Thematic discussion on specific subjects and introduction and consideration of all draft resolutions and decisions submitted under agenda items (from 90 to 106) A/C.1/80/L.1, A/C.1/80/L.2, A/C.1/80/L.4, A/C.1/80/L.5, A/C.1/80/L.10, A/C.1/80/L.6, A/C.1/80/L.7, A/C.1/80/L.8, A/C.1/80/L.11, A/C.1/80/L.12, A/C.1/80/L.13, A/C.1/80/L.14, A/C.1/80/L.16, A/C.1/80/L.17, A/C.1/80/L.18, A/C.1/80/L.20, A/C.1/80/L.23, A/C.1/80/L.29, A/C.1/80/L.30, A/C.1/80/L.35, A/C.1/80/L.39, A/C.1/80/L.40
🇩🇪 Germany, 🇮🇱 Israel, 🇸🇾 Syrian Arab Republic, 🇺🇦 Ukraine, 🇮🇷 Islamic Republic of Iran, 🇫🇷 France, 🇷🇺 Russian Federation, 🇺🇸 United States, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇫🇮 Finland
Thank you, Chair. In response to accusations by the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation, we'd like to underline what we have expressed yesterday already. Germany is in full compliance to its obligations under the Bio Biological Weapons Convention, and the Chemical Weapons Convention will continue to be in full compliance. Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Chair. With regard to Iran, it is no less than surreal that a country which is a full member of the CWC yet continuously violates the provisions of the treaty, uses our precious time here in attempting to spread its manipulations. As we stated previously, in the past years Iran has developed a secret chemical weapons program using PBAs. And we have grounds to believe that the munitions secretly developed by Iran have been transferred to proxies in the region, including for use against Israelis and others. This is scary. In reaction to the statement by the Iranian delegate earlier regarding Israel strikes in Iran, we'd like to state that the Shahid Mysami Group works under the Ministry of Defense and specifically under SBND the continuation of the covert Ahmad program. This complex, which was striked, included labs, production halls, and refining lines. The group has been working on developing various forms of unconventional arms and munitions, both nuclear and chemical, and on weaponizing PBAs. The group has been sanctioned and its personnel designated by the U.S. for their involvement in the Iranian chemical program. Chair, when Israel launched Operation Rising Line, the goal was to eliminate strategic threats on our country. This complex clearly represents this. This successful strike on the complex was targeted and precise, meticulously calculated to ensure avoidance of any possible environmental damage. Cheer here are a few statements made by Iran's most senior figures all in the past few years, which demonstrate our point. In May 2025, May 2025, the Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, said the Zionist regime that is a lethal, dangerous, cancerous tumor, should certainly be eradicated and it will be. In May 2020, The Zionist regime is a deadly cancerous growth and a detriment to this region. It will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed. An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, senior officer, senior officer, General Ibrahim Jabari said on june twenty third, twenty twenty five, America's main asset and main investment in its war against us is Israel itself, and we must annihilate it. I have more, and we have all the relevant footnotes for these quotes if anyone in this room requests. But I think our point is made clear. Iran, the biggest proliferator of arms to terrorists worldwide, a country that has been secretly developing a military nuclear program for decades, a country secretly developing a chemical and biological weapons program, and a country that openly declares it wants another country eradicated, stands here in the UN and calls for adherence to international frameworks. There is no absurdity in the world that beats this. Iran must be held accountable and stopped. I thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairperson. I asked for the floor to respond to what was referred to that there were evidence of nerve. Agents in Syria. I reaffirm what I said in a previous meeting that finding such residues was in an empty location that was identified lately thanks to the assistance of the Syrian government because we were able to take samples from this location. The tweet the fact that one delegation continues to speak in this way and ignores The change in the relationship between the new Syrian government and the OPCW, which was commended and welcomed by a large number of delegations, makes us wonder about the intentions of this delegation. I do not believe these intentions have anything to do with strengthening non proliferation. We would like to recall that. The content of the statement of Syria, which was delivered now, that Syria will continue to cooperate on the ground with the OPCW in a transparent manner. We remain committed to the Convention in order to eliminate the heavy legacy of the previous regime pursuant to our obligations under the Convention in this regard. Syria called for an exceptional meeting of the Executive Council of the OPCW where a number of delegations, in addition to the Director General of the organization, talked about the damage caused by the Israeli attacks against Syria and how it is impeding cooperation between Syria and the OPCW. In this regard, we reaffirm that the true threat to the nonproliferation regime in our region is the fact that the Israeli regime continues to operate nuclear facilities outside the supervision of the OPCW and its refusal to join conventions against weapons of mass destruction, including the MPT. When it comes to what was referred to regarding the internal affairs of Syria, any external interference in the internal affairs of Syria or any exaggeration when characterizing what is happening in Syria because they are worried about one of the components or one of the segments of the Syrian society, this is to exploit this very sensitive period in my country to achieve gains known to all. This is complicating the situation and not resolving it, especially knowing that there's a tendency by some countries to cause discord and division between the Syrian people and this will have effects on the whole region. I thank you.
