Participants at the International Training for National Authorities in Receiving CWC Inspections, which was held in The Hague from 9 to 12 September 2014.
The OPCW and the National Authority of the Kingdom of The Netherlands co-organised a 4-day training course for personnel of National Authorities involved in receiving inspections under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which was held from 9 to 12 September 2014 at OPCW headquarters in The Hague. The course was attended by 21 participants from 18 States Parties.*
The training covered the role of National Authorities in implementing the Article VI verification regime of the CWC and related inspections; identification of declarable chemical industry activities and of Discrete Organic Chemicals (DOC); preparing for inspections and pre-inspection on-site activities; the conduct of an inspection; and report writing and post-inspection activities, inter alia. There were also practical, hands-on sessions on inspections, report writing, drafting technical descriptions, and records review, as well as a visit to the OPCW Laboratory and Equipment Store.
The course enables States Parties that are planning national trainings for escorts who accompany OPCW inspectors during inspections, as well as national inspectors, to gain the necessary knowledge and expertise to organise a CWC inspection. This year’s course included role play by the participants on conducting a mock inspection and was held at Huntsman B.V., a DOC plant in Rotterdam.
* Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Turkey and Ukraine.