The Hague, Netherlands — 24 September 2019 — The Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, delivered a keynote address about international efforts to eliminate chemical weapons and the need for a robust culture of security and deterrence at the 13th CBRNe Protection Symposium held in Malmö, Sweden on 24 September.
In his keynote address, Director-General Arias expressed the need to be agile and vigilant in the face of new technologies and emerging challenges that could threaten the global norm against chemical weapons.
He underscored how “dealing with new uncertainties, challenges, and risks must take centre-stage” and that we should look to our collective experience and knowledge gained from years of implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) to inform our responses to current and future scenarios. The Director-General further emphasised, “The need for international cooperation and coordination has never been greater,” and he stated that “complacency cannot be an option.”
Other aspects covered during Director-General Arias’ address included OPCW’s progress and achievements, and the construction of the new OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology (“ChemTech Centre”) to strengthen the Organisations’ capabilities to fully address new and emerging chemical weapons threats, as well as to support capacity building in OPCW Member States.
