{"id":14472,"date":"2013-12-05T22:22:06","date_gmt":"2013-12-05T16:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/?p=14472"},"modified":"2014-06-19T15:39:21","modified_gmt":"2014-06-19T10:09:21","slug":"india-gives-unopcw-1million-for-destroying-syrias-chemical-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/politics\/india-gives-unopcw-1million-for-destroying-syrias-chemical-weapons","title":{"rendered":"India Gives UN\/OPCW $1Million For Destroying Syria’s Chemical Weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few facts on chemical weapons:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A chemical weapon can be defined as a device that uses chemicals, especially synthesized, to cause severe harm and death to the human beings. The chemicals used in such weapons, can be used in the solid liquid or gaseous states and easily disseminated. Unlike a bomb which with the modern technologies can be dropped with surgical precision on the intended target, the effects of a chemical weapon cannot be contained. In most cases other than destroying the intended target, such a weapon claims thousands of innocent lives. Two very common examples of such weapons are nerve gas and tear gas. The most lethal chemicals used in such weapons are nerve agents like GA and GB, Vesicants (chemicals that cause blister) like HT and HD.<\/p>\n

These are \u2018unitary chemicals\u2019, i.e. once released they can unleash destruction on their own and need not react with air or other chemical agents. Usually such chemicals are in the liquid state at the room temperature with transition to the gaseous state upon release, due to their extremely volatile nature. The First World War witnessed indiscriminate use of lethal chemicals like phosgene gas and mustard gas, which caused innumerable deaths from inhalation of such gases, resulting in a complete lung collapse, other than widespread cases of blinding and dismembering. The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 has ostracized the manufacturing, hoarding and using of such weapons of mass destruction. However, chemical weapon arsenals still exists in many countries, openly defying the Convention norms.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s negotiations with Syria for the chemical weapons disarmament:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

It is to be noted here that, both India and Russia were opposed to any kind of military inference in the war ravaged country of Syria and had always argued for the dismantling of Syria\u2019s arsenal of chemical weapons, as per the mandates of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Russia played a pivotal role in bargaining with Damascus to hand over its chemical weapons arsenal to the international community for their consequent eradication.<\/p>\n

Syria\u2019s agreement to comply with the norms of OPCW:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

While disregarding a military intervention to put an end to the conflicts in Syria, as of 13th<\/sup> September, 2013, India heartily accepted Syria\u2019s accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention, confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs in a social media site, a decision that effectively thwarted international military attacks against Syria. The UN General Secretary\u2019s office confirmed of a written communication from Damascus which stated, \u201cPresident Al \u2013 Assad had signed the legislative decree providing for the accession of Syria to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical weapons and on their Destruction of 1992\u201d. An UN spokesperson further confirmed, \u201c\u2026..The Syrian Authorities have expressed their commitment to observe the obligations, entailed by the Convention, even before its entry into force, for Syria\u201d.<\/p>\n

The dismantling of the chemical weapons arsenal of Syria was a matter of extreme urgency, as the Obama administration was mulling over a military strike against the Assad regime as a retaliation against an alleged use of chemical weapon by the Syrian military, that had claimed over 1400 lives including 400 children. The whole issue is now under the investigation of the UN chemical weapons inspection team in Syria, who had collected samples for laboratory tests for confirming such alleged use of chemical weapon.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s decision of donating USD 1 million to the OPCW\/UN for the destruction of the chemical weapons of Syria:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

As of 3rd<\/sup> December, 2013, India has ratified a grant of USD 1 million to the trust of Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), at The Hague for the proposed dismantling of Syria\u2019s chemical weapons arsenal and the production facilities and their consequent destruction. This is a very prudent move on the part of India, as it will further enhance the chances of the inclusion of our country in the upcoming Geneva \u2013 II peace talks, to be held sometimes in January, 2014, to diffuse the crisis prevailing in Syria. In the preliminary meet attended by the US, China, Russia, the European Union, authoritative neighboring countries of Syria like Turkey and Iran, the Syrian rebels and representatives of the Syrian President Bashar Al \u2013 Assad, Russia is supposed to float the name of India as a potential candidate for the actual peace talks. However, India\u2019s participation in the Geneva peace talks will only be possible if all the existing members of the Convention reach a common decision over the candidature of our country.<\/p>\n

