From 19 to 20 July, 2005, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guatemala and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) jointly conducted the Third Sub-Regional Meeting of OPCW National Authorities in Central America. A National Authority is established by every OPCW Member State. They liaise between governments, other Member States’ National Authorities and the OPCW Technical Secretariat to facilitate the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The National Authorities fulfil a vital role in monitoring their national chemical industry and ensuring that the chemical weapons ban can be effectively enforced within their jurisdiction.
The Third Sub-Regional Meeting was opened by H.E. Ambassador Carlos R. Martínez, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala. Representatives from all countries of the sub-region participated in the meeting, including Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. Cuba, the United States of America and Venezuela also sent representatives to the meeting, in addition to participants representing Haiti and Honduras, which are in the final stages of the CWC ratification process and will soon become OPCW Member States.
The OPCW National Authorities in this sub-region initiated these annual meetings three years ago, in order to ensure that their governments can meet the CWC’s stipulations on the enforcement of the chemical weapons ban and the prevention of chemical weapons proliferation. The participants provided detailed briefings on the status of their Governments’ national implementation measures, including measures to monitor chemical transfers by national customs services. The potential benefits of an integrated system of information-sharing on exports and imports of scheduled chemicals among CWC States Parties were also discussed.
Participants stressed the continuing need for implementation support and appreciated the OPCW’s initiatives in this area.
Ms Ana María Cerini, member of the Argentine National Authority and of the Network of Legal Experts, supported the portion of the meeting devoted to national implementing legislation. Panama expressed its interest in hosting the fourth sub-regional meeting of Central American National Authorities to be held in 2006.
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