Delivered by Ambassador Fernando Arias, OPCW Director-General

THE HAGUE, Netherlands–28 June 2025–It is an honour for me to address you today on this solemn occasion.

On this day, 28 June, 38 years ago, the people of Sardasht were exposed to an attack of unimaginable brutality. The large-scale use of mustard gas killed over 100 people, many of them children.

It also blighted the lives of thousands of people who continue to live with life-changing injuries and trauma.  

Today, and every year, the OPCW stands in solidarity with the people of Sardasht in commemorating the victims of this criminal attack.

On behalf of the OPCW, I wish to convey our sincere sympathies to the victims, to their families, and to all those who continue to suffer as a result of this atrocity. Remembering the tragedy of Sardasht is an opportunity to reflect on why our collective efforts to rid the world of chemical weapons are so vital.

It was in the aftermath of such atrocities that the international community, united by a common purpose, took decisive and collective action. The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force in 1997 banning an entire category of weapons of mass destruction, and its implementing body, the OPCW was created in the same year.

Since then, we have seen significant progress in fulfilling the purpose of the Convention. In July 2023, we completed the destruction of all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by possessor states. This was done under strict international verification as set out in the Convention. This accomplishment provides assurances to the international community that such weapons could not be used again.

Despite our success, however, the threat of reemergence of chemical weapons is real – and growing.   Recent years have seen use and threats of use of chemical weapons in a number of countries, including by non-state actors.

The rapid advancement of science and technology presents new risks that the drafters of the Convention could not have foreseen.

In these circumstances, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that we never again witness such barbaric and illegal methods of warfare or acts of terrorism.

On 17 June we commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Geneva Protocol. That protocol, which bans the use of biological and chemical weapons in war, was a major breakthrough back in 1925.

Tragically, however, Sardasht is a stark reminder that laws themselves are not always enough. Only concerted global action through strong international institutions will safeguard the global norm.

It is in memory of the victims, and in honour of the survivors of these chemical attacks, that we strengthen our resolve to achieve – permanently – a world free of chemical weapons.  

The attack by Israel (which is not a party to any of the international disarmament treaties) on nuclear facilities of Iran (which is a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and adheres to its provisions) as well as targeting residential areas and killing civilian is a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and international law and is undoubtedly a war crime. The continuation of these attacks, supported by some countries claiming human rights and the silence of international bodies against such war crimes, is also evidence of the statement made by the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Ms. Spoljaric, who stated a few days ago in an interview: International humanitarian law (IHL) is being emptied of content...

The Tehran Peace Museum, while condemning these attacks by a regime that has proven to have no respect for international law and ethics, calls for immediate international action to stop these atrocities

The Tehran Peace Museum wishes prosperity for our beloved homeland of Iran. Hoping that life in peace and tranquility will soon return to the country.

Tehran Peace Museum – 17 June 2025

The third edition of the familiarization with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was held at the Tehran Peace Museum on Monday, 26 May 2025.

At first, Mr. Shahriar Khatri, former senior officer of the OPCW talked about the history, structure and the work of the organization Then, Mr. Nabi Azadi, representative of the National Authority for the Chemical Weapons Convention from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave a speech on how the convention is implemented in Iran, as well as the structure, actions and performance of the National Authority in recent years. Then, in a live video connection with the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Ms. Elizabeth Wachter, Head of Public Affairs and Spokesperson of the organization, gave a speech on the role of NGOs and academics in advancing the organization’s goals and the organization’s engagement with civil society in recent years, and then a question and answer session was held with her presence and one of the young interns of this department.

Given that the audience of this series of meetings is the younger generation, the organization's job and internship opportunities were also reviewed, and Ms. Mohaddeseh Jahangiri spoke about her one-year internship experience then Ms. Sahar Tafreshi, as the representative of the Tehran Peace Museum at the two recent OPCW annual conferences in The Hague, also spoke about her experience in organizing a side event and presenting a statement at the conference, accompanied by the wife of a chemical weapons veteran. Short videos related to the topics were shown during the program breaks.

At the end, participants were awarded a bilingual certificate of attendance.

The Tehran Peace Museum, Association for Protecting Children’s Right and the In Flanders Fields Museum (Ieper, Belgium) jointly organize a Training Course on Peace Education for Child Facilitators

The course which will be thought by a team of international instructors will be conducted in January / February 2025, Every Thursday, from 09:30 to 14:30 IST at the Tehran Peace Museum.

Simultaneous interpretation service will be provided during the course and participants who complete the training successfully will be receiving a bilingual certificate.

