CSTO rejects the use of OPCW as a platform for promoting allegations against Syria

Member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization have affirmed their rejection of politicizing the work of the Organizations for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and using it as a platform for promoting allegations on the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

The members said in a joint statement issued on Wednesday: “Member States CSTO, being responsible parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (hereinafter – the Convention), firmly declare their commitment to a world free of chemical weapons and strongly condemn their use in armed conflicts.

We emphasize the need to maintain a technical Organizations for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and in this regard note the danger of politicizing its agenda, imposing a unilateral vision of the norms of international law, including a free interpretation of the provisions of the Convention without taking into account the views of all member states. Note that the powers of the Technical Secretariat should not go beyond the boundaries clearly delineated by the provisions of the Convention. It is also believed that decisions on impairment of the rights of States parties to the Convention should be based solely on reliable, verifiable facts and conclusions, and not on the highly questionable reports of the Investigation and Identification Team established at the Technical Secretariat in violation of the provisions of the Convention. attributive functions.

We are convinced that the work of the OPCW special missions in Syria, established in agreement with the government of that country, must comply with the letter and spirit of the Convention. Departure from these requirements is unacceptable.

We are aware of the serious problem in using the OPCW site for the dissemination of unconfirmed allegations of the use of chemical weapons. So there is a need to preserve the objectivity and impartiality of the Technical Secretariat in matters of prompt response to statements from the States Parties to the Convention on the alleged use of chemical weapons in armed conflicts.

We call on the CWC member states to move towards real cooperation through the exchange of information and consultations among themselves within the framework of the Convention and other existing international mechanisms in this regard, in particular, on the provision of legal assistance to which they are parties.

It is assumed that any proposals outside the scope of the Convention must be implemented strictly within the framework of the requirements of its Article XV.

We call on the initiators of the draft decision on “understanding” regarding the non-use of substances affecting the central nervous system in aerosol form for law enforcement purposes to strictly follow the provisions of this international treaty.

We believe that the effective functioning of the OPCW largely depends on the professional, apolitical and independent nature of the work of the Technical Secretariat. We stand for the preservation and strengthening of its expert potential, improvement of the knowledge transfer system while strictly observing a wide geographical representation. A large share of responsibility for the activities of the Secretariat rests with the Director General, whose primary task is to protect the integrity of the Convention, ensure its provisions, and work to strengthen the authority of the Organization.

We appeal to the CWC member states to cooperate constructively with each other, to strive to restore the spirit of consensus and equality in the OPCW in the interests of the integrity and universality of the Convention. This approach is a sine qua non for achieving universal coverage of the Convention, which remains one of the cornerstone treaties in the architecture of international security and disarmament.

Basma Qaddour