Venezuela denounces to the OPCW the use of military tools for diplomacy

At the 30th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, held recently in The Hague, the Netherlands, Venezuela reiterated its commitment to global and absolute disarmament, stressing that this objective is far from being globally accepted, particularly by those States that continue to favor the use of military tools over diplomacy and destroy international law based on a regrettable hegemonic vision of the world.

The permanent representative of Venezuela to the Organization for Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Héctor Constant Rosales, stressed that even regions that until recently were totally free from threats to peace, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, are now experiencing an extraregional military deployment in the Caribbean Sea, accompanied by extrajudicial executions reported by the United Nations. In this context, he rejected U.S. military intimidation and expressed his support for the unconditional defense of America as a Zone of Peace.

The Venezuelan diplomat stated that these threats are not new, although today they are more dangerous because of the military component they entail, adding that for more than ten years Venezuela has been facing a multifaceted aggression portrayed in the ominous imposition of illegal unilateral coercive measures by Western governments, which violate the human rights of the people and that prevent the integral work of Venezuela in the OPCW, blocking the payment of quotas as well as access to supplies for the safety and security of the petrochemical industry.

Ambassador Constant demanded that the more than 1,000 criminal and illegal unilateral coercive measures imposed against Venezuela, as well as against other countries whose only sin has been to maintain policies of sovereignty and dignity, be lifted.

“We have witnessed a weakening of the international legal framework that violates multilateralism, favors the consolidation of double standards and directly affects our work. The most tragic example is the genocide that occurs in Palestine, even with the use of possible chemical agents that must be verified,” he concluded.

The Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention brings together annually representatives of the 193 member States of the OPCW; takes necessary measures to ensure compliance with the Convention; approves the program and the budget and establishes the quotas to be paid by the States parties; promotes international cooperation in the field of chemical activities for peaceful purposes; and examines scientific and technological developments that may affect the Convention, including other faculties.