Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare
30/11/2020
Chemical weapons have been used for centuries. In the 17th century, France and Germany signed an agreement NOT to use poison bullets! In 1899, countries at the Hague Peace Conference declared they would not use projectiles which contained "asphyxiating or deleterious gases".
However, during the First World War, over 100,000 humans died and more than 1 million were wounded by the use of gas.
In the Second World War, gas was not used in combat but was used in the Holocaust Concentration Camps.
In 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention (proposed in 1993) came into force on 29 April. Its purpose was, “for the sake of all mankind, to exclude completely the possibility of the use of chemical weapons.”
And so, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was set up to monitor this happening. There have undoubtedly been huge successes and OPCW Member States represent about 98% of the global population and landmass, as well as 98% of the worldwide chemical industry. The OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for what it has done to eliminate chemical weapons. OPCW claim to have eliminated 97% of all chemical weapons.
However, throughout the Syrian Civil War (which started in 2011) - and as recently as 2017 - chemical weapons have been used.
An estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage.
There are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world.
1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.
Out of the 24.9 million people trapped in forced labour, 16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture; 4.8 million people in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million people in forced labour imposed by state authorities.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by forced labour, accounting for 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Loving God,
who sees the unseen and notices the unnoticed,
help each of us to hear the Hidden Voices of those
who pray for release from slavery.
We pray for those who work to end exploitation and trafficking
that they (and we) be strengthened in resolve to free your people.
We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN
(Adapted from prayer by The Rt Revd Dr Alastair Redfern, Chair of The Clewer Initiative.)