On the afternoon of the first day of the conference – Monday, 25 November – the CWC Coalition hosted a side event on the workshops we organized in summer 2024 on civil society recommendations for the next five years. The workshops consisted of a selection of six topics that present ongoing challenges to the CWC and we enlisted the help of six experts in the field to write input papers providing background on the topics and recommendations as a starting point for a discussion with our civil society experts. For our side event we were joined by Alexander Kelle of CBWNet and Stefano Costanzi of American University who presented their input papers on chemical terrorism and verification and inspections respectively.
On Wednesday afternoon, the CWC Coalition hosted a side event in collaboration with Tehran Peace Museum. Our colleagues Sahar Tafreshi, TPM Head of Public Relations, and Ali Khateri, TPM volunteer, were joined by Marzieh Tamousavi, the widow of a chemical attack victim, Ahmad Zangi Abadi. Mr. Zangi Abadi was a longtime volunteer at the museum, but he tragically passed away in 2014 after a long, progressively worsening lung condition caused by his exposure to chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq War. Marzieh Tamousavi continues his legacy by volunteering at the museum and telling her story.
Marzieh recounts how she could not wear perfume or use certain detergents in the house since the scent would irritate her husband’s lungs. Their life became a cycle of travel between home, hospital, and pharmacy. “The hospital became our second home,” Marzieh said. Marzieh’s life was full of anxiety as she was always worried that he would stop breathing. “I was worried he would die and leave me alone.” This is what happened in 2014 when Mr Zangi Abadi passed away. After that, Marzieh suffered psychological problems for a long time and felt deeply lonely. A cancer diagnosis two years after her husband’s death made her life even more difficult. “I thought I should continue what Ahmad was passionate about.” Artwork was a childhood passion and then she started working with Tehran Peace Museum.