The Open-Ended Working Group on Terrorism (OEWG) held a meeting on 25 March 2009 in the OPCW Technical Secretariat with Dr. Abdulrahman Alhadlaq, General Director of the Ideological Security Directorate, Ministry of Interior of Saudi Arabia, and Mr. Mohamed Almatrafi, Secretary of the Saudi National Authority for the Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, featured as guest speakers.
The OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, opened the meeting by recalling the recommendations of the Second Review Conference on the OPCW’s response to terrorism. He underlined that the OEWG meeting continues an established practice of sharing regional experiences in the field of countering terrorism potentially involving weapons of mass destruction, especially chemical weapons, and stressed the value of the OPCW’s existing cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
The OEWG facilitator, Mrs Annie-Claire Mari, recapitulated the role and responsibilities of the OEWG, reviewed its activities and their relevance to the Second Review Conference recommendations. She also provided information on upcoming events in the field of counter-terrorism.
The guest speakers from Saudi Arabia outlined the national measures which the Kingdom has taken to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), focussing on the areas of non-proliferation of toxic chemicals and counter-terrorism. Mr Almatrafi provided a detailed overview of the legislation, regulations and administrative structure that Saudi Arabia has put into place to implement the Convention. Dr Alhadlaq gave a presentation on Saudi Arabia’s wide range of programmes related to countering the threat of terrorism.
The OEWG was established by decision of the 27th Session of the Executive Council in December 2001 to examine further the OPCW’s contribution to global anti-terrorism efforts.
OPCW News 12/2009