Chemical Weapons Re-emerging Despite Having Fully Destroyed Stockpiles of Convention Signatories in 2023, Secretary-General Warns in Victims Remembrance Day Message

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare, observed on 30 November:

On this Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare, we pay tribute to those killed or injured and resolve to end this horror.

Last year, we achieved an important milestone:  the destruction of the last chemical weapon from the stockpiles declared by countries that are part of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

But the last decade has seen the re-emergence of these weapons.  Combined with rapid developments in science and technology, the threat grows greater still.

The global community must speak with one voice and reaffirm commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention, end impunity, and live up to the Pact for the Future’s pledge to a world free of these weapons.

The United Nations will continue to do our part to keep the memory of the victims alive and to support all efforts to ensure that these weapons are never used — anywhere or at any time.