Pakistan re-elected to chemical weapons watchdog's executive council

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been re-elected to the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for a two-year term.

Elections were held during the recently concluded 26th Session of the Conference of States Parties in The Hague from November 29 to December 2, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

It said the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and stockpiling of Chemical Weapons and their Destruction (CWC) – with 193 states parties – is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

“The executive council is the principal policy-making organ of the OPCW, which is responsible for supervising the effective implementation of and compliance with the Convention,” the statement said.

“It also supports the scientific and economic development of its Member States in the peaceful uses of chemistry.”

The Foreign Office said Pakistan is an active member of the OPCW and has been serving on the executive council since its ratification of the CWC in 1997. Pakistan has been contributing constructively towards the fulfillment of the objectives of the CWC and regularly hosts OPCW routine inspections at its relevant facilities.

“The re-election of Pakistan to the 41 member Executive Council of the OPCW is a testament to Pakistan’s positive role at the OPCW,” the statement said, adding it reaffirms the confidence of the member states in Pakistan’s ability to provide effective leadership and impetus to the work of the OPCW.