The OPCW conducted a training course from 14 to 16 October 2014 at the Technical Secretariat in The Hague for representatives of National Authorities involved in fulfilling Article VI declaration requirements of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The course aimed to enhance their capacity to comply more effectively with Article VI provisions and was attended by 29 representatives from 27 States Parties.*
In introducing the course, Mark Albon, Director of the OPCW’s International Cooperation and Assistance Division (ICA), highlighted the need for National Authorities to make accurate and complete declarations to the OPCW in a timely manner. He cited several useful tools that OPCW has developed for this purpose, including the Electronic Declarations tool for National Authorities (EDNA) and the new Secure Information Exchange (SIX) system, to improve the efficiency of transmitting declarations and other related documents.
The course consisted of presentations and hands-on practical exercises. It covered, inter alia, Article VI declarations requirements; related key decisions taken by the Executive Council and Conference of the States Parties; chemicals to be monitored under the Convention; common problems in making Article VI declarations; and exercises for identifying declarable activities and completing the declaration forms. The course also included a demonstration of the EDNA software and a brief introduction to the SIX system.
* Algeria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Jordan, Latvia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.