Germany's commitment at the 28th Conference of States Parties

At the 28th Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) held in The Hague from 27 November to 1 December 2023, important decisions were made. Notably, the States Parties agreed to enhance measures to prevent the transfer of harmful chemicals to Syria and approved the OPCW's two-year budget. The German Permanent Representative to the OPCW, Ambassador Thomas Schieb, expressed deep concern over Syria's persistent non-compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. Furthermore, he called on the Russian Federation to respond to reports, including those from Russian state media, about the possible use of riot control agents by Russian forces in the context of the aggression against Ukraine. Such use would constitute a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Together with his colleague from Ecuador, Ambassador Schieb reported on the progress of the consultations initiated jointly by Ecuador and Germany to improve interaction with civil society. The Australian Embassy organized an event on this topic with representatives of civil society, including academia and the chemical industry. There, Dr. Alexander Ghionis (research fellow at The Havard Sussex Program) presented his scientific work on „The OPCW and Civil Society: Initial Considerations on relevant themes and issues“ (link), which is intended to serve as a basis for further discussion.