Hidden chemical war in Sri Lanka (South Asia Monitor)

With some terrorist groups and even countries resorting to the barbarism of chemical warfare and the world facing its biggest threat, we today mark the day on which the conference of State parties decided on November 11, 2005, that a Memorial Day of Remembrance for Victims of Chemical Warfare be observed on April 29 each year. This is the date in 1997 on which the Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force. This commemoration will provide an opportunity to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare and to reaffirm the commitment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to the elimination of the threat of chemical weapons, thereby promoting the goals of peace, security, and multilateralism. The Third Review Conference of State Parties to the Chemical Convention was held from April 8 to 19, 2013 at the Hague in the Netherlands and it adopted by consensus a political declaration that confirms the “unequivocal commitment” of the State Parties to the global chemical weapons ban. It also made a comprehensive review of CWC implementation since the last Review Conference in 2008 that also mapped out the OPCW’s priorities for the coming five years. Making a statement at the conference, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed that progress in achieving the total destruction of chemical weapons must be complemented by efforts, to gain universal adherence to the Convention. According to OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) has now been in force for more than 17 years.

http://southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=n&nid=16654