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OPCW Implementation Support Branch | Training of personnel | Cooperation between National Authorities | Identification of assistance under Article X | Network of Legal Experts
Created in December 2000 within the ICA Division, the Implementation Support Branch (IPB) is mandated to:
The objectives of the above mentioned mandate are, inter alia, to support States Parties in their implementation efforts, build the capacity of National Authorities and contribute to the reliability of the compliance mechanism and to the achievement of universality.
To fulfil its mandate the Branch designs and organises all related workshops and training projects, and outreach activities to respond to the new tasks and challenges of the implementation process.
IPB programmes include:
National Authority training courses are organised at the basic and advanced levels with an average frequency of 2 per year. The average participation is of approximately 25 participants per course. Participants are selected from all regional groups. Courses are held in the OPCW premises in The Hague, the Netherlands.
National Authority Days have been yearly events since 1999. Their structure has been evolving over the years 2000 and 2001when the National Authority Days have been preceded by thematic workshops devoted to Customs and Legal related issues respectively. The meetings are usually divided into three segments: general/ informative, regional consultations and bilateral contacts with the Secretariat. In 2001, 132 representatives of 80 National Authorities (38 of them sponsored) participated in the National Authority Day. A total of 51 bilateral contacts between 29 States Parties and the following OPCW Divisions took place: Verification, Inspectorate, the Office of the Legal Adviser, External Relations, and International Cooperation and Assistance as well as the Offices of Special Projects and of Security and Confidentiality.
The National Authority Day has proven to be an effective way to promote cooperation among National Authorities to find solutions to implementation related issues and to promote OPCW projects through National Authority involvement, interaction and networking.
Regional National Authority meetings have proven their usefulness in the Secretariat’s effort to target implementation support programmes and to develop useful regional synergies. Regional National Authority meetings are working sessions designed to boost implementation; they are, in their object and purpose, different from IPB’s training programmes.
Two such meetings have so far been held in Latin America, and preparations are under way for the first such meeting to take place in Eastern Europe. Efforts are being made to extend this experience still further to other regions that have already expressed their interest in receiving Secretariat support to host similar events.
Thematic workshops on priority implementation issues are organised by the Secretariat as part of its implementation support projects to develop the understanding by National Authorities of complex issues related to CWC implementation. So far, two thematic workshops proceeded the National Authority Days of 2000 and 2001 as indicated above. New thematic workshops in the making to debate issues such as those related to industry.
National seminars are organised by the Secretariat upon the request of States Parties. They provide on site training and "hands on" assistance to National Authorities. The last such National seminar took place in Kenya in October 2001, and other States Parties have already expressed their interest to benefit from this programme.
Networks of experts are composed of experts from the Secretariat and States Parties. Such networks are designed provide assistance to States Parties upon request. Two fields of action have been so far the object of this project: declarations and legal issues.
National Authority information packages are designed to provide useful tools to facilitate the work of the National Authorities. Information Package No. 1 was issued on a CD-ROM in 2001. It contained a compilation of OPCW official documents, reference material, handbooks, and other materials, which are most frequently used by National Authorities in their day-to-day activities. That information package was issued in all the OPCW languages. A CD-ROM based Information Package No. 2 is currently under development. It will contain the materials of the 2001 Basic and Advanced Courses for National Authorities and will be designed as an electronic tool to assist States Parties in the in-house training of national personnel involved in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
OPCW Implementation Support Branch | Training of personnel | Cooperation between National Authorities | Identification of assistance under Article X | Network of Legal Experts