Sri Lanka calls for measures to address menace of chemical terrorism

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to The Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), A.M.J. Sadiq, underscored the crucial need for international cooperation and assistance in the areas of verification, capacity building and assistance and protection for the peaceful applications of Chemistry and to strengthen the national capacities in chemical emergency responses.

In this regard, he announced that Sri Lanka is pleased to host the Fifth Regional Basic Training Course on Emergency Response to Chemical Incidents for States Parties in Asia, organized by the National Authority of Sri Lanka with the assistance of the Technical Secretariat which will be held in February, in Colombo.

The objective of the programme is to provide participants adequate training on civil defence, civil  protection, and decontamination  operations  in  contaminated  areas   and  counter- measures  in  the  event  of  incidents  involving chemical  warfare  agents  or  toxic  industrial  chemicals, the foreign ministry said.

Speaking further, Ambassador Sadiq welcomed the successful removal of precursor chemicals from Libya, on Aug 27, as part of an ongoing operation undertaken in close collaboration with the Libyan National Authority, to verifiably eliminate remaining chemical weapons stocks and thanked the Technical Secretariat and all other associated States Parties and organizations for this significant achievement.

Referring to Syria, Ambassador Sadiq stated that, “Sri Lanka attaches high importance to the Convention on the prohibition of development, production, stockpiling and the use of chemical weapons and on their destruction.”