Qatar voices concern over development of WMD

Qatar has underlined that the acquisition and development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is a flagrant violation of collective legal and ethical obligations to strengthen security and peace, which is a commitment made by member-states to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and achieve a secure and prosperous world.This is based on its belief in a world of security, peace and stability and free from the threat of the use of weapons of mass destruction.This came in the speech of Qatar before the First Committee of the United Nations on the item “Other weapons of mass destruction” delivered by Talal bin Rashid al-Khalifa, Second Secretary, and member of the delegation of Qatar to the 73rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.In its statement, Qatar noted that the international community was actively seeking to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction, which were of concern to all and placed the entire population of the planet in danger of using such weapons, particularly in light of the proliferation of armed conflicts and the possible possession and use of weapons of mass destruction by non-state armed groups.Qatar expressed concern about the danger of terrorist organisations acquiring weapons of mass destruction and the serious consequences for international peace and security.In that regard, he reiterated the importance of intensifying joint efforts to prevent extremist terrorist organisations from acquiring such weapons, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), which recognised that nuclear, chemical and biological weapons posed a threat to international peace and security and called on member-states to refrain from supporting non-state actors to acquire, manufacture, acquire, transfer or use nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.In line with its policy on the elimination of weapons of mass destruction and the fight against terrorism, Qatar has continued to work with its partners in the international community and to implement its international legal obligations related to the non-proliferation of chemical and biological weapons, as well as nuclear weapons, in line with the fact that Qatar is a party to the relevant international conventions.Qatar stressed that the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) had contributed to the fact that the use and possession of chemical weapons constituted a flagrant violation of international law and of legal and humanitarian standards, thus creating the binding international legal basis to consider the conduct of any party using such weapons as condemned and rejected by the international community as a whole, requiring criminal accountability and impunity for those responsible.It said that “any use of chemical weapons anywhere in the world under any circumstances is a serious threat to the non-proliferation regime that the international community has established for decades”.In its statement, Qatar noted that the use of toxic substances as weapons was a war crime and a crime against humanity.The international community’s rejection of these heinous crimes was manifested in the establishment by the General Assembly of a neutral and independent international mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the most serious crimes committed in Syria since March 2011.With regard to nuclear weapons, Qatar stressed the importance of continuing efforts to rid the Middle East of nuclear weapons and to implement the commitments resulting from the 1995 Review Conference of the NPT.