In the statement, Biden said: the destruction of weapons brings us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons.
The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997, which unites 193 countries, obliged Washington to permanently destroy the weapons with a September 30 deadline.. With this move, the United States officially joined the ranks of countries that reject the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield.
The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed the destruction of the stockpile in Kentucky on Friday. Although Washington set an example with his actions, several members of the Chemical Weapons Convention – such as Russia or Syria – continue to stockpile chemical weapons. In the presidential announcement, Biden called on these countries to adhere to the provisions of the convention.
Chemical weapons were first used in modern warfare during the First World War, which had at least 100,000 victims at the time. Although the Geneva Convention of the years after the war prohibited the use of such weapons, countries kept their stockpiles until later amendments to the convention made it mandatory to destroy them.
Cover image: Getty Images
