CSTO States adopt a joint statement on strengthening cooperation in the fight against chemical terrorism

“The Member States of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), as responsible State Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (hereinafter referred to as the Convention), express their deep concern over threats of chemical terrorism and declare their commitment to a world free of chemical weapons;
Stress that the development, production, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, preservation and use of chemical weapons by terrorist organizations are a threat to the objectives and principles of the Convention and should be subject to the close attention of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW);
Based on the CSTO Member States’ strong condemnation of international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, reiterate the need for the international community to join efforts to counter terrorism within a single anti-terrorist front with a central role for the United Nations, based on the fundamental norms and principles of international law, on the basis of strict compliance with the UN Charter and implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Note the importance of avoiding the politicization of the fight against terrorism and turning it into an instrument of the policy of double standards;
Note with concern the seventh report of the Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNSC document S/2021/974), which found that terrorist organizations operating in the Middle East not only use toxic chemicals but also have their own technological tools and production facilities for the synthesis of chemical warfare agents. Thus, chemical terrorism has already become a reality requiring decisive, consistent and urgent action by all;
Affirm the need for all States Parties to ensure, in particular through the adoption of appropriate penal legislation and the establishment of an effective export control system, that all activities by individuals and entities prohibited under the CWC are prevented under their national legislation.
Advocate for enhancing cooperation to prevent the infiltration of foreign terrorist fighters with specialized knowledge in the field of development, production and use of chemical weapons into the State Parties to the Convention, including through more effective cooperation among the State Parties to the Convention. In this context, emphasize the importance of the activities of the OPCW Open-Ended Working Group on Terrorism, which seems to be a convenient forum for the exchange of conceptual considerations in combating chemical terrorism as well as information on related threats;
Renew their request to the Director General to regularly provide information on the efforts of the OPCW Technical Secretariat to establish a dialogue with other international organizations, primarily the UN, as well as share information received by the OPCW Technical Secretariat from States Parties and other reliable sources regarding the activities of terrorist groups related to the acquisition, production, transfer and preparation of chemical weapons and on its activities in this regard;
As principled and consistent supporters of the adoption of effective collective measures aimed at actively countering the proliferation of WMD, their components and means of delivery, confirm the continuing relevance of the Russian-Chinese initiative to develop a Convention on Combating Acts of Chemical and Biological Terrorism, designed to become an important additional tool in creating a reliable barrier to the terrorist threat.”