United Kingdom Will Hold All Chemical Weapons Users to Account, Its Speaker Tells First Committee in Thematic Debate on Weapons of Mass Destruction
The long-established rules against the development, stockpiling or use of chemical and biological weapons are under threat, the representative of the United Kingdom told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today in its thematic debate on weapons of mass destruction, following the conclusion of the debate on nuclear weapons.
She underscored that the Russian Federation systematically uses chemical weapons on the front lines in Ukraine in clear breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention. “The United Kingdom will hold all those who use these barbaric weapons to account,” she said, noting that her Government announced on 8 October sanctions on Russian Federation’s radiological, chemical and biological defence troops, their commander and two laboratories for their use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
In light of such “blatant disregard for legally binding conventions”, she called for holding accountable those who use chemical weapons and for strengthening the convention.
That heightened threat, said the delegate of New Zealand, again raises the spectre of chemical weapons use. The world confronts a bleaker picture now than last year. The norm against chemical weapons has been threatened by Syria’s continued failure to fully declare and eliminate its chemical weapons programme as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Syria’s declaration remains inaccurate and incomplete and, in recent months, these inconsistencies have grown in number and severity, he said.
Also expressing concern about the Russian Federation’s war of aggression in Ukraine and the further credible reports of its use of riot control agents as a method of warfare, he said the latter is strictly prohibited under the Convention. He condemned the reported Russian Federation’s use of the choking agent chloropicrin in Ukraine and called on Moscow to comply fully with its Convention obligations “rather than false narratives and unfounded counteraccusations”.
Similarly, the speaker for the United States said the tragic reality is that undeclared chemical weapons still exist and are being used by some States. “There is no room for complacency, CWC [Chemical Weapons Convention] States parties must continue to call out and hold violators accountable,” he said. Syria’s chemical weapons programme also remains a real threat, as the country has used them at least 50 times since it joined the Convention. The Russian Federation has used riot control agents as a method of warfare in Ukraine, which follows its use of Novichok in the 2018 poisoning of the Skripals and the 2020 poisoning of Alexei Navalny.
Echoing these concerns, the delegate for Germany highlighted the growing number of reported uses of riot control agents by the Russian Federation as a method of warfare and of the listed chemical warfare agent chloropicrin in its war of aggression against Ukraine. The Russian Federation has not provided any credible answers to these reports, including reports in Russian Federation State media.
He sees a pattern of disregard towards the Russian Federation’s international obligations and an intensification of disinformation campaigns such as in the cases of the use of internationally banned nerve agents against Sergei Skripal and Alexei Navalny. In order to uphold the Convention and the global ban on chemical weapons, the Russian Federation’s unacceptable behaviour and transgressions of international norms must have consequences.
In a similar vein, the representative of Canada noted that, while the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions have seen important progress, both face challenges from States seeking to undermine them. He emphasized that the Biological Weapons Convention is often used to air political grievances, spread disinformation and derail the disarmament agenda. He pointed, in particular, to the Russian Federation’s obstruction of the 2023 Meeting of States Parties.
He also criticized the shielding of Syria from accountability for using chemical weapons and also condemned Moscow for using toxic chemicals like Novichok and evading questions related to the poisoning of political figures, Skripal and Navalny, as well as possible use of chemical agents in Ukraine. Disinformation, he warned, is a serious threat to global peace and non-proliferation, highlighting Canada’s leadership in a “G7 Counter Disinformation Initiative”.
Taking this further, the speaker for Ukraine dismissed the Russian Federation’s allegations of biological weapons development and the United States’ “medical biological activities” in Ukraine as false and provocative, and a disinformation campaign to distract from Moscow’s war of aggression. Accusing the Russian Federation of 4,228 documented cases of using chemical weapons and riot control agents in its military invasion of Ukraine, he insisted Moscow must be held accountable and that its election be blocked for the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), for 2025 to 2027.
France’s representative also expressed concern about allegations of the use of chemical weapons, particularly riot control agents, in the Russian Federation’s hostilities in Ukraine. She added that “light has still not been shed on the state of the Syrian weapons chemical programme”, urging that the country cooperate fully with the OPCW and comply with its Convention obligations. France, as Vice-Chair of the working group to strengthen the Chemical Weapons Convention, called for the implementation of the two mechanisms it created on international cooperation assistance and scientific and technical development.
