Disappointment in The Hague as states fail to reach consensus on the final report & political declaration of the Chemical Weapons Convention’s milestone 5th Review Conference. Consensus agreement was not possible “due to the limited time available & context of current global affairs.” The Chemical Weapons Convention #RevCon5 will formally conclude on Friday afternoon.

Director-General of the @OPCW, which services the #ChemicalWeapons Convention, provides an implementation overview. All chemical weapons stocks held by states parties have now been destroyed except in US, which hopes to complete this task in September. #RevCon5 #CWCrevcon Over the past decade chemical weapons have been used in Iraq, Malaysia, Russia, Syria & UK - @OPCW director-general. Last use was in Russia in 2020.

Governments should protect the integrity of the international treaty banning #ChemicalWeapons by fully implementing it & by ensuring accountability for any violations - @hrw on the Review Conference, which opens in the Hague today hrw.org/news/2023/05/1… #CWCRevcon
#RevCon5 @hrw @henkvdKwast @minbuza @balkeesjarrah @loucharbon @OPCW @OPCW_ST @UN_Disarmament @INakamitsu @cwccoalition The #ChemicalWeapons Convention is the world’s most universally accepted humanitarian disarmament treaty. At least 140 of the 193 countries that have ratified it will attend the milestone 5th Review Conference in the Hague this week #CWCRevcon #RevCon5

https://twitter.com/MFATNZ/status/1657974112755564544

"Unlawful & appalling" - Russia's April 2022 cluster munition strike on Kramatorsk train station remains one of the deadliest single incidents for civilians since its invasion of Ukraine a year ago - @hrw @situ_research urge accountability hrw.org/news/2023/02/2… @banclusterbombs Over 1,000 people fleeing the Ukraine conflict were crowded on Kramatorsk's train platform on 6 April 2022 when the cluster munition hit, releasing dozens of submunitions containing thousands of fragments - @hrw & @situ_research hrw.org/video-photos/i…

The photo that changed the world: 50 years ago @nickut captured Kim Phuc & other children fleeing an incendiary weapons attack in #Vietnam washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/… The United States air force had dropped 4 napalm bombs on a village where civilians were sheltering @hrw #CCWUN @nickut @hrw @Harvard_ACCPI @UN_Disarmament @DisarmamentIRL @kim_foundation Public revulsion over the suffering of napalm victim Kim Phuc & other civilians in #Vietnam increased pressure on the US to stop the war, as @nickut explains in @washingtonpost washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/… That happened less than 3 years later with the fall of Saigon.

Prospect of autonomous weapons is of deep concern globally & for #NewZealand. Machines making life & death decisions challenge fundamental values. #AWSDialogueNZ #KeepCtrl #TeamHuman #NewZealand Govt has conducted a survey to collect views from the public. There’s limited public awareness but it found 72% opposed use of lethal autonomous weapons systems. Oppose machines being used to kill. #AWSDialogueNZ #KeepCtrl

Unlike before the pandemic, I’m now following this week’s #CCWUN diplomatic meeting on #KillerRobots from a great distance: hrw.org/news/2021/08/0… Being in #Aotearoa #NewZealand provides a refreshing new perspective. #AWSDialogueNZ @hrw @hrw @UNGeneva @ousmannoor @BanKillerRobots @UN_Disarmament Military investments into lethal autonomous weapons systems are taking us down a dangerous path for global peace & security. Machines have no moral agency, empathy or responsibility - @NoelSharkey @icracnet #AWSDialogueNZ #KillerRobots #CCWUN

Last month I wrote about the Turkish-manufactured loitering munition used in #Libya hrw.org/news/2021/05/1… Regarded as only real form of “offensive” autonomous weapon deployed today. Highlights urgent need for regulation now. Little is know about this autonomous weapon system + even less about the circumstances of its use in #Libya. I wrote to its manufacturer #Turkey in 2019 but never received a response: stopkillerrobots.org/wp-content/upl…