Thank you, Mr Chair. Uh the delegation of Ukraine would like to exercise the right of reply in response to the statement just made by the delegation of the Russian Federation. We have already spoken on this issue yesterday, so we would like to reiterate our position. So in the context of uh another portion of Russia's allegation regarding the conduction of the so called medical biological activities of the United States as well as development of the Biological weapons on the territory of Ukraine. We consider them as provocative, false, and those that do not have anything common with reality. Ukraine strictly adheres to its own international obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention, never intended to produce and does not produce biological weapons alone or in cooperation with any other state party. The existing Ukraine institutions and facilities of medical and biological profile are being used only for the sake of public health. The respective Ukraine US cooperation has the exclusively peaceful nature aimed at strengthening the capabilities of medical and biological facilities in Ukraine. Once again, we draw the attention to the outcome of the ninth review conference of the state parties to the Biological Weapons Convention as well as the Biological Weapons Convention official Consultative Meeting held in August September 2022, where Russia's allegations were debunked by Ukraine, United States, and the overwhelming majority of other Biological Weapons Convention state parties. Lastly, considering the stated, we would like once again to reiterate that the above mentioned procedure of the Biological Weapons Convention official consultative meeting has been completed and could not be reopened or reconsidered under the provisions of the Article five of the Biological Weapons Convention, no matter how Russia would desire it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I categorically reject and strongly condemn the baseless and politically motivated accusations made by the representative of the Israeli regime and the United States. These fabrications and absurd claims are fully in line with the notorious propaganda. Tactic once used by the Nazi regime, that the no that the notion that a lie, if repeated often enough, can be mistaken for truth. But even if that tactic serves the Nazi regime, it will not work for the increasingly isolated Israeli regime. A regime that for more than seven decades has been engaged in systematic crimes, terrorism and genocide in Palestine and across the regime. With its hands stained by the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. The United States, through its unwavering political, military, and financial support, is fully complicit in these atrocities. Mr. Chair, if there is any entity in our region that has a proven willingness to produce and use weapons of mass destruction, chemical, biological, and nuclear, it is none other than the Israeli regime. There is credible and documented evidence of the use of prohibit munitions, including void phosphorus and depleted uranium. Unifere itself has confirmed that its personnel were injured by such weapons in Lebanon, and similar reports have emerged from Gaza. Moreover, it is both ironic and outrageous that a regime which has not acceded to any of international instruments prohibited weapons of mass destruction. Dares to level accusations against the state like Iran, a responsible party to all of these conventions, fully and transparently committed to its international obligations. The world knows well who possess clandestine nuclear arsenals, who stands outside the legal framework of disarmament and non proliferation treaties. And who has turned defiance of international law into a permanent policy? So, before pointing fingers at others, the Israeli regime would do well to look in the mirror of its own record of lovelessness and impunity. So let there be no doubt, the real and present threat to regional and global peace and security emanates not from those who uphold their legal obligations, but from those who systematically violate them. I thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Chair. France rejects and strongly condemns the attempts at disinformation by Russia with regard to allegations of provocation using chemical agents in Ukraine. Disinformation can only undermine multilateral discussions in good faith and jeopardize the international disarmament and non-proliferation architecture. As in the biological sphere, these campaigns can only have to divert attention. We have trust that the international community can see clearly, can see through this game, and will see these disinformation campaigns for what they are. We reaffirm our desire for the OPCW to shed full light on this after the publication of reports that established the use of riot control agents in Ukraine in violation of the CWC. And we would like the OPCW to be able to work on attributing these attacks. In addition, we note with satisfaction that the OPCW currently is being the CWC is currently being effectively implemented and we commend the independent work of the OPCW Technical Secretariat. These are efforts to promote the convention and we condemn attempts to hold hostage to hold it hostage by countries that practice systematic disinformation. Thank you.
