The Winds of Chemical Warfare (in English)

Green Cross International 9-­‐11 rue de Varembé, 1202 Geneva www.gcint.org The Winds of Chemical Warfare (in English) Film screening and panel discussion on the challenges facing the fight against chemical warfare Today, chemical weapons are an internationally outlawed category of weapons of mass destruction. They are being systematically destroyed and most of the world is already free from them. A trailblazing global convention, concluded in 1993, is being successfully implemented by its 190 state parties. And yet, we are again reading and watching reports about chemical attacks with chlorine. What is happening, and why? People often think that very specialized expertise is needed to understand this issue, so the producers of this film have made the story of chemical weapons straightforward and accessible. And the commentators on the panel will follow up on that task. Wednesday, 29 April 2015 Espace Dickens, Dickens 4 1006 Lausanne Film Screening: From 18:00 until 19:00 Panel Discussion and Audience Questions: From 19:00 until 20:00 Chemical weapons in war, 100 years on from the Battle of Ypres This film offers a rare look at the implementation of a global treaty that has been both voluntary and highly effective at addressing the threat of chemical weapons. The panel discussion will explore some of the current and future challenges around controlling and destroying chemical weapons, such as how the Chemical Weapons Convention can deal with terrorists armed with chemical agents. Panel guests will include: Sergey Batsanov, Director of Pugwash (Geneva Office), former Soviet, then Russian Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament. Daniel Feakes, Chief, Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit, United Nations (Geneva), Former Senior OPCW Officer Adam Koniuszewski, Green Cross International, Executive Director, will introduce the session. We look forward to your participation and thank you in advance for your confirmation of receipt. Please RSVP to [email protected] (specifying the number of people, if any, that will accompany you). Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: Etienne Lacombe-­‐Kishibe Communications Coordinator Mobile: (0)78.839.79.03 Cynthia Capitaine Head of Administration Mobile: (0)79.956.47.84