Participants during a Regional Pilot Workshop held in Lima, Peru
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — 19 September 2019 — Experts from States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) from the Latin America and Caribbean Region built regional capacity to identify risks and develop national protection programmes in accordance with Article X of the Convention during a Regional Pilot Workshop held in Lima, Peru, from 9 to 13 September 2019.
In her opening remarks, OPCW Deputy Director-General, Ambassador Odette Melono underscored the importance of the programme in building effective chemical incident response capacity and for sharing of best practices and experiences. “Prevention is of course the first line of defence, but preparations to deal with the consequences of an incident are essential to ensuring that States Parties’ response measures will be effective.”
In his opening remarks, Minister Counsellor Mr Agustin de Madalengoitia stated “relevant training and information exchange among States Parties in the field of assistance and protection under Article X is of utmost importance to ensure regional response capabilities”
During the workshop participants learned how to identify and assess chemical risks and gained the requisite tools and knowledge to assist local authorities in developing National Protection Programs (NPP).
Participants also analysed security challenges, and shared current regional best practices and recommendations.
The Workshop was co-organised by the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW and Peru’s National Authority to the CWC (CONAPAQ), with the assistance from the Peruvian Centre of Chemical Information (CINQUI), and was financed by voluntary contributions from Germany.
Representatives of the following OPCW Member States participated in the workshop: Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Background
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 97% 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 Peace Prize.
More Information
- Article X
- Article X Workshops
- OPCW Deputy Director-General Visits Peru
- Opening Remarks by Deputy Director-General of the OPCW, Ms Odette Melono, at the Regional Pilot Workshop on National Protective Programmes against Chemical Weapons for GRULAC States Parties
- International Cooperation and Assistance at the OPCW