Participants of the 19th edition of Internship Programme for Legal Drafters and National Authority Representatives
THE HAGUE, the Netherlands —7 August 2018—Guinea and Chad have made another step towards the full implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) by developing their national legislations, during the 19th edition of Internship Programme for Legal Drafters and National Authority Representatives, held in The Hague from 6 – 10 August.
The Internship Programme enhances the understanding of the goal of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and assists relevant OPCW Member States in drafting national implementing legislation. This year’s agenda covers a range of topics, including legal requirements under the CWC, legal issues related to national implementation, initial and annual declarations to the OPCW, and the role of national implementing legislation in preventing chemical terrorism.
At the end of the Programme, each delegation is expected to complete its draft implementing legislation, as well as a comprehensive National Action Plan with a timeline for the adoption of the draft bills.
Background
Since its launch in 2012, the Internship Programme has benefited 37 States Parties to the CWC. Among these, Cape Verde, Grenada, Panama, Paraguay, Uganda and Lao People’s Democratic Republic have successfully enacted national legislation, while others are at various stages of the adoption process.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
Over 96 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.