A Zoom Webinar

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

10:00 – 11:00 a.m., U.S. Eastern Time

Although all member states of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention have verifiably completed the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpiles as required by the treaty, the regime still faces compliance challenges. Ten years after Syria’s massive declared chemical arsenal was removed from its territory and destroyed under international supervision, gaps and inconsistencies in its declaration remain unresolved and several incidents of chemical weapons use have been documented by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Meanwhile, credible allegations have arisen in the past several months that Russia has used riot control agents against Ukrainian infantry positions, which would be a violation of the CWC.

A high-level group of panelists will host a webinar on Tuesday, March 26 on these ongoing CWC compliance concerns:

• Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, former Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), will review the OPCW’s investigations and findings regarding chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic, and approaches to addressing unresolved issues.
• Fadel Abdulghany, head of the Syrian Human Rights Network, will discuss ongoing concerns and impacts of chemical weapons use on the Syrian people, and the role of civil society in documenting incidents of CWC noncompliance.
• Ambassador Susannah Gordon, New Zealand Ambassador to the Netherlands, will provide an update on new allegations that riot control agents are being used by Russian forces in the war in Ukraine in violation of the CWC, what it means in terms of challenges to the CWC, and how CWC member states might respond.

The webinar will be moderated by CWC Coalition Project Coordinator Mina Rozei.

Please RSVP no later than Friday, March 22, 2024.

This discussion will be on the record. The webinar is organized by the Arms Control Association and the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition.