With the notification of the designation of the National Authority of Congo, the number of National Authorities has risen to 179.
Extract from the opening statement by the OPCW Director-General to the Executive Council at its 56th session.
Implementation support
During the reporting period, various activities have also been carried out in the field of implementation support. A subregional training course for customs authorities in East and Southern Africa on the technical aspects of the transfers regime of the Convention was held under the Africa Programme and with the financial support from the Netherlands and Norway, in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, at the beginning of March.
A national training course for customs officials from the Revenue Authority of Malawi, also on the technical aspects of the transfers regime of the Convention took place in Blantyre, Malawi, in the same period, and the Technical Secretariat also participated in the fifth Green Customs Initiative Partners Meeting, held on 26 and 27 January 2009 in Brussels, Belgium.
From 23 to 27 March, the Technical Secretariat, in cooperation with the National Authority of France, organised a basic training course for National Authorities from all five regional groups. I thank France for this highly successful course, which was attended by 25 participants, as well as for its valuable support of other activities.
A technical assistance visit to the Kingdom of Bhutan on 13 and 14 April was organised with the aim of raising awareness among key stakeholders regarding the national implementing legislation in accordance with the requirements under Article VII of the Convention. This visit was the first in a series to be undertaken by the Technical Secretariat in support of grants made to States Parties under the 2007 European Union Joint Action.
I also wish to inform you that in the area of implementation support, the Technical Secretariat is currently in the advanced stages of preparation for a regional workshop for customs authorities in Asia on the technical aspects of the transfers regime of the Convention, which is to be held in Hong Kong from 10 to 12 June 2009, with the gracious cooperation of the Chinese government and the Hong Kong authorities. Through this workshop, the Technical Secretariat hopes to sensitise senior customs officials to the requirements of the transfer provisions of the Convention and thereby supplement ongoing efforts to train mid-level and operational-level customs officials through the subregional training courses offered in Asia. The workshop will also provide the Technical Secretariat with the opportunity to highlight the need for closer interaction between National Authorities, customs and port authorities to monitor trade in chemicals.
On 22 and 23 June 2009, the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina will organise, with the support of the Technical Secretariat, an international seminar on national implementation of non-proliferation obligations, highlighting the OPCW as an example of effective assistance in national implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. An invitation Note for the seminar has already been issued. Representatives from various international organisations, the chemical industry, and academia are also invited to attend this seminar, which will build on the results and recommendations of the Second Review Conference.
Implementation of Article VII
With the notification of the designation of the National Authority of Congo, the number of National Authorities has risen to 179. There remain, therefore, seven States Parties that have not yet notified the OPCW of the designation of their National Authority.
Indonesia has provided information to the effect that its implementing legislation covers all key areas. Three further States Parties—Belgium, Burundi, and Liberia— have informed the Secretariat of the entry into force of their parliamentary implementing legislation.