Pinas, nananawagan sa mga kapwa bansa na ipagbawal ang paggamit ng chemical weapons sa mga conflict areas

NANAWAGAN ang Pilipinas sa mga kapwa bansa na tiyakin na walang chemical weapons at iba pang weapons of mass destruction na gagamitin para protektahan ang sibilyan sa mga conflict areas o lugar na may labanan.

Sa idinaos na 99th Session ng Executive Council ng Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) na ginawa sa OPCW headquarters sa The Hague noong Marso 8, nanawagan ang Pilipinas para sa “observance of international humanitarian law” sa gitna ng kamakailan lamang na malupit na kaganapan.

“As we monitor recent grim developments, we need to remain vigilant and ensure that civilians are unharmed and protected, and international humanitarian law observed. We should further ensure that no chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction are ever used,” ayon kay Philippine Permanent Representative to the OPCW Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya.

Muli namang inulit ni Malaya ang panawagan ni Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. sa gitna ng sinasabing evolving developments sa Ukraine, para sa international community “to reaffirm by more than words its commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes along the lines of the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes which provides the legal framework for recourse to diplomacy, dialogue and rule of law.”

Hinikayat ni Malaya ang mga participating delegations na “rededicate ourselves to the ideals of the U.N. Charter, notably the cornerstone principles of no threat or use of force and the peaceful settlement of international disputes.”

“Let us keep in mind what brought us together as signatories of the Chemical Weapons Convention and other disarmament treaties, and work earnestly to realize the noble aspiration best expressed by the Greek Aeschylus – to ‘tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world’,” dagdag na pahayag nito.

“The Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (CWC) entered into force in 1997 and has 193 member states to date,” ayon sa ulat.

Ang OPCW Executive Council, sa kabilang dako ay kinabibilangan ng 41 elected Member States, kabilang na ang Pilipinas, nagsasagawa ng tatlong regular sessions taun-taon.

Responsable ito sa pagpo- promote ng epektibong implementasyon ng Convention at pagsunod ng bawat Member State sa probisyon nito. (Daris Jose)