The Hague, 09 October 2002

The Fourth Annual Meeting of National Authorities

The fourth annual meeting of National Authorities took place at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons headquarters, in the Hague, from 4 to 6 October, 2002. Over 80 National Authorities had registered to attend this annual session. The meeting was organised to enable National Authorities personnel an opportunity to focus on issues relating to the national implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The main purpose is to increase national capacities to comply with the obligations under the Convention. A National Authority is established by a State Party, to serve as the national focal point for effective liaison with the Organisation and other States Parties. It is also involved with developing national legislative and administrative measures for the effective implementation of the provisions of the CWC.

The Director-General of the Technical Secretariat, Mr Rogelio Pfirter, in his opening address to the Conference spoke about the political significance of this meeting “…You have come from all over the world; amongst you there are representatives of States Parties who are working hard to destroy their CW stockpiles and to destroy or convert the Chemical Weapons Production Facilities which they possess. There are also representatives of States Parties that possess large chemical industries, while some others, grapple with the issue of old or abandoned chemical weapons. Many of you, indeed the vast majority, however, do not belong to any of the previously mentioned cases but still, all demonstrate your countries' commitment to the successful implementation of this extraordinary international treaty that is the Chemical Weapons Convention. This augurs well for the future and is indeed very invigorating.”

Mr Rogelio Pfirter spoke on developing regional perspectives for implementing the CWC. Many States Parties are part of regional and sub-regional agreements, that have sensitive and complex issues on chemicals to cope with, including legislation, transfers and customs that are relevant to the proper implementation of the CWC.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for bilateral consultations between National Authority personnel from all regions of the world and the staff of the Secretariat. The discussion also focused on possible new measures designed to ensure effective national enforcement of the Convention in all States Parties. The National Authorities of Brazil, Slovakia and The Sudan - which hosted OPCW events in 2002 - reported on steps taken in their countries and regions to strengthen procedures for national implementation.

The right to request and receive assistance and protection by all States Parties, against the use or threat of use of chemical weapons, was also discussed. A presentation on the ASSISTEX 1 exercise in Zadar, Croatia that took place from 10 to 14 September 2002, provided information on the level of preparedness within the Organisation, to deliver effective and timely assistance to States Parties that faced the threat of use or had been attacked by chemical weapons. It also dealt with the ways and means to improve State Parties’ compliance with the provisions of the CWC. The objective was to increase the awareness of National Authorities on the Assistance and Protection provisions of the Convention that provided support to requesting States Parties in the event of a possible chemical attack.

National Authority representatives identified areas to improve their work and develop their cooperation. They agreed that sustained implementation support was of essence to the vast majority of them to improve their performance and in that context, attributed particular importance to the Annual Meetings of National Authorities. They exchanged their experiences on specific implementation related issues including the quality of the data to be submitted to the Organisation in declarations required by the Convention. The participants underlined the need to strengthen the process of regional consultations. Panama, Czech Republic offered to host in 2003 the respective regional meetings of National Authorities. Singapore, on its part, offered to host the first regional National Authority in Asia. The Western European and Others Group (WEOG) announced that a meeting would be organised in 2003.

Participants were also briefed by the Secretariat on issues on the agenda of the Seventh session of the Conference of the States Parties and on the ongoing preparations for the First Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention scheduled for 2003.