Representatives of custom training institutions from member states at the pilot training course on the transfer regime of the CWC, The Hague
From 26-28 July 2016, representatives of customs training institutions from member states of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) took part in a pilot training course on the transfer regime of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) at OPCW Headquarters. The course, which was co-organized with the World Customs Organisation (WCO), is designed to assist the overhauling of respective national curricula with the goal of improving the national implementation of the CWC transfer regime.
In his opening remarks, OPCW Deputy Director-General Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao said that “with this training course, we aim to improve knowledge management and enforcement of the CWC transfers regime by addressing institutions rather than individuals.” He further emphasised the role of customs addressing the challenges posed by non-state actors and outlined the OPCW’s contributions to the international struggle against chemical terrorism.
The security aspect of customs’ operations was emphasised by Hugo German, WCO’s Security Programme Coordinator, who remarked that “by adopting the Punta Cana Resolution last December, the WCO encouraged customs authorities around the globe to include security issues as part of their mandate and functions.”
The course was designed to target customs training institutions from 11 States Parties* representing all five of OPCW’s geographic regions. Representatives of National Authorities also took part in the course, which provided introductions to the nuances of the customs’ work related to the implementation of the Convention, and opportunities to build stronger partnerships with customs authorities as key stakeholders in CWC implementation.
Participants were advised as to how to update information on the CWC transfers regime and improve methods of identification and reporting for imports and exports of scheduled chemicals. They also took the opportunity to develop respective national plans of action for the introduction of the CWC modules into their curricula. The proposed plans with provisional timelines for implementation were submitted to the Technical Secretariat, who will work with the relevant National Authorities on an individual basis in order to best aid in their successful execution. The outcome of the training course, as well as the progress made in implementing plans of action, will be presented and discussed during the upcoming meeting of the National Authorities on 23 – 25 November 2016.
Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Namibia and The Netherlands.