Sun Zhiqiang, Counselor of the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations, delivered a speech at the Security Council’s open meeting on chemical weapons in Syria on the 5th, urging relevant countries to stop politicizing the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Sun Zhiqiang said that the "Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons" is the basis and criterion for resolving issues related to chemical weapons. Regrettably, in recent years, some countries have ignored the provisions of the convention and ignored the tradition of consensus. When all parties are far from reaching a consensus, they have repeatedly forcibly promoted resorting to voting on the accountability of Syrian chemical weapons, including the establishment of "investigations beyond the mandate of the convention." Identification team", suspension of Syria’s rights as a contracting party, etc. The above actions undermine the authority of the OPCW, poison the atmosphere of the OPCW, and undermine the mutual trust between the states parties.
Sun Zhiqiang said that China urges relevant countries to change their course and stop politicizing the work of the OPCW. China also hopes that the OPCW’s Technical Secretariat, especially the OPCW’s Director-General, will maintain objectivity and fairness in its work, listen to opinions extensively, and push the states parties to move from division and confrontation to unity and cooperation.
