Thank you Chair, 

In addition to the statement delivered by the EU, I would like to make the following remarks in my national capacity.

Chair, Excellencies and distinguished delegates,

One hundred years ago, in June 1925, the Geneva Protocol was signed. We mark the anniversary of this historic document which bans the use of chemical and biological weapons in war, and laid the groundwork for concluding the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC). 

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, one of the original signatories of the Geneva Protocol and the host state of the OPCW, actively promotes the full and effective implementation of the global norms against the possession and use of chemical weapons. Now more than ever.

We are seriously concerned by the use of riot control agents as a method of warfare and the use of the choking agent chloropicrin by Russia in Ukraine. Both are explicitly prohibited under the CWC. Furthermore, we must address the urgent situation with regard to the chemical weapons program in Syria under the Assad regime. We should eliminate the chemical weapons in Syria for good. The Netherlands commends the Syrian transitional authorities’ cooperation with the OPCW and encourages it to ensure Syria’s return to full compliance with the Convention. Also in light of the need to counter the proliferation risk. This is in the interest of us all.

More generally, the Netherlands emphasises the importance of attribution. Holding perpetrators of chemical weapons use accountable is a priority of the Netherlands’ foreign policy. For this reason, we remain committed to supporting the UN Secretary-General's Mechanism (UNSGM).

Chair,

2025 also marks the fiftieth anniversary of the entry into force of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). While the Convention has proven instrumental in preventing the spread of bioweapons in the past 50 years, it requires continued work to ensure it remains up to this task. Therefore, it is crucial that the BTWC Working Group accelerates its work as the end of its mandate in 2026 is approaching. We are in particular committed to establishing an International Cooperation and Assistance mechanism and a Science & Technology Advice mechanism, as well as taking forward the topic of compliance and verification.

Thank you Chair.