Chemical weapons were used in the territory of present day Slovenia already during the First World War, so the population felt the disastrous effects of these weapons very early. As a result, the use of chemical weapons and toxic chemicals in Iraq, Malaysia, Syria, and the United Kingdom in recent years is unacceptable to Slovenia. A world free of chemical weapons may only be achieved through a multilateral approach and support for both the Convention and the OPCW.

During this year’s session of the Conference of States Parties to the CWC, the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Ambassador Andrej Benedejčič, underlined Slovenia’s support for the OPCW. The Organisation needs adequate financing to enable its smooth operation; therefore, the Ambassador called for the adoption of the budget and programme for 2020.

Over the past year, Slovenia has allocated a voluntary contribution to the OPCW Trust Fund for Syria Missions to support the activities of the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT). In addition, Slovenia financially supported the upgrading of the OPCW Chemical Laboratory to the Centre for Chemistry and Technology, which is aimed at ensuring the best quality in implementing the basic tasks of the OPCW, such as inspection, verification, and assistance to States Parties in their capacity building and research.

In his address, Ambassador Benedejčič also stressed that the Convention must keep up with the times and respond to new threats relating to chemical weapons. Slovenia therefore supports the updating of the list of scheduled chemicals.