Participants at the Workshop on Needs Assessment and Best Practices on Chemical Safety and Security Management in Riga, Republic of Latvia, Held from 13 to 15 December 2016.
Continuing their efforts to capture the Member States’ needs and best practices in chemical safety and security management, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the US Department of State organised an international Workshop on Needs Assessment and Best Practices on Chemical Safety and Security Management in Riga, Republic of Latvia, from 13-15 December 2016.
Thirty representatives of government agencies, chemical industries, academia and other stakeholders attended the workshop, and shared their experiences and initiatives in this field.
In her opening address, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Ilze Ruse, highlighted the growing concern about the misuse of chemicals, especially by non-state actors. She further noted: “Chemical safety and security are critical for the promotion of chemistry for peaceful purposes. We have to support sharing of best practices as a way of enhancing all Member States’ capacities in this field.”
Head of OPCW’s International Cooperation Branch, Ms Xiaohui Wu, underlined that “chemical safety and security possess a wider human, economic and environmental dimensions, which are also crucial for the peaceful application of chemistry”.
Workshop participants examined various components of chemical safety and security management, including trends and challenges, threats assessments and mitigation measures, gaps in chemical safety and security management, and efforts to build safety and security culture in the chemical supply chain. Attendees also visited JSC Grindeks chemical plant to take a glimpse at the practical application of chemical safety and security management procedures in the Latvian chemical industry.
Conclusions from the workshop will constitute an addendum to the recently published report titled Needs and Best Practices on Chemical Safety and Security Management. The publication – envisaged as a first in a series – covers the needs, guidance, tools and best practices in chemical safety and security management shared by sixteen OPCW Member States. The OPCW encouraged more countries to contribute information to future reports.
Attendees of the workshop represented the following states: Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Tunisia, United States of America and Vietnam.
Background
At its Sixteenth Session, the Conference of the States Parties adopted a decision (C 16/DEC.10, dated 1 December, 2011) tasking the States Parties and OPCW’s Technical Secretariat to “conduct, based on input from National Authorities and relevant stakeholders, a needs assessment on tools and guidance that would be helpful for promoting chemical safety and security.”
Subsequently, the Technical Secretariat invited Member States to provide information about the tools and practices in chemical safety and security management. Sixteen State Parties responded to the invitation, including: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chile, Cuba, Germany, Latvia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Peru, Panama, Sri Lanka, Sudan, United Kingdom, United States of America and Yemen.
Successive reports will include additional Member States’ responses.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997 – with its 192 States Parties – it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
To date, nearly 94 per cent of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared by possessor States have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Prize for Peace.