OPCW begins nine week-long chemical capacity building program

Thirty-two participants representing 31 Member States of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently convened at the organization’s headquarters in The Hague for the 18th edition of its flagship chemical capacity-building associate program.

In his opening speech, OPCW Deputy Director-General Hamid Ali Rao highlighted the opportunity participants have to contribute to the continuing success of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the efforts made by each country in ensuring a world free of chemical weapons.

“Upon your return home, we hope that you will serve as valuable advocates and ambassadors for the implementation of the Convention, as well as for the promotion of the peaceful uses of chemistry,” Rao said.

The nine week-long program features a series of lectures and exercises related to chemical agent capacity building and mitigation strategies at OPCW’s headquarters and at specialized institutions throughout the Netherlands. Attendees will also have the opportunity to take a three week chemical engineering-oriented skills development course at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom.

At the end of the program, attendees will begin three-week observation assignments at various chemical facilities in 15 OPCW Member States in Europe, Asia and Latin America in order to develop an understanding of successful operations in a modern chemical industry setting.

Participants included representatives from Algeria, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

OPCW serves as the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Entered into force in 1997, the convention represents the most-successful disarmament treaty in history targeting an entire class of weapons. It is the most successful disarmament treaty targeting an entire class of weapons of mass destruction in history.

To date, approximately 95 percent of all chemical weapons stockpiles declares by OPCW’s 192 Member States have been destroyed under the organization’s verification.