QNA/The Hague
Qatar has reiterated its strong condemnation of the systematic use of chemical weapons in Syrian villages which are controlled by the opposition.
Addressing the 77th Session of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) here yesterday, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW Khalid Fahad al-Khater, urged the Council to take all measures to address this grave issue.
Al-Khater said that the credibility of the prohibition of chemical weapons cannot be achieved unless the agreement secures non-use of chemical weapons in any part of the world and under any circumstance.
Qatar has also demanded the fact-finding mission to intensify its work in order to complete its efforts within a specific period of time and because of the severe danger posed by the use of chemical weapons, which is considered a flagrant violation of all international conventions and the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Qatar also called on non-member countries to join the Convention to achieve the global objective and complete the process of safely getting rid of the stockpile of chemical weapons to enhance the credibility of this Convention.
Khalid Fahad al-Khater, who is also head of the Qatari delegation, said during the 77th Session of the OPCW executive council that Qatar established Doha Regional Centre for training on agreements relating to weapons of mass destruction, the first of its kind in the Middle East.
He said that since the establishment of this centre, many training courses and awareness workshops were organised for various sectors in the country and in the Asian region, adding that at the regional level, Qatar annually hosts a number of participants in the training course for customs officials in the GCC states.
Al-Khater explained that pursuant to Article VI of the Convention, the State of Qatar annually organises a workshop for national bodies in the Asian countries in co-operation with the OPCW.
In the framework of the effective co-operation between the State of Qatar and the organisation to achieve the objectives of the Convention, Qatar hosted for the second time four trainees in the joint programme for the year 2014, where technical and logistical support full was provided for participants.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Ambassador Khalid bin Fahad al-Khater has hosted a reception ceremony in honour of ambassadors and delegations of the member states of the OPCW Executive Council on the occasion of holding its 77th Session, of which Qatar is a member.
The reception was attended by OPCW Director General Ambassador Ahmet Uzumcu, Chairperson of the OPCW Executive Council Ambassador Alvaro Marcelo Moerzinger, ambassadors of the member-states and members of the delegations participating in the session of the Council, in addition to a number of employees from the Technical Secretariat of the Organisation.
Ambassador Ahmet Uzumcu expressed his pleasure at the gesture of the State of Qatar, especially as it is the first time a reception ceremony has been hosted on the occasion of convening the OPCW Executive Council.
