On 12 May 2023, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inaugurates its new Centre for Chemistry and Technology. The ChemTech Centre will host the OPCW laboratory, its equipment store and training facilities. Through its research, analysis, training and capacity building capabilities, the Centre will substantially strengthen the OPCW in its work to abolish Chemical Weapons and prevent their re-emergence.

With voluntary financial contributions totalling €16.2 million, the EU and its Member States have provided almost half of the ChemTech Centre’s establishment cost. This reflects the importance that the EU attaches to reinforcing the OPCW’s capacities in implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and to fighting the use of chemical weapons. Since 2004, the EU has provided over €38 million in voluntary funding to support OPCW and its growing and evolving activities. 

The OPCW is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention with a mission to work for a world free of chemical weapons, in which chemicals are only used for peaceful purposes. An almost 500 person strong Technical Secretariat assists the States Parties in this mission. The inauguration of the ChemTech Centre marks an important step as the OPCW will be better prepared for tackling future chemical threats.  

Chemicals are used everywhere in the world for peaceful purposes. To rule out that toxic chemicals could be misused to produce chemical weapons, the CWC contains a verification system: States submit information on toxic chemicals and their precursors which are used, for example, by their industry and the OPCW visits facilities on a regular basis to make sure these declarations are accurate and complete. Research in the ChemTech Centre will reinforce this verification regime, also by contributing to the development of new and improved verification tools. 

In the last years, the OPCW carried out non-routine missions to verify the alleged use of chemical weapons, for example in Syria. These missions include collecting and analysing biomedical and environmental samples, interviewing victims and first responders, and analysing relevant documentation, such as medical reports. The new Centre will strengthen this work including through training measures and knowledge management.

The ChemTech Centre will also foster the peaceful use of chemistry, facilitate national implementation of the Convention, and enhance States Parties’ capabilities to respond to threats through assistance and cooperation activities. These include trainings for first responders in case of an emergency involving chemicals, for staff of national laboratories to enhance their capacities, or for the chemical industry to strengthen safety and security measures.

By putting a stronger focus on research and increasing opportunities for international exchange, the Centre helps the OPCW and its States Parties to stay ahead of risks and address future threats connected to toxic chemicals.