1.                  On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Chile and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Technical Secretariat (hereinafter "the Secretariat") invites Member States to nominate participants to the Regional Workshop on Assistance and Protection Against Chemical Weapons, which will be held in Viña del Mar, Chile, from 3 to 6 November 2003.

2.                  This workshop is designed as a forum for personnel that are involved with civilian protection and/or the provision of assistance with respect to the implementation of Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (hereinafter “the Convention”).  Only individuals who are actually responsible for the implementation at the national level of the specific tasks relating to Article X should be nominated for participation. 

3.                  The workshop will provide a framework within which participants can review and discuss the following issues relating to the practical implementation of Article X:  national capacity-building, international capacity-building, and establishing and sustaining regional networks.

4.                  The Secretariat expects to be able to sponsor a limited number of representatives from Member States in the Latin American and Caribbean region.  Each nomination should specify whether sponsorship is a condition of the nominee’s participation.  For sponsored participants, the Secretariat will cover the costs of travel, meals, and medical insurance, and will provide a limited subsistence allowance to cover sundry expenses. In cases where the Secretariat arranges accommodation for sponsored participants, it will also cover the costs of that accommodation. Sponsored participants who do not intend to use the accommodation provided by the Secretariat are requested to indicate that to the Secretariat as soon as possible, so that it does not incur hotel cancellation fees.  The daily subsistence allowance will remain unchanged for those participants who opt to make their own accommodation arrangements.

5.                  When making travel arrangements for sponsored participants, the Secretariat will seek the most economical options.  The Secretariat will purchase tickets and send them to participants.  Participants will be allowed to purchase tickets locally only if this leads to further savings for the Secretariat and if the Secretariat authorises it.  In order for the Secretariat to keep costs to a minimum, participants are expected to arrive no earlier than Sunday 2 November 2003 and to depart by Friday 7 November 2003.  The Secretariat’s agreement is required for any changes to the arrival and departure dates.  The Secretariat will not cover expenses unrelated to the meeting or that result from changes in travel arrangements it has not authorised.  Sponsored participants shall bear all costs resulting from changes they make, including cancellations, once the Secretariat has purchased tickets.  Participants who have not been sponsored are requested to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements, although the Secretariat can, if necessary, arrange accommodation at reduced rates.

6.                  All participants are requested to obtain all necessary visas (including transit visas) before travelling to Chile.

7.                  Activities during the workshop will be conducted in English and Spanish. All participants are expected to have a good command, both oral and written, of one of these two languages.

8.                  Interested Member States are invited to complete the nomination form that is included as Annex 2 to this Note; all the requested details should be provided, so that the Secretariat can contact the nominees directly.  Completed forms should be addressed to the Director, International Cooperation and Assistance Division, OPCW,
Johan de Wittlaan 32, 2517 JR The Hague, the Netherlands.  Nominations may also be submitted by fax to + 31 (0)70 306 3535 or to +31 (0)70 416 3209, or by e‑mail to EmergAssistBr@opcw.org.  All nominations must be received by the Secretariat no later than 26 September 2003.  Please be advised that participants must present an OPCW acceptance letter in order to register for the workshop.

Annexes:

