OPCW		Secretariat
International Cooperation and Assistance Division
S/316/2002
9 September 2002
ENGLISH only
(Unofficial electronic version)

NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL
SWISS EMERGENCY FIELD TRAINING, ADVANCED COURSE (SEF-TRAD 1)
SPIEZ, SWITZERLAND 1 - 6 December 2002

1.                  On behalf of the Government of Switzerland and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Secretariat wishes to invite Member States to nominate participants for an advanced field training course on protection against chemical weapons (CW), which will be held at the NBC Training Centre in Spiez, Switzerland, from 1 to 6 December 2002.

2.                  The course, the first of its kind, is related to the offer made by the Government of Switzerland under Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in relation to assistance and protection against chemical weapons, and will be jointly organised by the Government of Switzerland and the Secretariat.  The course will provide further training on the proper use of individual protective equipment; monitoring and detection techniques; decontamination techniques; and sampling and detection methods by the mobile field laboratory during field exercises.

3.                  Previous participation at either SEF-Lab (Swiss Emergency Field Laboratory) courses or at CITPRO (Chief Instructor Training Programme) is a requirement to attend
SEF-TRAD 1.  While SEF-TRAD 1 draws on the experience of the previous courses conducted by the Government of Switzerland during the past two years, it will also provide advanced training, combining the skills acquired from former participants at either of the Swiss courses.  Due to the objective of this course, its technical nature as well as its strong training component, the candidates will be carefully selected by the Secretariat.  Only applicants from Member States who have already attended either a CITPRO or a SEF Lab course at the NBC Training facilities in Spiez can be considered for participation.  A maximum of twenty (20) from each group specified above (CITPRO/SEF Lab) will be accepted for the programme.  Furthermore, all participants must have a good command of the English language and former SEF-Lab participants must have a basic technical (laboratory) and chemical background.  All participants are expected to be physically fit and able to wear individual protective equipment for several hours.

4.                  It is anticipated that participants will arrive on Saturday, 30 November and depart on Friday, 6 December or Saturday, 7 December 2002.  Participants are requested to obtain all necessary visas (including transit visas) before travelling to Switzerland.  The Secretariat will be able to sponsor a limited number of participants from Member States.  The course material as well as the cost of accommodation and all meals, during the course, will be provided by the Government of Switzerland free of charge.  Further details regarding accommodation, the course venue and transportation will be issued to all confirmed participants at a later date.

5.                  Interested Member States are requested to complete the nomination form (Annex 1) attached to this Note, giving the full name and address of each nominee (including fax and phone numbers, and e-mail address, if available), together with his/her affiliation, area(s) of expertise and date(s) of previous participation(s) at CITPRO and/or SEF-Lab courses in Switzerland.  The completed nomination form, together with a brief curriculum vitae of each nominee, should be submitted to the Assistance and Protection Branch, International Cooperation and Assistance Division, OPCW
(fax: + 31 (0) 70 416 3209), with a copy to Mr Bernard Jeanty, Head, Global Arms Control and Disarmament Section, Federal Department of Defence General Staff, CH‑3303 Berne, Switzerland (fax + 41 (0) 31 323 7399).  Nominations should be submitted as soon as possible, but not later than 11 October 2002, to allow sufficient time for the Secretariat and the Government of Switzerland to make the necessary arrangements.  In the meantime, Member States are requested to inform the International Cooperation and Assistance Division of any administrative or other problems that may arise in relation to the attendance of any nominee.

6.                  A provisional programme for the training course can be found in Annex 2 to this Note.  Further details of the arrangements will be issued as soon as the International Cooperation and Assistance Division receives confirmation from those selected that they will be attending the course.  Any questions may be addressed to the Assistance and Protection Branch, International Cooperation and Assistance Division:

                 Tel.:          +31-(0)70 416 3555

                 Fax:          +31-(0)70 416 3209; 306 3535

                 E-mail:      EmergAssistBr@opcw.org

Annexes:

Annex 1:           Nomination form

Annex 2:           Provisional programme

Annex 1

SWISS EMERGENCY FIELD TRAINING, ADVANCED COURSE (SEF-TRAD 1)
SPIEZ, SWITZERLAND 1 - 6 December 2002

NOMINATION FORM
To be completed by Member States to propose participants
Please use BLOCK LETTERS

Details of nominee

1.            Family name                    ………………………………………………………………......

2.            First name(s)                   ………………………………………………………………......

3.            Gender (male/female)       ………………………………………………………………......

4.            Date of birth                    ………………………………………………………………......

5.            Present address               ……………………………………………………………..........

                                                ………………………………………………………………......

6.            Telephone                       ………………………………………………………………......

7.            Fax                                 ………………………………………………………………......

8.            E-mail                             ………………………………………………………………......

9.            Nationality                       ………………………………………………………………......

10.        Passport no.                    ………………………………………………………………......

11.        Date of issue                    ………………………………………………………………......

12.        Date of expiry                  ……..………………………………………………………........

13.        Place of issue                   ………………………………………………………………......

14.        Affiliation                         …………………………………………………………....... .…..

15.        Area(s) of expertise         ………………………………………………………………......

16.        Dates of previous participation at CITPRO/ SEF LAB ..........................................................

17.        Nominated by:                       ...... ………………………………………………………………

18.        Is sponsorship by the OCW a pre-requisite for participation? Yes……................ No………

19.        Signature:                        ……………………………….................. Date:     ………..…….

Annex 2

SWISS EMERGENCY FIELD TRAINING ADVANCED COURSE  (SEF-TRAD 1)
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME

Training location: CA: Course auditorium; S/316/2002 Working group.

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