Call for Nominations for the Eighth Regional Assistance-and-Protection Course for Asian States Parties

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Director-General wishes to invite States Parties in Asia to nominate representatives to participate in the Eighth Regional Assistance-and-Protection Course for Asian States Parties, which will take place from 25 to 29 June 2012 in Seoul, the Republic of Korea.

The course, which will be jointly organised by the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Technical Secretariat (hereinafter “the Secretariat”), will provide training to up to 20 participants in planning for, and building a support team for, civil protection, civil defence, and decontamination operations in contaminated areas, as well as in appropriate responses and countermeasures in the event of incidents involving chemical-warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals. The course will give an overview of what kind of assistance the OPCW, the host country, and the Member States in Asia can provide, and will assist participating States Parties in establishing a basic capability in protection from chemical weapons, which will directly benefit their civilian populations.

The course will also offer a basic introduction to the use of individual and collective protective equipment, and to monitoring, detection, and decontamination techniques. Participants completing the basic course will acquire a general knowledge of chemical-warfare agents, of individual protective equipment, and of detection and decontamination equipment, as well as an understanding of how all of the equipment is to be used. The course will also facilitate the exchange of information and experience regarding the implementation of Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (hereinafter “the Convention”), and will provide a forum for the discussion of future cooperation among participating Member States and of what further offers they might make to the OPCW under Article X. The course will conclude with a practical emergency-response exercise.