Mr. Heng Ratana, on Thursday, reported on his Facebook page that a number of officers from the National Authority for the Prohibition of Chemical, Nuclear, Biological and Radiological Weapons (CWC National Authority), and from his Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) fell sick as the result from working to remove the US chemical weapons in Svay Rieng’s Korki commune.
Regarding this incident, Mr. Ratana said that CMAC would file a complaint to the UN through the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as a declaration of the presence of chemical weapons in Cambodia's territory.
"According to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), Cambodia has an obligation, as a member state ratifying the CWC, to declare the impact of the US chemical weapons in Cambodian soil," said Mr. Ratana.
Mr. Ratana also said that the Kingdom of Cambodia will refer to Article III and PART IV (B) in the Annexes of the CWC to file the complaint to the UN.
Article III. Declarations
Each State Party shall submit to the Organization, not later than 30 days after this Convention enters into force for it, the following declarations, in which it shall:
(b) With respect to old chemical weapons and abandoned chemical weapons:
(ii) Declare whether there are abandoned chemical weapons on its territory and provide all available information in accordance with Part IV (B), paragraph 8, of the Verification Annex;
Annexes: Part IV (B). Old Chemical Weapons and Abandoned Chemical Weapons
9. A State Party which discovers abandoned chemical weapons after this Convention enters into force for it shall, not later than 180 days after the discovery, submit to the Technical Secretariat all available relevant information concerning the discovered abandoned chemical weapons. This information shall include, to the extent possible, the location, type, quantity and the present condition of the abandoned chemical weapons as well as information on the abandonment.
last week, Mr. Ratana wrote that experts in biology and medical experts are needed to evaluate the impact of the US chemical weapons on environment and health of the villagers living in the drop zone in Svay Rieng province.
According to Mr. Ratana, it is a heartbreaking story to see children born with physical deformities in the drop zone. And Cambodian doctors believe that it was the US chemical weapons that made those kids born with such physical disorder.
"We did a medical examination to people in the area, and we found three kids born with physical disorder, such as big head, deformed mouth, and a kid with itchy skin. After the examination, I believe it was the US chemical weapons that made those kids born with such physical disorder," Dr. Bunheng, Minister of Health, told Fresh News last week.
So far, the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) found 15 US chemical weapons in the drop zone. The weapons are confirmed by US experts as Chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS).
As a result from the Vietnam War, not only Cambodian villagers in Svay Rieng province who are victims from the US chemical weapons, thousands of American veterans were also affected by those chemical weapons. However, in the US, as justice prevails, American veterans were lucky to win lawsuit against US chemical weapon companies who were forced to pay millions of dollar as compensation to the veterans.
In the same way, in an interview with Fresh News last week, victims from the US chemical weapons in Korki commune, Svay Rieng province, have asked the US Government to remove all chemical weapons from their land, and also help them to have a better life, because they have suffered for more than 40 years by living with those chemical weapons.
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