THE HAGUE, Netherlands—2 August 2023—The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held its 24thRegional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Latin America and the Caribbean from 4 to 6 July 2023 in Brasilia, Brazil.
The meeting provided National Authorities from State Parties in the region with the opportunity to share views, experiences, best practices and regional priorities related to the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
States Parties’ obligations and rights in connection to Articles VI, VII, X, and XI of the Convention were clarified along with opportunities for relevant capacity building support offered by the OPCW Technical Secretariat. The constructive and forward-looking discussions among Latin American and Caribbean countries and the Secretariat generated new momentum for knowledge exchange and regional collaboration. The outcome of these discussions will inform the design of support activities that seek to address the specific CWC-related needs of the region.
Several States Parties expressed their desire to participate in the Mentorship/ Partnership Programme and they were informed about modalities and conditions to avail themselves of this type of support.
States Parties elected Paraguay and Ecuador as the new Regional Coordinators for the coming 24 months, piloting a bi-national coordination approach. The next meeting of the Regional Authorities of the Latin American and Caribbean Group countries will be held in Asunción, Paraguay in 2024, followed by a meeting in Quito, Ecuador in 2025.
The event was attended by 52 participants representing the 26 OPCW Member States of the Latin American and Caribbean Group: Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).
Background
Article VI of the Convention covers “activities not prohibited under this Convention”, otherwise known as the non-proliferation or industry verification regime.
Article VII of the Convention covers national implementation of the Convention and requires each State Party to enact implementing legislation at the national level.
Article X of the Convention provides for assistance and protection to a State Party if it is attacked or threatened with attack by chemical weapons.
Article XI of the Convention provides international cooperation for the economic and technological development of States Parties.
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.
All declared chemical weapons stockpiles were destroyed under OPCW verification. The United States was the last possessor State and completed the destruction of its declared chemical weapons stockpile on 7 July 2023. The OPCW observed the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpiles declared by all State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and confirmed on 7 July 2023 that all declared chemical weapons stockpiles were verified as irreversibly destroyed.
For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.