For registration and further details please visit: www.tpm.ir

The 29th Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was held in The Hague, The Netherlands from 25 to 29 November 2024. Diplomatic delegations and high-ranking officials from 193 member states of the organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) were present at the conference. Representatives of the Tehran Peace Museum and the Chemical Weapons Victims Association, while attending the conference, held a side event, read a statement, and met with diplomatic delegations and members of other NGOs from different countries around the world during the conference. The Tehran Peace Museum, as a members of the CWC NGO Coalition, has had close ties with the OPCW in recent years, and has been actively involved in supporting victims of chemical weapons and raising awareness about the effects and consequences of these weapons on human health and the environment.

The 2^nd training session on “ introduction to Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons – OPCW – “ was held on Monday 10 June 2024 at the Tehran Peace Museum.

The event was attended by over 30 participants mostly postgraduate students of law, international relations as well as chemistry and biology.

A number of former OPCW staff members from inspectorate, International Cooperation and Assistance Division as well as two former OPCW Interns were among the speakers of this training session.

Ms Elisabeth Waechter, Head of Public Relations and Spokesperson of the OPCW was one of the speakers of the event who joind the training session via a live video call.

In her remarks, Mr Waechter provided brief information regarding the current and future activities of the OPCW and the role of civil society in promoting the goals of the OPCW and the Chemical Weapons Convention then she answered a number of questions from the audience.

Participants were also given chance to learn on how to use personal protective equipment in chemical incidents in a practical training.

The Tehran Peace Museum organizes such training sessions in regular basis to raise awareness among university students and young generation on the role of international organizations in promoting global peace/disarmament.

Chemical Warfare victim Mr. Ahmed Gholamifard, died of respiratory failure on January 1^st, 2024.

He sustained severe lung and eye injuries due to mustard gas exposure in January 1987 During the Iran-Iraq war, and suffered from chronic complications of chemical injuries for more than three decades, including tracheal stenosis and corneal damag.

Mr. Gholamifard, who was a resident of Mashhad, was an active volunteer member of the Association for the Support of Chemical Weapons Victims and the Tehran Peace Museum. He participated in various social programs including international events: he spoke as a representative of chemical weapons victims at the annual onference of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague in 2018. He was also one of the 4 chemical warfare survivors who appeared in the court of the Netherlands in The Hague in June 2023 during the trial of two Dutch companies that sold chemicals to the Saddam regime and testified as a mustard gas victim.

Due to the severe narrowing of his airways (trachea), Ahmad had undergone many surgeries, including airway stenting and several corneal transplants, but he was still full of hope and was active in various cultural, social and educational programs. ..Tehran Peace Museum expresses its condolences to the respected family of Mr. Gholamifard and the community of chemical warfare survivors ..... May his soul rest in peace.....

November 30th is the International Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Weapons

This day, which was unanimously named by the member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and is included in the calendar of the United Nations' global events, is an opportunity to recall the danger of chemical weapons and the need to completely destroy the arsenals of these weapons, as well as a call to 4 non-member states to join immediately without condition to the convention on the prohibiting of the production, development, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.

Also, this day is an opportunity to commemorate those who lost their lives as a result of such prohibited weapons, as well as those who suffered long-term illnesses and complications due to exposure to chemical weapons, including the victims of chemical weapons in Iran.

It should be remembered that despite the global ban on the use of chemical weapons, which were first used in the First World War, in the war imposed by Iraq against Iran (1980-1988), Saddam's regime used more than 3 thousand tons of deadly and highly toxic chemical weapons against the combatants and the defenseless people of the border areas of Iran, as a result of these attacks, nearly one million people were exposed to chemical agents, and more than one hundred thousand people were treated for serious chemical injuries, and thousands of people lost their lives.

Today, more than three decades have passed since the end of the war, nearly 65,000 chemical warfare survivors in Iran are still suffering from chronic diseases caused by chemical weapons, and many of them need continuous medical treatment.

Mass killing of civilians and targeting medical facilities and hospitals in Gaza which is an inhumane and criminal act as well as clear violation of international humanitarian law ( IHL)  must be stopped immediately.

The Tehran Peace Museum as one of the IHL promoting NGOs, along with many other international NGOs and millions of people around the world, while condemning such horrible war crimes, calls upon the international community and responsible international organizations to do all they can to stop the ongoing tragedies in Gaza and reminds them that silence in the face of these crimes makes criminals continue killing and committing genocide with impunity….

The international day of Peace will be observed at the Tehran Peace Museum on Tuesday 19 September 2023 from 3 to 5 pm.

Each year the International Day of Peace (IDP) is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. Never has our world needed peace more.

This year’s theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals. It is a call to action that recognizes our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace. Fostering peace contributes to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will create a culture of peace for all.

Representatives of relevant international organizations, NGOs are invited to attend the ceremony.

The event is open for public.