The Tehran Peace Museum (TPM) and the Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support (SCWVS) attended the 21st Conference of State Parties (CSP) to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), in The Hague, November 28th to December 2nd, 2016.

During this conference, the SCWVS shared its works as well as its expectations from the international community through its statement in the plenary session of the conference. In this statement, one of the co-founders of the TPM, who is a victim of chemical weapons (CW), expressed his wish for a peaceful world for the future generations.

In addition, “The Women: Inner Peace and Strength” photomontage exhibition, was displayed as a side event of the conference by Miad RashediFar and Behnaz NikkhahMonfared. Inspired by the history of the use of CW in Sardasht (in 1987) and Halabjah (in 1988), this exhibition focuses on the inner peace and strength of the women, globally who have been victimized by the use of chemical weapons or who have taken care of husbands, sons or brothers who were afflicted by CW. The exhibition includes 13 photomontage artworks. This exhibition was welcomed by the officials as well as the civil society attending the conference.

During the Open Forum of the CWC Coalition, SCWVS had a presentation on " Chemical Weapons Victims and their Families: Life and its Determinates" which included a report on the status of CW victims and their families in Iran as well as their quality of life. CWC Coalition is a network of NGOs which are working to promote the goals of the convention all around the world.

The Day of Remembrance for all victims of CW was commemorated on November 30th as a side event of the conference. Many delegations as well as CW victims were present in this event which was followed by wreath being laid down at the CW Victims Monument at OPCW headquarters.

Following the tragic use of chemical weapons against military Iranian and civilians during the Iran - Iraq war (1980-1988), the chemical weapons convention was signed in 1993 and later came into force in 1997. The Convention aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by state parties.

Today, with 192 member states, CWC is one of the most universal arm ban treaties. The mission of the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is to implement the provisions of the CWC in order to achieve the OPCW’s vision of a world free of chemical weapons in which chemistry is used only for peaceful purposes.

SCWVS has attended the Conference of State Parties to the CWC since its establishment.

To read the statement, please click here.

To see the pictures of this event, please click here.