OPCW holds international training course for chemical weapons convention implementation

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held a course last week with representatives of 42 national authorities from across the globe focused on enhancing their capacity for implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

The course focused on the vital tasks nations need to take to ensure that the CWC is wholly put into effect on a national level. Participants analyzed key obligations of the CWC and the OPCW’s role in its implementation.

“National authorities are responsible for ensuring that state parties adhere to their obligations under the convention,” Hamza Khelif, director of OPCW’s International Cooperation and Assistance, said. “The OPCW stands ready to help them enhance their capacity in fulfilling their complex tasks.”

Khelif said that national authorities need to apply the skills and knowledge gained during the course and assist other nations in fulfilling their obligations to the CWC.

Nations represented in the course included Albania, Angola, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Iraq, Laos, Lesotho, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Paraguay, Republic of Korea, Serbia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Singapore, Sudan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.