Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you, Chair.
A core and enduring pillar of New Zealand’s foreign policy is our unwavering opposition to the development, possession, and use of all weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons. We are resolute in our rejection and condemnation of these indiscriminate and inhumane weapons, which must be consigned to history.
When we last addressed this Committee in 2023, we were welcoming news of the destruction of the last declared stockpile of chemical weapons. 2023 marked the elimination of the entirety of the world’s publicly declared chemical weapons.
Addressing you today, we confront a bleaker picture. The spectre of use of chemical weapons has arisen again. New Zealand reiterates that any use of chemical weapons, irrespective of the user, location, and circumstances, violates international law and is to be condemned. Moreover, users of chemical weapons must be held to account.
The norm against chemical weapons has been threatened by Syria’s continued failure to fully declare and eliminate its chemical weapons programme as required of all States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Syria’s declaration remains inaccurate and incomplete.In recent months, these inconsistencies have grown in number and severity. This situation is not acceptable, and we maintain that Syria has a case yet to answer.
We also remain deeply concerned by Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and the further credible reports of Russia’s use of riot control agents as a method of warfare. The use of riot control agents in such a manner is strictly prohibited under the Convention.
We also note the allegations that Russia has used at least one scheduled chemical substance in its invasion of Ukraine. We condemn the reported use of the choking agent chloropicrin and call on Russia to comply fully with its Convention obligations rather than false narratives and unfounded counteraccusations. There should be no impunity for chemical weapon use, and Russia must cooperate fully with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons without reservation or delay.
Chair,
New Zealand is committed to a world free of biological weapons. We were pleased that the Ninth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention agreed to establish a Working Group on Strengthening the Convention. We have been pleased to see the Group’s progress in fulfilling its mandate, which we hope will bolster the vital norm against the hostile misuse of biology and other life sciences and ensure the Convention’s continued relevance.
The BWC is more important than ever, given the challenges presented by rapid advances in science and technology, including the implications of artificial intelligence, and as we look towards the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention in 2025.
Thank you.