Danish parliament approves plan to help remove chemical weapons from Libya

The Danish parliament on Friday approved a decision to send two ships as part of an international operation to move its remaining chemical weapons out of Libya.

All Danish political parties voted in favor of the contribution that consists of a civilian transport ship, a warship and more than 200 staff.

"We will undertake a leading role in an important operation to remove the remains from Libya's chemical stockpile, which otherwise risk falling into the wrong hands," Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said in a statement.

Denmark said it had been asked by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United States to contribute to the operation.

The mission is expected to cost Denmark about 12 million Danish kroner (1.8 million U.S. dollars).

Danish Defense Minister Peter Christensen said the safety of the more than 200 staff is not at risk, though there is fear that the weapons risk ending up in the hands of extremists like the Islamic State.

"We believe that the threat level is low in relation to the actual task to sail in, get the containers on board and sail out again," Christensen said.

In July, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to ask the international community to assist Libya in destroying its chemical weapons.

The 15-nation council has authorized member states to acquire, control, transport, transfer and destroy chemical weapons to eliminate Libya's stockpile "in the soonest and safest manner."

The resolution came after the OPCW made its decision to help Libya develop a modified plan on chemical weapons destruction.

Source : XIMN

The Danish parliament on Friday approved a decision to send two ships as part of an international operation to move its remaining chemical weapons out of Libya.

All Danish political parties voted in favor of the contribution that consists of a civilian transport ship, a warship and more than 200 staff.

"We will undertake a leading role in an important operation to remove the remains from Libya's chemical stockpile, which otherwise risk falling into the wrong hands," Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said in a statement.

Denmark said it had been asked by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United States to contribute to the operation.

The mission is expected to cost Denmark about 12 million Danish kroner (1.8 million U.S. dollars).

Danish Defense Minister Peter Christensen said the safety of the more than 200 staff is not at risk, though there is fear that the weapons risk ending up in the hands of extremists like the Islamic State.

"We believe that the threat level is low in relation to the actual task to sail in, get the containers on board and sail out again," Christensen said.

In July, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to ask the international community to assist Libya in destroying its chemical weapons.

The 15-nation council has authorized member states to acquire, control, transport, transfer and destroy chemical weapons to eliminate Libya's stockpile "in the soonest and safest manner."

The resolution came after the OPCW made its decision to help Libya develop a modified plan on chemical weapons destruction.

Source : XINHUA