The OPCW Director General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, visited Tunis on 14 and 15 October 2010 where he met with Tunisian Government ministers and participated in the closing ceremony of the ASSISTEX 3 international assistance and protection exercise.
During his visit the Director-General met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr Kamel Morjane, and the Minister of National Defense, H.E. Mr Ridha Grira; and with H.E. Mr Samir Labidi, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Physical Education. In his meetings with the ministers he provided an update on the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and expressed his appreciation for Tunisia’s firm commitment to the CWC and support for the work of the OPCW.
At the sport complex in Rades where ASSISTEX 3 was staged, the Director-General reviewed a display of the equipment used by participating national teams together with a commercial exhibition of equipment for protection against chemical weapons. He then participated in the closing ceremony with H.E. Mrs Saida Chtioui, Tunisia’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and H.E. Mr Vaidotas Verba, Chairman of the Conference of the States Parties to the CWC.
Director-General Üzümcü expressed his appreciation to the Tunisian authorities for hosting ASSISTEX 3, and to the other participating OPCW States Parties*, the regional teams from North, West and East Africa and the Caribbean, and the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), for their active participation. Noting that the threats associated with use of chemical weapons by non-state actors have created increased interest in the OPCW’s coordination of emergency assistance to States Parties, he stressed that the Organisation must maintain a state of readiness to respond to requests for assistance in a timely and efficient manner, including provision of emergency assistance and coordination with various agencies in the field.
The Director-General further noted that ASSISTEX 3 was the first such exercise held outside Europe, and for the first time that it combined a mock investigation of alleged use of chemical weapons with an assistance and protection exercise. He stated that ASSISTEX 3 had enabled the OPCW to test the scope of its cooperation and coordination with other organisations, local emergency management authorities and emergency response units, and that participating teams had the opportunity to test their own mandates and procedures.
The Director-General said that the Technical Secretariat will carry out a comprehensive evaluation of ASSISTEX 3 and its performance, and based on the results achieved and the lessons learned, a follow-up plan will be drawn up and implemented in the coming months.
* Denmark, France, India, Italy, Libya, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom
OPCW NEWS 33/2010 THE HAGUE, 18 OCTOBER 2010