The Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) jointly organized the Eighth Annual Workshop to Coordinate Assistance and Protection under Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which was held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 4 to 8 October 2004.
Officials and experts from National Authorities from relevant government ministries and from the chemical industries, representing 26 Member States, attended the workshop, which was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Bulgaria, H.E. Mrs Lydia Shouleva, who is also the Head of the National Authority of the Republic of Bulgaria, and the Director-General of the OPCW, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter.
As foreseen by Article X of the Convention, all 166 States Parties to the Convention enjoy the right to request the mutual assistance and protection of their fellow States Parties should any State Party suffer a chemical attack or be threatened by chemical weapons. The participants at the Workshop are all associated with offers to deliver assistance to Member States and used this opportunity to review proposed procedures and mechanisms for coordinating the delivery of assistance and for finding practical solutions to such matters as logistics, training in the use of protective equipment, and procedures to ensure the timely delivery of assistance.
In her opening address to the Workshop, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, H.E. Mrs Lydia Shouleva, stated that “the Eighth Workshop will develop further the overall aim and develop detailed measures for diminishing the possible threats or the consequences from the use of chemical weapons. I also believe that the development of effective and transparent national action plans for protection against chemical weapons, as well as the implementation of a coordinated approach in timely delivery of assistance in the event of use of chemical weapons, will reduce to a minimum the danger of terrorists using such weapons.”
The Workshop serves to improve both the national capacity to protect civilian populations, as well as to enhance the Organisation’s ability to respond effectively should a request for assistance and protection be made. OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, emphasized that these two aims were the key principles guiding assistance and protection under Article X. The Director-General affirmed that this “positive security guarantee will be an indispensable part of the Convention for as long as chemical weapons exists, for as long as States remain outside the Convention, and for as long as the threat of use of these weapons by terrorist groups continues to cast a shadow over our lives.”
46/2004