Tehran Peace Museum hosts the exhibition of Latin American independence struggles / Bolivia's National Day celebration
Monday 21 Aug 2024: A special ceremony was held at the Tehran Peace Museum in collaboration with the Bolivian Embassy on the occasion of the 199th anniversary of the independence of Bolivia in which a large number of ambassadors and foreign representatives in Tehran, officials of related organizations as well as volunteers of the Tehran Peace Museum attended . In this event, in addition to commemorating Tupac Katari, the national hero of the fight against colonialism and unveiling the bust of this prominent figure in the history of Latin America, an exhibition was opened on this occasion in the Art Gallery of the Peace Museum. This exhibition, which includes pictures and posters from the ancient history of Bolivia and Latin America and the independence movement in this continent and the role of fighters such as Tupac Katari, is open to visitors until the 20th of September at the Art for Peace Gallery.
Training session: an introduction to the OPCW II
The 2nd 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.
Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare
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.
Chemical Warfare victim Mr. Ahmed Gholamifard, died of respiratory failure
Chemical Warfare victim Mr. Ahmed Gholamifard, died of respiratory failure on January 1st, 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.....
Mass killing of civilians and targeting medical facilities in Gaza is condemned
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….