Position paper for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Government of Panama
Organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons (OPWC)
Represented by :
ESSEC Business School
The Republic of Panama would like to reaffirm before the Organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons his willingness to eradicate one of the worst global danger in terms of public security. Consequently, the Panamanian Delegation would like to set the agenda in the following order : The obligation to destroy as soon as possible remaining stocks; The requirement to all United Nations to sign the OPWC Chart; The necessity to create a UN global force of interference to fight against chemical weapons.
I – The obligation to destroy as soon as possible remaining stocks
The world situation is more than unstable. Since the Cold War’s end, the proliferation of regional conflicts has been unquestionable and disturbing. Yet, these conflicts predominantly strike unsteady and precarious countries, often headed by compromised governments. Those don’t hesitate to use chemical weapons if their regime is threatened, by intern or extern forces. Civilians are the first victims of this barbaric type of weapons. Nevertheless, chemical weapons are not only synonymswith death, they also go with inhuman pain. They are not conventional at all considering the damages they bring about, this is why they are called weapon of mass destruction, as the nuclear bomb.
The OPCW administers have already done a lot. It has to be noticed that seventy per cent of worldwide stocks have been destroyed. The OPCW has conducted 4,167 inspections at 195 chemical weapon-related and 1,103 industrial sitesthanks to a serious and an effective work. The 2013 Nobel Price could not be more legitimate. However results are not sufficient, just because thirty per cent remain. Consequently, the Government of Panama invites with fervour all nations to destroy their remaining stocks of chemical weapons if it is not already done, as far as possible.
II - The requirement to all United Nations to sign the OPWC Chart
Of the six United Nations Member States that are not parties to the treaty, two have signed but not yet ratified the treaty (Burma and Israel) and four states have not acceded to the treaty (Angola, North Korea, Egypt, and South Sudan). An agenda has to be set, because the non-ratification of this Chart is unacceptable in 2013. Moreover, the recent events in Syria prove that chemical weapons could be used if they happen to fall into the wrong hands. Sanctions could be considered if the agenda is not respected. The Government of Panama is ready to be an active part of these sanctions, by closing for example his canal to the ships of countries concerned.
III – The necessity to create a global UN force of interference to fight against chemical weapons
The Government of Panama is fully involved to fight not for the prohibition of chemical weapons, but for their complete eradication. In that way, the Government of Panama is ready to support, or to propose, an international initiative, in order to create a United Nation force of interference. The Government of Panama considers the use of chemical weapons as terrorism, and is ready to finance and to train a force able to fight against this threat.
This force would attack directly every nation using chemical weapons. These attacks would only concern stocks of chemicals weapons, and would be previously approved by the United Nations, but with amenities of procedure.The Government of Panama would like to underline to these possible bombing would be not against a country, but against a stock.Chemical weapons are still used in outlying conflicts, and the United Nations have to act in consequence.
The Government of Panama has renounced to have a powerful army because he deeply thinks in peace, in the world. This is why this position is strict and clear. Demilitarization is the only way for the United Nations to prosper. It can’t be possible with the maintenance of archaic weapons, like chemical weapons.