HIBAPRESS
Morocco participated in the 30th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was held from November 24 to 28 in The Hague.
In this context, the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Morocco, Mohamed El Basri, chaired a delegation that included representatives from the national sectors concerned with the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention at the national level.
This conference, which is held annually in The Hague, aims to assess the extent of the implementation of the Convention worldwide and to define the priorities of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for the coming years, especially with regard to organizational and governance aspects, the operational budget, the verification system, as well as training and capacity building.
This session was distinguished by the unanimous election of Morocco as Vice-President of the Conference on behalf of the African Group, in addition to the approval of the appointment of the new Director-General of the Organisation, Sabrina Dallafiore Mater (Switzerland), in accordance with the recommendation of the Executive Council of the Organisation.
The session also addressed the issue of re-admitting the Syrian Arab Republic into the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, following the suspension of its membership in 2021 due to serious violations and the use of chemical weapons against civilians by the former Syrian regime.
The discussions also included routine points on the agenda, including the adoption of the Organisation's budget program for the years 2026-2027, and measures related to combating the return of the chemical threat. The issue of emerging technologies, especially those related to artificial intelligence, has also become a central priority within the Organisation.
In the context of the general discussion, the Permanent Representative of Morocco renewed the Kingdom's principled position and its firm commitment to the goals of disarmament, non-proliferation, and the fight against weapons of mass destruction, stressing the Kingdom's steadfast support for the noble goals of the Convention.
Regarding the strengthening of cooperation between the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and Africa, the Moroccan ambassador stressed the importance of activating dynamic and effective South-South cooperation, in addition to North-South and tripartite cooperation that takes into account the specificities of each member state.
In this context, he highlighted the Kingdom's commitment to enhancing cooperation between African member states, by organizing a series of training courses and twinning-partnership programs in Morocco for the benefit of many representatives of the member states, contributing to capacity building and the exchange of best practices in the field of protection and combating chemical weapons.
Regarding the issue of emerging technology, El Basri pointed to the holding of the first international conference of the Organisation on the role of artificial intelligence in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was hosted by Rabat in October 2024, and formed a basic reference for the Organisation's work on the future repercussions of this technology and the opportunities and risks it may pose to compliance with the provisions of the Convention and international standards in the field of disarmament.
It is worth noting that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which includes 193 member states, oversees international efforts aimed at the final elimination of chemical weapons. Since the entry into force of the Convention in 1997, considered the most effective treaty in the field of disarmament, it has been able to eliminate an entire class of weapons of mass destruction, and all declared chemical weapons stockpiles have been destroyed under the supervision of the Organisation, which qualified it to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013.
Morocco currently holds membership of the Executive Council of the Organisation, also as Vice-President for the period 2025-2027. The Kingdom signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in January 1993 and ratified it in December 1995, and since then, it, which has never possessed chemical weapons, has been committed to implementing all its obligations under the Convention, and strongly advocates the use of chemistry for peaceful purposes.
