By BR Web Desk

Pakistan has been re-elected to the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for the 2022-2024 term.

In a press release on Saturday, the Foreign Office (FO) said that elections were held during the recently-concluded 26th Session of the Conference of States Parties held in The Hague from November 29 to December 2 this year.

"The re-election of Pakistan to the 41 member Executive Council of the OPCW is a testament to Pakistan’s positive role at the OPCW," the FO said.

"It reaffirms the confidence of the Member States in Pakistan’s ability to provide effective leadership and impetus to the work of the OPCW."

The statement further said that Pakistan is an active member of the OPCW and has been serving on the Executive Council since its ratification of the CWC in 1997. The country has been contributing constructively towards the "fulfilment of the objectives of the CWC and regularly hosts OPCW routine inspections at its relevant facilities".

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and stockpiling of Chemical Weapons and their Destruction (CWC) – with 193 States Parties – is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

The Executive Council is the principal policy-making organ of the OPCW, which is responsible for supervising the effective implementation of and compliance with the Convention. It also supports the scientific and economic development of its Member States in the peaceful uses of chemistry.

This article was first published in Business Recorder on Dec 4, 2021.