Statement by Canada – Thematic Debate: Other Weapons of Mass Destruction – 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly – First Committee

New York, October 22, 2025

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Chair,

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) have seen commendable progress in recent years.

After more than a decade of the Assad regime’s hostility, Syrian transitional authorities are engaging positively with the OPCW, allowing them access to chemical weapons sites. Earlier this month, the OPCW’s Executive Council adopted a decision on measures to completely and verifiably eliminate the former regime’s chemical weapons.

Within the BTWC, the Working Group has been tasked with meaningfully advancing a breadth of topics. Canada is confident that the proposed mechanisms for science and technology review and international cooperation and assistance – if adopted – would meaningfully strengthen the BTWC. We likewise commend the substantive discussions regarding a potential future verification mechanism.

Regrettably, these crucial conventions are also facing greater challenges than ever, including targeted efforts from a handful of states to undermine their effectiveness.

Russia continues to flagrantly violate the CWC. Ukraine has reported that more than ten thousand chemical attacks against its forces have taken place since the start of Russia’s invasion. To date, three have been confirmed through OPCW Technical Assistance Visits. We look forward to an eventual OPCW investigation to formally identify the perpetrators of these acts.

Within the BTWC, concrete progress has remained frustratingly elusive largely due to the uncooperative stance adopted by a small number of states.

Furthermore, both the BTWC and CWC continue to be misused as stages for disinformation, political grievances, and targeted sabotage of the international disarmament machinery. We recall Russia’s spiteful 2022 invocation of BTWC Article V, which served its purpose in wasting time and resources, but failed at proving their spurious claims, alongside Russia’s support to the former Assad regime, shielding them from accountability for their chemical weapons use.

To combat the disinformation that aims to undermine the non-proliferation, arms control, and disarmament architecture, Canada is proud to support the G7-Global Partnership Countering WMD Disinformation Initiative. Addressing this threat requires a comprehensive, coordinated, and multi-institutional effort such as this, aimed at developing tools and solutions to counter disinformation narratives pre-emptively.

Chair,

This year was one of meritorious anniversaries and causes for optimism: the centennial of the signing of the Geneva Protocol, as well as the 50^th anniversary of the entry into force of the BTWC. It is important to remind ourselves that even in these troubling times, our goal remains to uphold the critical norms against chemical and biological weapons.

Thank you.