Thursday, March 28

Joint statement of the member States of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on strengthening cooperation and coordination of efforts to combat chemical terrorism

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The member States of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), being responsible States parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (hereinafter referred to as the Convention), express deep concern about the threats of chemical terrorism and firmly declare their commitment to a world free of chemical weapons.

They emphasize that the development, production, acquisition, possession, accumulation, preservation and use of chemical weapons by terrorist organizations are a threat to the purposes and principles of the Convention and should be the subject of close attention from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Based on the strong condemnation by the CSTO member states of international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, they once again draw the attention of the world community to the need to unite efforts in countering terrorism within the framework of a single anti-terrorist front with the central role of the UN, based on the fundamental norms and principles of international law, on the basis of strict compliance with the UN Charter and the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions. They note the importance of preventing the politicization of counterterrorism issues and turning them into tools for a policy of double standards.

They note with alarm the Seventh report of the Special Adviser and the Head of the UN Investigation Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh/The “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (UN Security Council document S/2021/974), which established that terrorist organizations operating in the Middle East not only use toxic chemicals, but also have their own technological and production base for the synthesis of chemical warfare agents. Thus, chemical terrorism has already become a reality that requires decisive, consistent and urgent action from everyone.

Confirm the need to ensure in all Participating States, within the framework of their national legislation, the prevention by individuals and legal entities of any activity prohibited under the CWC, in particular, through the adoption of appropriate criminal legislation, as well as the creation of an effective export control system.

They are in favor of expanding cooperation to prevent foreign terrorist fighters with specialized knowledge in the development, production and use of chemical weapons from entering the States parties to the Convention, including by increasing the effectiveness of interaction between the States parties to the Convention. In this regard, they emphasize the importance of the activities of the OPCW open-ended working group on terrorism, which seems to be a convenient platform for exchanging conceptual considerations on countering chemical terrorism, as well as information on relevant threats.

Renew their request to the Director General to inform on a regular basis about the efforts of the OPCW Technical Secretariat to establish a dialogue with other international organizations, primarily the UN, as well as about the information received by the OPCW Technical Secretariat from participating States and other reliable sources about the activities of terrorist groups related to the acquisition, production, movement and impending use of chemical weapons and the actions taken by it in this regard.

Being principled and consistent supporters of the adoption of effective collective measures aimed at actively countering the proliferation of WMD, its components and means of delivery, they confirm the continuing relevance of the Russian-Chinese initiative to develop a Convention for the suppression of acts of chemical and biological terrorism, designed to become an important additional tool in creating a reliable barrier to terrorist danger.

Source: https://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1803874/

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