Chemical security

Security Council authorizes countries to help Libya destroy chemical weapons

Following a request from the main international organization working to achieve a world free of chemical weapons, the United Nations Security Council today adopted a resolution authorizing the transfer of such weapons out of Libya for their safe, timely destruction.

By the text, the 15-member Council decided to “authorize Member States to acquire, control, transport, transfer and destroy chemical weapons […] to ensure the elimination of Libya's chemical weapons stockpile in the soonest and safest manner.”

The Council's action followed a decision on 20 July by the Executive Council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that called for international assistance to help Libya's national unity government expedite the destruction of its remaining Category 2 chemical weapons “outside of Libya.”