Sub-regional Training on Technical Aspects of the CWC Transfers Regime Held in South Africa

The OPCW and National Authority of South Africa jointly organised a training course for customs officers in east and southern Africa on the technical aspects of the transfers’ regime of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). It was held from 15 to 18 July 2014 in Centurion and attended by 38 participants from 18 States Parties* and two non-States Parties, Angola and Egypt.

The course was conducted under the auspices of the Programme to Strengthen Cooperation with Africa on the CWC (“Africa Programme”) with additional funding from the government of Norway. Mr. Daan van Beek of the South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Department of Trade and Industry, opened the proceedings.

Second Assistance and Protection Training Course for Instructors from States Parties in Africa

The OPCW and the South Africa Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction co-organised the second assistance-and-protection training course for instructors from Africa from 9 to 20 September 2013 in Tshwane. Participating in the training were 14 instructors from 10 States Parties in the region* who will train emergency response personnel for chemical weapons incidents in their own countries.

The course, held at Dithlo Airbase in Tshwane, included lectures on how to prepare a training course in response to a chemical weapons incident, and information on protection against chemicals, detection and decontamination. The participants engaged in table-top and practical exercises in the use of chemical protective equipment, sampling, detection, and decontamination techniques in response to attacks with toxic chemicals.

* Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, with one observer from Brazil.

Source: http://www.opcw.org/news/article/second-assistance-and-protection-training-course-for-instructors-from-states-parties-in-africa/

ISS Today: Syria: Seizing the international moment

Noel Stott, Senior Research Fellow, Transnational Threats and International Crime Division, ISS Pretoria

As Russia, the United States (US) and Syria edge closer to a final agreement and a possible United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution
on how best to deal with the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, it may be wise to step back and consider the enormous potential that a more holistic approach could provide. Such an approach could fundamentally alter the current global discourse on weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

ISS TODAY: Africa's silence on Syria is a missed opportunity to exert regional influence

Noël Stott, Senior Research Fellow, Africa's Development and the Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction Project, ISS Pretoria

The relative silence by the African Union (AU) and its member states on allegations that the Syrian government or one of the various opposition groups have been using chemical weapons in the war that is gripping that country, represents another missed opportunity in the continent’s quest to exert itself as an important player in international diplomacy. This is particularly true with regard to disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

While the findings of the United Nations (UN) inspection team – whose mandate stems from procedures provided under the UN Secretary-General’s Mechanism to investigate allegations of the use of chemical weapons – are yet to be announced, it seems clear that chemical weapons were indeed used in the Syrian conflict. Exactly what type of chemicals, or indeed by whom, is still to be determined. A team consisting of nine experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and three from the World Health Organisation (WHO) is investigating the former. Environmental and biological samples are presently undergoing laboratory analysis and technical evaluation. Although efforts are being made to expedite this process, their report to the UN Secretary General may only be made public in three to four weeks – this despite the insistence of the UK’s Prime Minister and the United States (US) and French presidents that the Syrian regime was responsible and that a ‘punitive’ military response is urgently needed.

For the first time civil society is given a platform at the Chemical Weapons Convention

Noel Stott, Senior Research Fellow, Transnational Threats and International Crime Division, ISS Pretoria

In a major coup for global civil society, non-governmental organisations – including the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) – were this week for the first time provided the opportunity to address states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The Third Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to Review the Operation of the Chemical Weapons Convention is being held from 8–19 April 2013 in The Hague. The CWC represents the world’s first multilateral disarmament agreement providing for the elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction within a fixed timeframe.

Chemical Weapons Convention: Third Review Conference starts in The Hague

Third Review Conference

Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to Review the Operation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (RC-3)

Dates: 8 - 19 April, 2013

The Third Review Conference is now underway! Check back for updates, video and conference documents as they become available.

Above: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon addresses the Review Conference at the opening session.

Documents will be added as they become available.