As further confirmed by a statement issued on behalf of the Ministry of External Affairs, India has also proffered its technical expertise in the consequent destruction of Syria\u2019s chemical weapons arsenal and related facilities. With a welcome note on the rapid progress of buffering and destroying the chemical weapons of Syria and Syria\u2019s agreement to adhere to the norms of OPCW, the statement of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), went as follows, \u201cIndia\u2019s assistance to the OPCW is a concrete demonstration of India\u2019s consistent position of support for the complete destruction and elimination of chemical weapons worldwide\u201d.<\/p>\n

Underlining the position of India as an aspirant for the potential participation in the Geneva \u2013 II peace talks, aimed at terminating the three years old conflict in the war \u2013 torn country of Syria, the MEA statement added, \u201cIndia would also offer the services of its experts to be used by the OPCW in the destruction verification activity as well as training slots for the personnel participating in the UN\/OPCW mission for the destruction of Syria\u2019s chemical weapons\u201d. Further strengthening the case of India, as a potential candidate for the peace talks, the MEA statements confirmed, \u201cIndia is an original state party to the chemical weapons convention and as a possessor of state it has completed the destruction of its chemical weapons in accordance with the convention\u201d.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s possible participation in the upcoming Geneva \u2013 II peace conference: <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The suggestion that India may be a potential participant in the Geneva \u2013 II peace conference scheduled to be held in January, 2014, came from Kremlin during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh\u2019s visit to Russia. The primary aim of this year\u2019s Geneva \u2013 II peace conference was to put an end to the sufferings of the Syrians in war torn country of Syria for the last three years. Another agenda of the conference was the post war rehabilitation of the country. A joint statement released by India and Russia during the Prime Minister\u2019s trip to Russia confirmed that Russia really welcomed India\u2019s participation in the Geneva \u2013 II peace talks. Dr Riad Kamel Abbas, Syrian Ambassador to India, commented to the media, \u201cIndia is our friend and we would like to see India at the Geneva Conference. We appreciate India\u2019s position on the issue and we would like India to be a big member at the Geneva conclave. India is the biggest democracy in the world and promotes a peaceful spirit that the world takes note of. India is important because it has asked for a political solution to the problem, and that\u2019s what we have asked for from the beginning\u201d.<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

India has played a very wise international political card when it announced the grant of USD 1 million to the UN\/ OPCW for the destruction of the chemical weapons of Syria. On one hand, such a gesture on the part of our country has enhanced its peacekeeping, non \u2013 violent image, upholding the humane cause of destruction of chemical weapons, on the other hand this gesture might just be the pass for the entry of India in the Geneva \u2013 II peace conference, both of which magnifies the global profile of our country.<\/p>\n

Credit should also be given to Russia for the timely persuasion of the Syrian Government to part with its chemical weapons arsenal. Syria, rife with violence and war, had long attracted the attentions of the warmongering nation US, who had already been accusing the Syrian military, of using chemical weapons. Had it not been for the intervention of the UN, the Obama administration, with its permanent trigger itch, would already have waged a war against Syria, on the pretext of possession and use of chemical weapons!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few facts on chemical weapons: A chemical weapon can be defined as a device that uses chemicals, especially synthesized, to cause severe harm and death to the human beings. The chemicals used in such weapons, can be used in the solid liquid or gaseous states and easily disseminated. Unlike a bomb which with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11315,3],"tags":[5646,5645],"class_list":{"0":"post-14472","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-government","7":"category-india","8":"category-politics","9":"tag-chemical-weapons","10":"tag-opcw"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14472"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25985,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14472\/revisions\/25985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/my-india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}