for the second intervention. Thank you, Distinguished Chair. We're forced to once again take the floor in order to prevent Ukraine and France from leading astray the international community when it comes to the real situation. We reject allegations that we've heard. With regard to the information Mesh has provided within the OPCW with regard to the conflict in Ukraine. We also would like to state that the military biological activities that are taking place in Ukraine are in no way in keeping with the problems laid out by the WHO, which are relevant for Ukraine. That is to say, assessment of dangerous First disease agents overseeing the epidemiological situation, testing and developing medical protection equipment, collecting disease agents to be put in a unified collection, which is then to be taken away to a third country. This country is providing support for these activities in Ukrainian territory, and that is not in line with the declared goals through the WHO. This is military biological activity that violates the provisions of Articles one and four of the BWC. As for the consultative meeting that was held in September 2022, the final report of this meeting clearly states that there is no consensus about the issues and allegations that were raised. The issue remains open and needs to be resolved. And we'd like to announce that we will continue to raise these issues until they are finally settled. And we receive Do explanations for them. Thank you.
Thank you, Chair. Briefly, uh, and and honestly, I did not plan on on taking the floor once again, uh, and simply pulling out just for a moment from disarmament and and the focus of our work here. I think and and naturally hope that many in this room would agree that the words made by the Iranian delegate just now must be condemned in all possible terms. I think we know, we all know what I'm referring to. I think it's simply shameful, and I think that he and his delegation must be ashamed. Chair, with all the disagreements that we have here on disarmament and geopolitics, let's not forget how and why this organization was founded. I thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. First, I would like to underscore that the one should be shamed, ashamed, it's a representative of the Israeli regime. But over the past few days and even today, we have all witnessed how the representatives of the occupying, apartheid, and terrorist regime of Israel have shamelessly and repeatedly boosted about their act of aggression against Iran under the so called Rising Lions operation. This conduct is not unexpected from the representatives of a regime whose record is marked by systematic violations of international law. as well as the shedding of the blood of more than seventy five thousand innocent Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children, including those who were merely waiting in line for water and food. It should be remembered that these so called rising lions were in fact nothing more than paper lions. Within only twelve days, the operation was decisively and effectively neutralized by Iran, leaving the criminal Israeli regime with no choice but to imploringly request a ceasefire. In reality, it would be more fitting to describe it not as the rising lions operation, but rather as the paper lions operation. Accordingly, it would be more appropriate for the representatives of this regime to refrain from glorifying an illegal and failed act of aggression, which not only demonstrated their utter disregard for international law, but also laid bare the hollowness of their claims and the fragility of their power. So let them remember these so called lions may roar loudly in rhetoric, but when confronted with reality, they collapse like paper, fragile, powerless, and defeated. I thank you, Mr.
