The Government of Spain and the OPCW jointly organised for States Parties in the Latin American and Caribbean region, a basic training course on assistance and protection against chemical weapons. The course was conducted from 17 to 26 October 2011 at the Centre for Higher National Defence Studies (CESEDEN) in Madrid, Spain. Eighteen experts from national emergency-response agencies who are involved in dealing with chemical-related incidents from 15 States Parties* participated.
This course is related to the offer made by Spain under Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention to provide assistance and protection against chemical weapons. It provided training to participants in planning for and building a support team in civilian protection and rescue operations in contaminated areas, as well as in appropriate responses, including countermeasures, in the event of incidents involving chemical-warfare agents.
The course offered a basic introduction to the use of individual protective equipment, and to monitoring, detection, and decontamination. It also facilitated the exchange of information and experiences regarding the implementation of Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and provided a forum for the discussion of future cooperation among States Parties and of what further offers they might make to the OPCW under Article X. The course concluded with a practical emergency-response exercise.
* Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts, and Venezuela.