Annex 1:   Provisional Programme

Annex 2:   Nomination Form

Annex 1

REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON ASSISTANCE

AND PROTECTION AGAINST CHEMICAL WEAPONS

VIÑA DEL MAR, CHILE

3 – 6 NOVEMBER 2003

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME

MONDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2003
08:30 – 9:00	Registration
09:00 – 9:30	Opening ceremony: Opening remarks	Chile, OPCW
09:30 – 10:30	1.  The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC): ·            overview and status of implementation of the CWC ·            Article X of the CWC: assistance and protection	OPCW
10:30 – 11:00	Break
11:00 – 12:30	2.  National capacity-building      2.1    National protection programmes: ·            establishment of an emergency response system (ERS) ·            civil-protection and civil-defence planning	OPCW
12:30 –14:00	Lunch
14:00 – 15:30	2.  National capacity-building (continued)      2.2    Programmes in Member States: ·            examples of national programmes ·            Chile's programme	Chile, OPCW
15.30– 16.00	Break
16.00 – 17.30	2.  National capacity-building (continued) 2.3    The role of the OPCW in national capacity-building: ·            ways of, and mechanisms for, providing assistance ·            assistance in developing national programmes ·            sources of information, and on-line and other electronic systems ·            the protection network, qualified experts, medical doctors ·            protection declarations (paragraph 4 of Article X of the CWC) ·            information exchange
TUESDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2003
09.00 – 10.30	2.  National capacity-building (continued)      2.4    Preparedness and training: ·            national courses ·            international courses ·            other courses ·            training and exercises      2.5    Risk assessment and risk reduction: ·            threat assessment ·            the risk-management process ·            industrial perspectives	OPCW OPCW Chile Chile
10.30 – 11.00	Break
11:00 – 12:30	3.  National experiences: ·            Chile's experience in managing "technological disasters" related to chemicals and toxic compounds ·            experience of country 1 ·            experience of country 2	Chile Member States[1] Member States
12.30 – 13.30	Lunch
13:30 – 15:30	4.  Scenarios      4.1    Recognition, detection,  and monitoring: ·            recognising a chemical weapons attack ·            chemical weapons detection and monitoring	OPCW
15:30 – 16:00	Break
16:00 – 18:00	4.  Scenarios (continued) 4.1    Recognition, detection and monitoring (continued): ·            detection of chemical weapons agents (CWAs) ·            OPCW's programme on live agent training (LAT) ·            technologies for detection and monitoring CWAs	OPCW

WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2003
09:00-10:30	5.  Protection, assistance, and treatment of victims      5.1    Individual protection equipment (IPE), skin and respiratory protection 5.2      Shelters for civilian populations 5.3    Medical treatment for victims of chemical attack	OPCW
10:30-11:00	Break
11:00-12:30	6.  International capacity-building: ·            concept of assistance ·            technical annexes, implementation, modular approach	OPCW
12:30-13:30	Lunch
14:00-15:30	6.  International capacity-building (continued) 6.1    Resources for assistance at the Technical Secretariat: ·            the Technical Secretariat’s limited stockpile ·            assistance coordination and assessment team (ACAT) ·            assistance response system (ARS) of the OPCW	OPCW
15:30-16:00	Break
16:00-17:30	6.  International capacity-building (continued) 6.1    Resources in Member States:  ·            geographical spread ·            evaluation of offers under Article X	OPCW

THURSDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2003
09:00-11:00	6.   International capacity-building (continued) 6.2    Exercises:·             Assistex 1 (delivery of assistance)·             plans for Assistex 2 ·             other exercises	OPCW
11:00-11:30	Break
11:30-12:30	7.   Regional networks:  ·             regional network for Latin America and the Caribbean	Chile
12:30-14:00	Lunch
14.00-16.00	7.   Regional networks (continued): ·             involvement of Member States ·             establishment of focal points ·             other issues	Participating countries
16.00-16.30	Break
16:30-17:00	Closing ceremony	Chile and OPCW
17:00	End of workshop

Annex 2

REGIONAL WORKSHOP

ON ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION

AGAINST CHEMICAL WEAPONS

VIÑA DEL MAR, CHILE

3 – 6 NOVEMBER 2003

nomination form

Please submit the completed form by Friday, 26 September 2003 to:

The Director, International Cooperation and Assistance Division,

 OPCW, Johan de Wittlaan 32, 2517 JR The Hague, the Netherlands.

Fax: + 31 (0)70 306 3535/416 3209; e-mail: EmergAssistBr@opcw.org

Please use BLOCK LETTERS.

1.    Family name of         nominee
2.    First name(s)
3.    Date of birth	Day      ___________    Month    ____________      Year    ___________
4.    Citizenship
5.    Gender*	Male                        Female
6.    Passport no.
7.  Date of issue	Day       ___________   Month     ____________      Year   ___________
8.  Expiry date	Day       ___________   Month     ____________      Year   ___________
9.  Place of issue
10.   Areas of               expertise	______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11.   Employer12.    Contact address       (No P.O. box)	______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Street    ___________________________________________________________Number      _________________           Post code        _______________                                City             _________________________________________________                        Country      _________________________________________________
13.  E-mail address
14.   Telephone numbers, including country and city codes	Home  _____________________________________________________Work   _____________________________________________________Mobile  ____________________________________________________
15.   Fax numbers, including country and city codes	Home   ____________________________________________________Work   ____________________________________________________
16. Has nominee   previously attended a meeting of this kind?*	Yes              No  If so, when and where?
17. Interpretation services required*	English         French
18. Is sponsorship a condition of participation?	Yes              No

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