On 29 November 2022, at the 27th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in The Hague, Latvia and Croatia were elected to the high-ranking post of Vice-Chairperson from the Eastern Europe regional group. Support for Latvia’s candidacy is the acknowledgement of Latvia’s responsible input to the work of international organisations thereby strengthening the rules-based international order. The election of Latvia and Croatia should also be rated as condemnation by the international community of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and grave violations of the United Nations Charter, as well as limiting Russia’s representation in senior positions in international organisations.
In a secret ballot, Latvia received 94 votes and Croatia – 90 votes, prevailing over the third candidate, Russia, with its 44 votes, who had filled the post for the past 20 years on a regular basis. Latvia and Croatia will hold the posts of Vice-Chairpersons until the next session in 2023. This allows the countries to contribute to the work of the Conference in terms of organisational matters and contents, as well as to the overall coordination, through taking part in the work of the General Committee.
The 27th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention is being held in The Hague to take stock of progress with the implementation of the Convention and discuss a number of pressing matters, including Syria’s nuclear programme, and technical capacity building in the Organisations for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The session takes place from 28 November to 2 December 2022.