Download: Information for Delegates [PDF - 1.0 MB]

Select a link to learn more:
Press Conference Joint Press Conference with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü
Calendar of Events A calendar of events, including a webcast schedule for the rReview Conference and side events.
Webcast Schedule A schedule of planned webcasts during the Review Conference and side events.
Webcasts Webcasts from the Third Review Conference
Recent Documents The most recent documents issued by the Third Review Conference
Registration: Delegates The deadline for applications is 8 March 2013
List of Non-Governmental Organisations Entitled to Attend the Third Review Conference Delegates from 71 NGOs and industry associations will attend the review conference
Information for Attendance by Non-Governmental Organisations All the information NGOs need to know to attend the Review Conference
Chairperson's Biography The Chairperson of the Third Review Conference is H.E. Mr. Krzysztof Paturej.
Documents from the Third Review Conference Documents will be added as they become available
Documents from the Second Review Conference Reports, National Statements and Decisions from the Second Review Conference
Documents from the First Review Conference Reports, National Statements and Decisions from the First Review Conference

ISS Today 5 December 2012: Time for Angola to Ratifty the Chemical Weapons Convention

Noël Stott, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Security Studies

Angola, Somalia and Egypt and now South Sudan, which in July 2011 became the 193rd member state of the United Nations (UN), are among only eight countries that are not party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). With 188 states parties, the Convention is one of the most successful international treaties and with the 3rd Five-Year Review Conference of the Convention scheduled for April 2013, the time for action has come. Angola, like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, Somalia, South Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic, has not even signed the Treaty. Israel and Burma have signed but not ratified.

ISS Today: Progress on a Chemical Weapons-free World

Amelia Broodryk, Researcher, Arms Management Programme, ISS Pretoria Office - 29 November 2011

From 28 November to 3 December, States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction or Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) will meet for the 16th annual Conference of States Parties (CSP) in The Hague. The CWC was adopted in 1992 and is the only convention in the world today that eliminates an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.

African participation in the CWC is high, with 50 States Parties representing the continent and only three states (Angola, Egypt and Somalia) that are still non-signatories. The high level of participation can be attributed to the active involvement of the Convention’s implementation body, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the formation of the ‘African Group’. The OPCW Technical Secretariat engages with African States Parties through its Programme for Africa, which focuses on promoting economic, scientific, and technological development through its various projects, particularly in the field of international co-operation. The future of the Africa Programme has been included as a main agenda item for the 2011 CSP.

4th OPCW Basic Course for African National Authorities Held in Ethiopia

The National Authority of Ethiopia and the OPCW jointly organised a basic course for personnel of National Authorities in Africa who are involved in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The course was held in Addis Ababa from 5 to 9 September 2011 and attended by 29 participants from 25 States Parties*.

This year’s Basic Course was the fourth to be held by the OPCW for the Africa region and was organised under the auspices of the OPCW Programme to Strengthen Cooperation with Africa (“Africa Programme”). The aim is to enhance the capacity of participating National Authorities to implement the CWC and to promote closer cooperation between National Authorities at the regional and sub-regional levels.

“I firmly believe that this training course will improve the work of National Authorities for the effective implementation of the Convention,” stated the Hon. Ato Tadesse Haile, State Minister for Industry at the Ethiopian Ministry of Industry, in opening remarks delivered on his behalf. He commended the OPCW Technical Secretariat for the support it provides through programmes “which are directly relevant to our needs and priorities.” and stressed that the Basic Course helps to enhance the capacity of member states to implement the Convention.

The course covered the history of the development and use of chemical weapons; an overview of the CWC and the OPCW; the rights and obligations of States Parties; the establishment and effective functioning of National Authorities; the declarations and verification regimes of the CWC; the transfer provisions relating to import and export of Scheduled Chemicals; and the OPCW’s international cooperation and assistance programmes including promotion of the peaceful uses of chemistry.

It also offered an opportunity for bilateral consultations between the participants and Technical Secretariat staff, and for participants to share updates on the progress made and challenges encountered by their National Authorities in implementing the Convention.

* Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Sao Tome & Principe, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Source: http://www.opcw.org/news/article/4th-opcw-basic-course-for-african-national-authorities-held-in-ethiopia/

9th Regional Meeting of African National Authorities Held in Ghana

The Government of the Republic of Ghana and the OPCW co-hosted the meeting from 26 to 28 July 2011 in Accra, with 60 participants from 27 States Parties* present together with a representative of the African Union (AU) Commission.

In her opening statement Ms. Sherry Ayittey, the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology and Chairperson of the National Authority of Ghana, challenged the participants to “seize the opportunity to find common solutions to existing and emerging challenges they are confronted with in their respective jurisdictions.”

H.E. Mrs Grace Asirwatham, Deputy Director-General of the OPCW, noted several positive developments on the African continent in recent years. She said many States Parties in the region have demonstrated a new commitment and revived their efforts to ensure the speedy adoption of national implementing legislation and other obligations – a development partly spurred on, she added, by the OPCW’s Programme to Strengthen Cooperation with Africa. The Programme was launched in 2007, and due to the progress made it has been extended for an additional 3-year period.

In a statement read on its behalf, the AU Commission noted that unlike other forms of weapons of mass destruction, chemical weapons can be more easily produced and are of particular risk in the hands of terrorists. Ensuring their complete elimination therefore requires concerted action at the national, regional, continental and global levels. The Commission welcomed further engagement with the OPCW in line with the AU’s firm commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In addition to discussing issues related to implementation of the Convention in the region, the meeting serves as a forum for States Parties to exchange information, present their needs for assistance, and indicate which forms of assistance they can offer to other States Parties.

* Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia.

OPCW Council Worried About Libyan Chemical Arsenal

Source: OPCW website

The Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons last week voiced worries about the protections surrounding a cache of Libyan mustard blister agent and about Tripoli's plans to destroy the material as previously promised (see GSN, May 4).

"I have reminded the Libyan government of its international obligation to meet its destruction deadlines, and I have also reiterated to the [Libyan] National Authority that the responsibility for the physical security of those chemical weapons rests entirely with the Libyan Government," OPCW chief Ahmet Üzümcü said in opening remarks for last week's session of the 41-state council.

Libya is thought to have eliminated more than half of its chemical stockpile, leaving some 9.5 metric tons of mustard agent and a quantity of precursor materials that have yet to be destroyed as mandated by the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The Executive Council gave its "full support for the actions being undertaken by the director general in view of the situation, and encouraged him to continue his efforts," according to an OPCW press release.

The organization added: "The Executive Council, while noting the assurances given by the Libyan representative, urged Libya to ensure the security of the chemical weapons stockpiles and their destruction within the established deadlines."

Tripoli is required to complete destruction of the mustard stock by May 15 and to finish off the precursor material by December 31.

International observers and Libyan rebel leaders have expressed concern that embattled dictator Muammar Qadhafi might try to use the blister agent against opposition forces. Thousands of empty aerial munitions were previously destroyed, seemingly eliminating the regime's ability to mount a chemical air attack (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons release, May 6).

Source: http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20110509_9563.php

Seminar on the OPCW’s Contribution to Security and Non-Proliferation of Chemical Weapons

On 11 and 12 April 2011, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) hosted a seminar on the Organisation's contribution to Security and Non-Proliferation at the OPCW Headquarters.  The key focus of the seminar was on "how the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) can contribute to the international objectives of achieving security and non-proliferation with regard to toxic chemicals, and how the OPCW’s role as a forum for international cooperation can be strengthened".

The seminar also raised issues of "how to adapt the OPCW to changing realities so that its verification and implementation measures under the CWC continue to help prevent the re-emergence of chemical weapons. The completion of destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles in the coming years will shift the global focus from disarmament to preventing the recurrence of chemical warfare in any form".

African presentations:   

• Ms Amelia Broodryk, Institute for Security Studies, South Africa
• Mr Shimelis Wolde, Head, National Authority Ethiopia

Source: http://www.opcw.org/news/article/seminar-on-the-opcws-contribution-to-security-and-non-proliferation-of-chemical-weapons-concludes/