Qatar participates in OPCW Executive Council session
The Hague
The State of Qatar participated in the 109th session of the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), held in The Hague. The Qatari delegation was headed by Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and its Permanent Representative to the OPCW HE Dr Mutlaq bin Majid Al Qahtani.
In Qatar's statement during the session, Al Qahtani noted that the meeting is taking place amid serious challenges to international peace and security, foremost among them the war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in severe humanitarian tragedies.
He affirmed Qatar's support for the request made by the State of Palestine, as a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, for an immediate investigation into Israel's use of prohibited substances during its military operations in Gaza.
Al Qahtani stressed that such actions constitute a blatant violation of international law and relevant conventions and require accountability for the perpetrators.
In this context, he condemned Israel's repeated targeting of sites within Syrian territory, which hinders the work of OPCW missions and endangers the lives of its experts, especially as Syria continues its cooperation with the OPCW Technical Secretariat to identify sites containing chemical materials and develop destruction plans.
Al Qahtani praised the recent positive progress in cooperation between the Syrian Arab Republic and the OPCW Technical Secretariat, commending the vital role played by the organization in this regard and Qatar's support for enhancing this cooperation, calling on the Executive Council to engage positively with this new reality and to take the necessary steps to restore Syria's rights and privileges as an active member of the organization.
He also reiterated Qatar's position calling for the resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis through dialogue and diplomatic means, and for the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
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