Thank you, Chair. I had not intended to take the floor either today, but um I need to express full alignment with the two statements made by Ukraine yesterday and today in response to repeated Russian allegations about about biological activities. Uh the United States is in full compliance with its obligations under the BWC and does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere. The United States unilaterally renounced biological weapons in 1969 and ratified the BWC in 1975. Our stockpile of weapons was destroyed and our biological warfare facilities were converted to peaceful uses. The United States has not and does not fund development of biological weapons anywhere. All biological related activities of the United States are for purposes fully consistent with our obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention. This includes the cooperation and assistance activities that Russia and others seek to malign. Chair, the United States has certified that Russia is in noncompliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. Russia has used chemical weapons in violation of its CWC obligations and it retains an undeclared chemical weapons program. The United States also assesses that Russia maintains an offensive biological weapons program and is in violation of its obligations under Articles 1 and 2 of the BWC as well. We call on Russia to declare fully its chemical and biological weapons programs and to come into compliance with both conventions. Finally, Chair, I must also reject the two statements made by the delegation of Iran. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The UK wishes to respond to comments made by the Russian Federation in its right of reply yesterday. The UK wishes to reiterate that it acts entirely consistently with the international obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. We regard Russia's comments as just the latest unfortunate attempt to obfuscate and distract from its own violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Thank you.
Distinguished Chair of the Russian Federation rejects all accusations against it as unfounded and divorced from reality. Our country fully implements its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their protocols, as well as the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its protocols. At the same time, within the framework of the special military operation in Ukraine, we have discovered many violations of IHL norms and principles by the Kiev regime. Units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are mining territories to the Russian Federation to significantly damage civilian infrastructure and to harm the civilian population. To this end, Kyiv deliberately uses inhumane types of weapons, including mines, booby traps, and IEDs. Kiev uses blast type anti-personnel mines and directional fragmentation anti-personnel mines, including foreign-made mines such as the directional fragmentation and antipersonnel mine M18A1 Claymore and the House Dorm Mini. This directly violates the provisions of the amended protocol too to the CCW, which prohibits the use of anti-personnel mines without self-destruction and self-deactivation mechanisms. The use of antipersonnel mines by the UAF also violates the Convention on the Prohibition of the use stockpiling, production, and transfer of antipersonnel mines and on their destruction. Ukraine announced its withdrawal from this convention on June 29, 2025. However, under this convention, for a state party that is involved in an armed conflict, withdrawal from the convention takes effect only after the end of this conflict. In addition, Ukraine has not fulfilled its obligations under the Mine Band Convention even before this decision. According to that convention, Ukraine was required to destroy all stockpiles of antipersonnel binds by 2010, except for a minimal quantity needed for mine detection training and development. But it failed to do so. We are especially concerned about the widespread use of IEDs by the Kiev regime. These IEDs resemble anti-personnel mines. There's a systematic use of IEDs against Russian civilians and officials, including during terrorist attacks orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services on Russian territory. It's also known that the Ukrainian armed forces have placed many booby traps in public areas that are disguised as civilian objects, including books, mobile phones, bags, wallets, children's toys, clocks, religious icons, chainsaws, and these fall under the definition, Article II of AP two to the CCW. We also note the continued practice of using booby traps and other devices connected to deceased civilians and Ukrainian soldiers, as well as burial sites. The use of such booby traps is prohibited under Article seven of Amenda Protocol II to the C CW. The large-scale supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine by EU and NATO member states systematically violates their international legal and political obligations under UNROCA, the UN and POA to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons, the arms trade treaty, and the EU's common position establishing rules for the control of military technology and equipment export, specifically provisions prohibiting the transfer of conventional arms and ammunition when there is credible evidence that such military assets will be used to commit acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, serious violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, attacks against civilian facilities and other war crimes have been flouted. The direct ban on issuing export licenses for weapons that would contribute to the outbreak or the escalation of armed conflicts in the recipient country is also being violated. Thank you for your attention.
Verbatim from the transcript. A reply is identified from its own words, the Chair's grant, or its place in the right-of-reply sequence; delegations and addressees follow the transcript's attribution.