The Commemorative event for the Victims of Chemical Weapons and the 10^th Opening Anniversary of Tehran Peace Museum Held.

The commemorative event for the all victims of chemical weapons and the 10^th opening anniversary of Tehran Peace Museum (TPM) on the occasion of the 34^th anniversary of the chemical attack on Sardasht, was held by TPM, Communications and International Affairs Center of the Municipality of Tehran and the Organization for Defending Sardasht Victims of Chemical Weapons (ODVCW) on July 29, 2021 from 11 am to 1 pm on the zoom platform.

In this program, first, the video message of Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Fernando Arias on the occasion of the 34^th anniversary of the chemical attack of Sardasht was played. Then the message of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Dr. Javad Zarif on this occasion was read by the host.

Then, Mr. Alireza Yazdanpanah, a chemical warfare survivor and volunteer guide at TPM, narrated his story. Emphasizing the long-term consequences of chemical weapons (CW) on the survivors, he pointed the difficulties of their lives and said that this injury is a hidden injury because these consequences are not seen in the appearance of the victims. He added that over the years, the legal aspects of the use of CW have not been sufficiently pursued by Iranian actors and that the responsible institutions should pursue this issue seriously.

Afterwards, Mr. Abdolrahim Karimi Vahed, President of ODVCW, while commemorating the anniversary of the chemical attack on Sardasht and congratulating TPM on its 10^th anniversary, read the message of ODVCW. In this message, while narrating what people of Sardasht have gone through, he pointed out the necessity to end the abeyance in this case and that the perpetrators of the use of CW and their supporters should finally be legally prosecuted. He continued the message by describing the problems of this city and the need to try to solve them and improve the quality of the life of the people of this city.

In the next part, Mr. Seyyed Mahdi Parsayee, the Representative of the National Authority of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke about the norm of the prohibition of chemical weapons and Iran. He pointed out the need to increase the services for chemical warfare victims and the readiness of the Secretariat of the National Authority to draw a roadmap in this area, the history of the ban on WC and path of the ratification of the CWC and the most important features of this convention.

In the following part of the program, Dr. Saeed Attari, head of the center for Chemical Injuries of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs (FMVA), spoke about the upcoming horizon in providing services to chemical warfare victims in the field of health and social life and about the Center’s efforts to meet the needs and problems of veterans, such as providing medical needs, correcting statistics and coding of veterans, as well as the Center’s activities in the field of implementing related regulations, identification and protection of chemical casualties.

In the next part of the program, a video clip from the “Little Narrators” project by TPM from the city of Sardasht was played. The Little Narrators Project is a story about children living in cities that were once exposed to war and weapons of mass destruction, and now these children are experiencing the consequences. These children describe what they have heard about their city, what they have seen and what they remember.

Then, Ms. Mona Badamchizadeh, Head of the Education Department of TPM, gave a brief introduction of the museum’s activities during the years. Referring to the history of TPM, she spoke about the characteristics of the museum and some activities such as tours, oral history of chemical warfare survivors, education, international activities, art for peace, publications and achievements.

In this program a virtual tour of the museum prepared by Mr. Omid Jafarnejad was unveiled. You can visit the tour by visiting the Tehran Peace Museum website and in the virtual visit section and while getting acquainted with the history of TPM, you can read the museum’s panels in five sections.

The final part of the program was reading the message of the TPM on the occasion of the 10^th opening anniversary of the museum by Mr. Mohammad Reza Taghipour Moghddam. The message states that the family of TPM has witnessed many bittersweet moments during its ten years of activity, and appreciates each and every one of these moments and experiences. The message also states that “We believe that it is necessary for activists and public interested in peace to come together and work to promote the culture of peace. Our commitment is not to achieve peace, but to move towards it, because it is truthfully said that peace isn’t the destination, peace is the way”.

The program ended with a minute of silence and praying in memory of all CW victims of the TPM, the victims of Sardasht, and all chemical warfare victims.

To read OPCW DG’s message please click here, to read FM message please click here and to download TPM’s message, please click here.