The National Authority of the Kingdom of Spain and the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW jointly organised an advanced training course for personnel from National Authorities of States Parties in Latin America and the Caribbean on preparing electronic declarations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The course was conducted from 19 to 23 July 2010 in Madrid, with representatives from 23 States Parties* participating.
The course was opened by Mrs. Nieves Gomez Sainz de Aja, Secretary-General of the National Authority of Spain. Mrs Gomez emphasised the importance of the CWC verification regime and cited the useful role which the Electronic Declarations tool for National Authorities (EDNA) can play in assisting States Parties to use a standardised format for preparing and submitting declarations, one of the two pillars of the verification regime. She added that EDNA can also contribute to improving the processing and handling of the information received by the Technical Secretariat.
The programme of the course focused on the preparation of electronic declarations under Article VI of the Convention using the most recent version of EDNA software, 2.1. Information was provided on the different aspects of the verification regime including the Verification Information System (VIS), and on tools that have been designed to assist States Parties in preparing their declarations such as the Declarations Handbook, Handbook on Chemicals and the online chemicals database. The programme used both presentations and hands-on exercises that balanced theory with practice.
The advanced training on EDNA was the sixth in a series of courses for States Parties in Latin America and the Caribbean aimed at enhancing their capacity to implement more effectively the provisions of Article VI of the Convention. The course was funded by the European Union under Council Decision 2009.
* Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay
OPCW NEWS 21/2010 THE HAGUE, 22 JULY 2010