THE HAGUE, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Uzumcu on Tuesday congratulated Iraq on its complete destruction of its chemical weapons remnants.
"I welcome this notable achievement and congratulate the Iraqi Government for their efforts in ensuring the proper destruction of these dangerous chemicals and for fulfilling its obligations deriving from the Chemical Weapons Convention," stated Uzumcu.
Iraq's initial declaration, submitted in March 2009, referred to remnants of chemical weapons stored in two storage bunkers at the Al Muthana site. Owing to the hazardous conditions within the bunkers, Iraq was not able to conduct a detailed on-site inventory immediately after the initial declaration. Destruction activities started in 2017, once the on-going security situation had been addressed.
In November 2017 and February 2018, OPCW's Technical Secretariat confirmed that the four former chemical weapons production facilities in Iraq were completely destroyed.
One former chemical weapons production facility in Iraq remains subject to inspection until 2028. In 2012, OPCW approved a detailed plan, submitted by Iraq, for this facility's conversion for purposes not prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
As the implementing body for the Convention, the OPCW oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Over 96 percent of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared by possessor states have been destroyed under OPCW verification.