MA 6: Assistance and Protection Week at the OPCW

ORGANISATION FOR THE PROHIBITION

OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS

Media Advisory

Assistance and Protection Week at the OPCW
The Hague 20-21 November 2002

Under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), all Member States have the right to request assistance and protection if they either perceive a threat of chemical attack, or are actually attacked with chemical weapons. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) organises a workshop annually on protection-related issues at its headquarters in The Hague.

"Civilian Protection" is the theme of the OPCW 2002 Assistance and Protection Week. The workshop-cum-exhibition will be held on 20 and 21 November 2002.

All Member States of the OPCW have committed themselves never to use chemical weapons. Nevertheless, protection remains a critical task. The workshop will discuss means to strengthen each Member State's own capacity to protect their populations against chemical attack.

Companies and research institutions will exhibit state-of-the-art technology for civilian protection, including equipment for chemical weapons detection, protection and decontamination.

Experts from the OPCW's Protection Network will meet from 18 to 19 November 2002. The Protection Network brings together experts in best-practice protection methodologies and provides support to Member States.

Participation at the workshop is open to all citizens of the Member States of the OPCW.
Interviews with OPCW experts and a tour of the exhibition can also be arranged for the media.

(i) The following institutions will provide presentations: FOI, Sweden - Trends and advances on protection against chemical weapons; TNO, Netherlands - Developments in chemical/biological protective garments; Canadian NBC Defence Alliance - Canadian industrial capability to support the mission of protection against chemical weapons;

(ii) Preliminary List of Exhibitors: Avon Technical Products (UK), Bruhn NewTech ( UK), Blücher GmbH,(Germany), Canadian NBC Defence Alliance (Carleton Life Support, O’Nell Engineering, NBC Team, Clermark), DuPont UK Ltd (UK), MALINA-Safety (Czech Republic), NBC-Sweden Group -Filtrator Swedish NBC AB, Forsheda AB, NewPac Safety AB, SaabTech Systems AB, Sundröm Safety AB, SEDAB, Trelleborg Protective Products AB, Åkers Krutbruk Protection AB (Sweden), SIPRI-Oxford University Press (Sweden-UK), TNO (Netherlands)

For further information, please contact the Media and Public Affairs Branch at: +31 70 416-3300,

or e-mail to: media@opcw.org

Media and Public Affairs Branch
OPCW Technical Secretariat, Johan de Wittlaan 32, 2517 JR The Hague, The Netherlands