Za'atari Refugee Camp, Jordan - 24 January 2014
The Government of Canada is committed to working alongside its allies to ensure that the Syrian government fulfils its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention to eliminate its chemical weapons arsenal.
To this end, on January 24, 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced an additional $15 million through Canada's Global Partnership Program to support international efforts to destroy Syria's chemical weapons.
More specifically, $10 million will go to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)'s destruction trust fund, which was set up to finance the treatment and disposal of organic and inorganic chemicals declared by Syria. The additional $5 million will be provided to the U.S. Department of Defence to support the destruction of priority chemicals on board the U.S. ship, the MV Cape Ray.
This support is in addition to the $2 million that Canada proactively provided to the OPCW early in 2013 to support a possible investigation of alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. Canada's contribution helped facilitate the launch of such an investigation by the UN Secretary General on March 21, 2013. This allowed the investigators to confirm that chemical weapons were indeed used during the terrible attack on Ghouta on August 21, 2013, as well as on four other sites across Syria.
To date, Canada has committed more than $630 million in humanitarian, development and security assistance in response to the Syrian crisis.
In addition, in October 2013 a Canadian Armed Forces C-17 aircraft was provided to deliver 10 U.S. armoured civilian vehicles to the region for use by the joint OPCW-UN inspection team in Syria.
The OPCW is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in 1997. As of today, the OPCW has 190 Member States, who are working together to achieve a world free from chemical weapons. They share the collective goal of preventing chemistry from ever again being used for warfare, thereby strengthening international security.
The OPCW works to:
- destroy all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCW;
- monitor the chemical industry to prevent new weapons from emerging;
- provide assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical threats; and,
- foster international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the Convention and promote the peaceful use of chemistry.
On October 16, 2013, after close consultations between the OPCW Director General and the UN Secretary General, the OPCW and UN formally established the OPCW-UN Joint Mission in Syria. This Joint Mission, which adheres to the OPCW Executive Council decision and UNSCR 2118, was tasked to achieve the timely elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons programme in the safest and most secure manner possible.
In 2013, the OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons."
Established in 2002 and managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, the Global Partnership Program is the main program through which Canada supports international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related materials, and knowledge to non-state actors and states of proliferation concern. This work supports Canada's participation in the 27-member Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, a collaborative international initiative that was formed at the 2002 G-8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, to address the proliferation and terrorist use of weapons and materials of mass destruction through concrete projects.
