27 Nov

From 25 to 29 November 2019, the Conference of the States Parties of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons holds its twenty-fourth session in The Hague. On Wednesday 27 November, Ambassador Mr András Kocsis, head of the Hungarian delegation, delivered the following speech:

 

HUNGARY 

STATEMENT BY H.E. AMBASSADOR MR. ANDRÁS KOCSIS
REPRESENTATIVE OF HUNGARY AT THE
TWENTY-FOURTH SESSION OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE STATES PARTIES TO
THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION

Mr. Chairman,
Mr. Director-General,
Distinguished Delegates and Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for giving me the floor. Please allow me to express my delegation’s sincere congratulations to you on your election as Chairman of the 24th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, as well as to the Vice-Chairpersons. I trust that under your able leadership this Conference will be successful. Let me assure you of Hungary’s cooperation and support.

Hungary fully aligns itself with the statement made by H.E. Ambassador Mika-Markus Leinonen on behalf of the European Union. Still, I would like to add the following remarks in my national capacity.

Mr. Chairman,
Hungary would like to express its concerns over the findings of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission highlighting that chemical weapons have been used in Syria. The use of chemical weapons by anyone, let it be a State or non-State actor, anywhere and under any circumstances is not just inexcusable, but also a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and international law.

Hungary is determined to continue its support to the OPCW’s Fact-Finding Mission and stresses the importance of the OPCW Declaration Assessment Team continuing its work to verify Syria’s chemical weapons declaration. Furthermore, Hungary would like to reiterate its support to the Investigation and Identification Team, as mandated by the Decision "Addressing the Threat from CW use" adopted by the Fourth Special Session of the CSP. The work of the DAT, FFM, and IIT are of utmost importance in the OPCW’s effort to attribute the use of chemical weapons as well as the international communities’ effort to hold those responsible for use accountable.

Mr. Chairman,
Hungary contributed 35,000 Euros to the construction of the OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology during the visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó on 31 October 2019. Once constructed, the ChemTech Centre will strengthen the OPCW’s capabilities to fully address new and emerging chemical weapons threats. Additionally, the Centre will support capacity building in Member States, a cornerstone of the Convention. During his talks with the Director-General, Minister Szijjártó said that as in the world of sports to fight against doping, the experts of the authorities need to be up-to-date in knowledge and in equipment as well. This is the same in the case of chemical weapons: the OPCW needs the new ChemTech Centre to be able to cope with the challenges of the latest developments in the field of chemistry.

In conclusion, let me reiterate Hungary’s full commitment to and support for the Chemical Weapons Convention and the OPCW, which is an essential pillar of the international non-proliferation system. Hungary strives for a strong and efficient OPCW, based on mutual co-operation among States Parties. Therefore we once again call upon those States not yet Party to the CWC to join the Convention without further delay, thus contributing to the goal of a world free of chemical weapons.

I wish all of us a fruitful and successful Conference. I would also like to request this statement be considered as an official document of this Session of the Conference and posted to both the OPCW external server and the public website.