Regional Training Course on the Technical Aspects of the Transfers Regime of the CWC Held in Jamaica

The OPCW and the National Authority of Jamaica jointly organised a training course for customs officers of the States Parties in Latin America and the Caribbean on the technical aspects of the transfer regime of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) from 26 to 29 October 2015 in Kingston. The course was held in collaboration with the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and attended by 31 participants from 19 States Parties* and a representative of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

The course, designed in cooperation with the WCO, comprised a combination of presentations, practical exercises and group discussions. Customs officials were trained in detecting and identifying of scheduled chemicals, and had the opportunities to discuss and exchange experiences and good practices in controlling trade in chemicals and reporting on imports and exports. The course was conducive to reinforcing sub-regional cooperation between the customs of the represented States Parties which would contribute to the effective implementation of the CWC.

Participants were familiarized with the OPCW tools of identification of CWC Scheduled chemicals such as the Handbook on Chemicals, the On-line Scheduled Chemicals Database, the OPCW Central Analytical Database, the Brochure on Most Traded Scheduled Chemicals and other relevant sources of information.

The participants also visited the port facilities in Kingston, which provided the good opportunity for an exposure to actual practices and exchange of experience with the operators.

* Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, and Uruguay.