Switzerland Contributes CHF 300,000 to Support OPCW Activities and Centre for Chemistry and Technology
The Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Heinz Walker-Nederkoorn and OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias.
The Hague, Netherlands – 22 January 2020 – The Government of Switzerland will make two contributions totalling CHF 300,000 to support a number of major projects and activities of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
A contribution of CHF 200,000 will be made to the OPCW Trust Fund to support the project to upgrade the current OPCW Laboratory and Equipment Store through the construction of a new Centre for Chemistry and Technology (“ChemTech Centre”). Another contribution of approximately CHF 100,000 will support the activities of the Trust Fund for Syria Missions at the OPCW. The Trust Fund for Syria Missions supports the Organisation’s missions and contingency operations related to the Syrian Arab Republic including the work of the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT), the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), and the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT).
The contribution was formalised during a ceremony at the OPCW Headquarters between OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, and the Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Heinz Walker-Nederkoorn.
The Director-General expressed: “I thank the Government of Switzerland for these major contributions, to the new OPCW ChemTech Centre and to the Trust Fund for Syria Missions. Both will further build the capabilities of our Member States to achieve a world free of chemical weapons.”
Ambassador Walker-Nederkoorn remarked: “The OPCW has proven time and again its indispensable value when it comes to building a world free of chemical weapons and ensuring respect for the provisions established by the Chemical Weapons Convention.”
He emphasised Switzerland’s full support for the OPCW’s professional and impartial work to eliminate the threat posed by chemical weapons, reflected in both contributions.
He added: ‘’The OPCW Laboratory performs key functions and is of pivotal importance for the effectiveness and integrity of the Organisation’s verification regime.”
So far, thirty-three States Parties and the European Union have contributed or pledged to contribute financially to the ChemTech Centre project, and a considerable amount has been raised to date. In the past few weeks, as many as eleven States Parties have made a voluntary contribution.
