Venezuela denounces the impact of “sanctions” on chemical protection and safety programs

108th session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
MPPRE Press

Published at: 07/03/2025 04:40 PM

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reaffirmed its commitment to global and absolute chemical disarmament during the 108th session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which takes place in The Hague, the Netherlands, from March 4 to 7.

During the Declaration made by the head of the Venezuelan delegation, the Permanent Representative to the OPCW, Ambassador Héctor Constant Rosales, the South American nation confirmed that the work of the international organization depends on the comprehensive, effective and balanced implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CAQ), in line with the principles established in the Charter of the United Nations and based on international law.

He stressed that the continuation of the organization's technical work requires leaving aside the politicization surrounding the use of chemical weapons, trusting that the establishment of the Open-ended Group on the implementation of the rules governing the election of members of the Council will make it possible to comply with the applicable regulations in favor of the future work of said Council, whose current composition does not correspond to the provisions of paragraph 23 of Article VIII of the CAQ.

Venezuela considered that the rigorous application of the provisions of the Convention should guide attention to complaints about allegations of the use of chemical weapons by States, which requires leaving behind the practice of the use of disinformation and non-scientific sources.

In this area, the Venezuelan diplomat reiterated his strong condemnation of Israel's genocidal actions in Palestine, referring to the allegation of the use of chemical substances by the armies of the Occupying Power and calling attention so that this action should not be ignored or underestimated, since it merits close monitoring by the organization's Technical Secretariat.

Ambassador Constant Rosales stated that, in the face of the continued application of unilateral coercive measures (MCU), misnamed sanctions, international cooperation, inclusive multilateralism and unconditional technical assistance fail, since they operate in violation of the United Nations Charter and the CAQ itself.

In this context, he reiterated his complaint about the illegal application of more than 1,000 of these measures that violate the human rights of the Venezuelan people, hindering their right to development and preventing comprehensive work before the OPCW, including the blocking of the payment of quotas; together with the pernicious impact on the chemical protection and safety programs of the national industry.

Mazo News Team/MPPRE

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