated: "I am pleased to announce a further contribution from the UK towards supporting OPCW work to increase the number of Designated Laboratories and for activities related to assistance and protection in Africa and in Ukraine. This voluntary contribution will build the capabilities of States Parties and help achieve a world free of chemical weapons."
The OPCW Director-General stated: "This generous financial contribution will support the OPCW's critical mission. It demonstrates the United Kingdom's steadfast commitment to upholding the global norm against chemical weapons."
Background
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been an active member of the OPCW since the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997. It is a member of the Executive Council, the OPCW's governing body, which supervises the activities of the Technical Secretariat and is responsible for promoting the effective implementation of, and compliance with, the Convention
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 99% 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.
