Third session on familiarization with the OPCW
The third edition of the familiarization with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was held at the Tehran Peace Museum on Monday, 26 May 2025.
At first, Mr. Shahriar Khatri, former senior officer of the OPCW talked about the history, structure and the work of the organization Then, Mr. Nabi Azadi, representative of the National Authority for the Chemical Weapons Convention from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave a speech on how the convention is implemented in Iran, as well as the structure, actions and performance of the National Authority in recent years. Then, in a live video connection with the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Ms. Elizabeth Wachter, Head of Public Affairs and Spokesperson of the organization, gave a speech on the role of NGOs and academics in advancing the organization’s goals and the organization’s engagement with civil society in recent years, and then a question and answer session was held with her presence and one of the young interns of this department.
Given that the audience of this series of meetings is the younger generation, the organization's job and internship opportunities were also reviewed, and Ms. Mohaddeseh Jahangiri spoke about her one-year internship experience then Ms. Sahar Tafreshi, as the representative of the Tehran Peace Museum at the two recent OPCW annual conferences in The Hague, also spoke about her experience in organizing a side event and presenting a statement at the conference, accompanied by the wife of a chemical weapons veteran. Short videos related to the topics were shown during the program breaks.
At the end, participants were awarded a bilingual certificate of attendance.
Training Course on Peace Education for Child Facilitators
The Tehran Peace Museum, Association for Protecting Children’s Right and the In Flanders Fields Museum (Ieper, Belgium) jointly organize a Training Course on Peace Education for Child Facilitators
The course which will be thought by a team of international instructors will be conducted in January / February 2025, Every Thursday, from 09:30 to 14:30 IST at the Tehran Peace Museum.
Simultaneous interpretation service will be provided during the course and participants who complete the training successfully will be receiving a bilingual certificate.
For registration and further details please visit: www.tpm.ir
Training session: an introduction to the OPCW II
The 2nd training session on “ introduction to Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons – OPCW – “ was held on Monday 10 June 2024 at the Tehran Peace Museum.
The event was attended by over 30 participants mostly postgraduate students of law, international relations as well as chemistry and biology.
A number of former OPCW staff members from inspectorate, International Cooperation and Assistance Division as well as two former OPCW Interns were among the speakers of this training session.
Ms Elisabeth Waechter, Head of Public Relations and Spokesperson of the OPCW was one of the speakers of the event who joind the training session via a live video call.
In her remarks, Mr Waechter provided brief information regarding the current and future activities of the OPCW and the role of civil society in promoting the goals of the OPCW and the Chemical Weapons Convention then she answered a number of questions from the audience.
Participants were also given chance to learn on how to use personal protective equipment in chemical incidents in a practical training.
The Tehran Peace Museum organizes such training sessions in regular basis to raise awareness among university students and young generation on the role of international organizations in promoting global peace/disarmament.
Representatives of the Tehran Peace Museum attended the Hague conference
The 29th Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was held in The Hague, The Netherlands from 25 to 29 November 2024. Diplomatic delegations and high-ranking officials from 193 member states of the organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) were present at the conference. Representatives of the Tehran Peace Museum and the Chemical Weapons Victims Association, while attending the conference, held a side event, read a statement, and met with diplomatic delegations and members of other NGOs from different countries around the world during the conference. The Tehran Peace Museum, as a members of the CWC NGO Coalition, has had close ties with the OPCW in recent years, and has been actively involved in supporting victims of chemical weapons and raising awareness about the effects and consequences of these weapons on human health and the environment.
Chemical Warfare victim Mr. Ahmed Gholamifard, died of respiratory failure
Chemical Warfare victim Mr. Ahmed Gholamifard, died of respiratory failure on January 1st, 2024.
He sustained severe lung and eye injuries due to mustard gas exposure in January 1987 During the Iran-Iraq war, and suffered from chronic complications of chemical injuries for more than three decades, including tracheal stenosis and corneal damag.
Mr. Gholamifard, who was a resident of Mashhad, was an active volunteer member of the Association for the Support of Chemical Weapons Victims and the Tehran Peace Museum. He participated in various social programs including international events: he spoke as a representative of chemical weapons victims at the annual onference of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague in 2018. He was also one of the 4 chemical warfare survivors who appeared in the court of the Netherlands in The Hague in June 2023 during the trial of two Dutch companies that sold chemicals to the Saddam regime and testified as a mustard gas victim.
Due to the severe narrowing of his airways (trachea), Ahmad had undergone many surgeries, including airway stenting and several corneal transplants, but he was still full of hope and was active in various cultural, social and educational programs. ..Tehran Peace Museum expresses its condolences to the respected family of Mr. Gholamifard and the community of chemical warfare survivors ..... May his soul rest in peace.....
