The Hague, 03 October 2002

Third Course of the OPCW Associate Programme Concluded

The third Associate Programme of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which began on 29 July 2002, concluded today. Twelve trainees from Burundi, Croatia, Eritrea, Fiji Islands, Jordan, Georgia, Moldova, Mozambique, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Sudan completed the programme.

The course focused on facilitating industry-related national implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), enhancing the national capacities in the Member States and broadening the pool of qualified professionals skilled in the implementation of the CWC.

The programme also included access to modern chemical practices during a training period at the University of Surrey (UK), and a three-week industrial training at chemical plants in Belgium, Switzerland and Italy and the Netherlands. The governments of the United Kingdom and Canada provided generous financial support for the training phase at the University of Surrey.

The Associate Programme has brought together Member States, industry, academia and the OPCW Secretariat in a unique partnership, which can be expected to further the process of implementing the Convention.

The Director-General of the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW, Mr Rogelio Pfirter, in his address at the closing ceremony of the Associate Programme noted, “The Associate Programme is one of the key activities of international cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of chemistry and chemical engineering. It aims at the fulfilment of the Convention’s mandate in regard to economic and technological development of the Member States…”

The Director-General further emphasized that promotion of universal adherence to the Convention is one of the main objectives of the Convention. Mr Pfirter remarked that this objective has to be achieved not “merely by increasing membership of the OPCW but also by facilitating international cooperation and national capacity building. Unless the imperatives of global security are combined with benefits in terms of economic and technological development, universality will not be complete and self-sustaining. It is to this end that programmes such as the Associate Programme can contribute by disseminating the benefits of the Convention, thereby motivating the others to join in.”