The Government of the Republic of Cameroon and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) co-hosted the Fifth Regional Meeting of African National Authorities in Yaoundé, Cameroon on 18 and 19 October 2007. The meeting was attended by 35 participants from 24 African States Parties.
In his message to the meeting, H.E. Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, OPCW Director-General, thanked the Government of Cameroon for co-hosting this important meeting. Referring to the OPCW Technical Secretariat’s recent initiative in developing a programme to strengthen cooperation with Africa, Director-General Pfirter said that “the purpose of the programme is to provide additional support for national implementation and capacity building activities in African States Parties through programmes that increase African participation and through new activities that have a distinctly African focus”.
Director-General Pfirter noting the progress made towards universality in Africa said that “there are only five non-States Parties – Angola, Congo (Brazzaville), Egypt, Guinea-Bissau and Somalia. Contact with the authorities in these States not Party has been established and I am confident that they will join the OPCW family at an early date. To that end, it is important that we can rely on the support and cooperation of those who know the region best to use their relations with the States not Party to achieve this objective”.
Referring to the 10th anniversary of the Entry into Force of the Convention, Director-General Pfirter in his message stated, “As Director-General of the OPCW, I am happy to say that the Organisation is on a sound footing and is working harmoniously and in a cooperative manner with all its Member States to achieve its objectives in the second decade of its existence”.
Opening the meeting, Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, Minister Delegate in the Ministry of External Relations said that “we can only applaud the recent initiative taken by the Director-General to put in place a special programme for Africa. We are counting on the dynamism of the OPCW to mobilise the resources required to implement this excellent programme”. Dr Ngute further said that “one should highlight the fact that the Convention is at a decisive turning point bearing in mind the Second Review Conference which will take place in The Hague from 7 to 18 April 2008. This is an opportunity for Africa to reaffirm its commitment to the realisation of the purpose and objective of the Convention while at the same time adopting the necessary measures aimed at guaranteeing its universality, implementing the consultation mechanisms and reinforcing its cooperation with the OPCW”.
The meeting served as a forum in which States Parties in the region presented their needs for assistance and indicated which forms of assistance they could offer to other States Parties. It also provided an opportunity to discuss issues relating to the identification of declarable Article VI activities and enhancing the quality of the declarations submitted by States Parties, as well as the role of custom authorities in carrying out the import and export provisions of the Convention. Bilateral consultations with participating States Parties also took place, during which assistance and guidance on the drafts of national legislation was provided.
PR116/2007