OPCW confirms: all declared chemical weapons stockpiles have been completely destroyed

On 7 July, US President Joe Biden announced: “Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in its stockpile, bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons.”

Technicians move chemical munitions to the destruction area at Pueblo, Colorado, United States, 8 June

On the same day, in The Hague, the Netherlands, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed that the last chemical weapons stockpile verified by all States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) had been destroyed. The final chemical munition in the declared chemical weapons stockpile of the United States of America was irreversibly destroyed under the CWC on Friday, 7 July 2023, at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant in Kentucky. 

The Director-General of the OPCW, Ambassador Fernando Arias, stated: “I congratulate all States Parties and, in this case, the United States of America, on this major accomplishment for the international community. The completion of the destruction of all declared chemical weapons stockpiles is a major milestone for the Organisation. It is an important step towards achieving the mission of the permanent elimination of all chemical weapons.

This represents a historic success of multilateralism in the field of disarmament and the work of a generation of diplomats and experts over the past 26 years. However, many challenges remain ahead that require the continued attention of the international community. Four States have not yet joined the Convention (Egypt, Israel, North Korea and South Sudan). Old and abandoned chemical weapons still need to be recovered and destroyed,” the OPCW Director-General stressed. “The recent use and threats of use of toxic chemicals as weapons show that preventing their re-emergence will remain a top priority for the OPCW. The rapid development of science and technology, new dangerous toxic chemicals, more sophisticated production equipment and methods, better means of delivery and the interplay between chemistry, biology and artificial intelligence, and related factors, put the Chemical Weapons Convention to the test. These give the Organisation new and challenging tasks, and the agenda for our common work will remain an open one.”

“The OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology (ChemTech), which became operational in May 2023, is an essential tool for strengthening the Organisation’s capacity to address these threats. The international community can rely on the independence, expertise and readiness of the Secretariat to fulfil its role,” the Director-General concluded.

Since the entry into force of the CWC in 1997, the OPCW has verified the destruction of 72,304.34 metric tonnes of chemical weapons stockpiles declared by States Parties around the world. As the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 States Parties, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since its entry into force in 1997, the Convention has been the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.

Thuan - Source: opcw.org