Participants at the Seventeenth Annual Meeting of National Authorities
The Seventeenth Annual Meeting of National Authorities was successfully held at the OPCW headquarters in The Hague from 27 to 29 November 2015. More than 200 participants from 123 States Parties attended, representing all regional groups and regional organisations.
OPCW Director-General Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, in his opening remarks, highlighted that the Organisation is undergoing a historic transition from destruction of chemical weapons to prevention of their re-emergence, and emphasized a frontline role that the National Authorities play in this regard. He noted the progress in achieving the universal adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and welcomed Angola and Myanmar as the most recent State Parties. He mentioned the success of the legislative assistance and capacity building programmes provided by the OPCW Technical Secretariat and underscored the importance of feedback to the Secretariat by National Authorities. He also stressed the need to expand and strengthen engagement with the academia, chemical industry and scientific community for a full and effective implementation of the Convention.
The meeting had an extensive agenda, covering important recent developments related to the implementation of the Convention. The participants divided into groups focusing on effective declarations and inspections, national implementation through CWC Articles VII, X and XI, and education and outreach. The participants also had an opportunity to meet in regional groups to discuss ways to foster sub-regional and regional cooperation for effective implementation of the Convention.
The meeting provided an excellent opportunity for networking among the National Authorities around the world, and for effective interaction with the OPCW Technical Secretariat. It also generated several important ideas and recommendations which will be further considered for implementation by the Organisation and the States Parties.