UN hails removal of chemical weapons in Libya

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed on Thursday successful removal of all chemical weapons from Libya, in an operation facilitated and coordinated by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
In a statement, Ban welcomed the contribution of personnel, technical expertise, equipment, financial and other resources by Canada, Finland, France, Italy, Malta, Spain, the UK and the US, as well as the contribution by Denmark of maritime assets to transport the chemicals to Germany for destruction.
The operation took place further to a Decision by the OPCW’s Executive Council, and endorsed by the Security Council through resolution 2298. It was was in response to Libya’s request for assistance in meeting under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The request was approved by the OPCW Executive Council and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council in July 2016. Removal of these chemicals is the first stage of an ongoing operation to verifiably eliminate the remnants of Libya’s now-defunct chemical weapon program. (end)
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