Highlighting that the concerns raised by several speakers directly affect her region, Israel’s delegate said that, since 2014, her country has witnessed hundreds of incidents where chemical weapons were used by the Syrian regime, which must be held accountable. The Syrian chemical file provides an “alarming example of continued non-compliance”.
Also alarming, she said, is Iran’s weaponization of pharmaceutical-based agents for military purposes as part of a chemical weapons programme. Rogue regimes must be faced with real and decisive measures, otherwise they avoid compliance, she stressed. She underscored that chemical weapons were used against Governments’ own populations and neighbouring countries by three Middle Eastern States — Yemen once, and Iraq and Syria twice each.
The representative of Syria denounced Israel for being the only State in the Middle East with weapons of mass destruction and refusing to join non-proliferation agreements, which is the main obstacle to creating a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region. Highlighting his country’s cooperation with the OPCW, he criticized certain States for politicizing the issue, casting baseless accusations and manipulating OPCW reports. He further noted that some Western countries use the OPCW to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations, diverting it from its technical role.
The Russian Federation’s representative, in light of his country’s problem of pending visas for members of his delegation, proposed that his country’s statement be viewed online.
In the afternoon, the right of reply was exercised by representatives of China, Syria, Iran and Japan.
Ahead of the thematic debate on other weapons of mass destruction, the Committee concluded its debate this morning on nuclear weapons, with several speakers indicating a willingness for disarmament measures. Many, over three days, noted threats stemming from nuclear arsenal expansion, nuclear sharing, proliferation challenges and security through deterrence, in the context of profound geopolitical tensions.
India’s delegate reiterated his country’s commitment to global nuclear disarmament, which must be universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable. This can be achieved in a time-bound manner by a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal development and an agreed multilateral framework. He added: “India remains committed to a voluntary unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing” and underscored an openness to a de jure formalization of this declaration.
The representative of the Republic of Korea said that “while we hear the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] delegation repeating their statement that their nuclear weapons pose no threat to anyone, they openly mention a pre-emptive strike with tactical nuclear weapons and boast exponential nuclear expansion plans and uranium enrichment facilities”. The most daunting challenge stems from its “delusional obsession” with nuclear and missile programmes. It launched more than 100 ballistic missiles in the past couple of years and has become bold and brazen enough to proclaim itself a nuclear-weapon State.
Moreover, she said, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has provided the Russian Federation with ballistic missiles and has deployed approximately 1,500 special forces to the Russian Federation’s Far Eastern cities aboard Russian Federation naval vessels. “The transported soldiers were provided with Russian military uniforms and, to disguise their identity, they were issued with fake ID cards of residents from Yakutia and Buryatia who share similar facial features with North Koreans,” she said.
Lithuania’s delegate said Moscow’s “strategic pact” with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea violates Security Council resolutions. He drew attention to the Russia Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, the revocation of its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in November 2023 and its recent announcement of substantial changes in its nuclear doctrine. The deteriorating international security situation has led to a significant weakening of the nuclear disarmament architecture.
Further, the declared deployment of Russian Federation nuclear weapons and nuclear-weapon-capable systems in Belarus is inconsistent with the commitment made by Belarus in the Budapest Memorandum to eliminate all nuclear weapons from its territory. He recalled the announcement that the Russian Federation and Iran have put the finishing touches on a comprehensive cooperation treaty, while Iran is expanding its nuclear programme in ways that have no credible civilian justification. Also concerning is China’s lack of transparency with regard to the build-up of its nuclear force. He called on the State to join an arms control dialogue with the United States.
The speaker for the Holy See stressed the urgent need to advance nuclear disarmament, “at a time when the threat of the use of nuclear weapons is at its highest level in many generations”. He regretted that, amid such instability, important treaties are being neglected and division is chosen over a spirit of fraternity, leaving the international disarmament framework “ensnared in a state of deadlock”. He added that “there can be no peace through deterrence”.
Rights of reply concerning that debate were made by the representatives of Austria, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, Republic of Korea, Iran and Brazil.
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