12th Workshop to Coordinate Assistance and Protection Held in The Hague

The workshop took place at the OPCW Technical Secretariat from 22 to 24 November 2011 and focussed on implementation of Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention under the theme Challenges and Opportunities for 2012 and Beyond [PDF - 11 KB]. The workshop was attended by 33 participants from 28 States Parties.*

In his opening remarks [PDF - 16 KB], Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü stressed that in order to achieve full implementation of Article X, Member States must fulfil two key obligations: They must summit annual declarations on national protective programmes, as well as information on the type of assistance measures they can offer through the OPCW to respond to a chemical weapons attack. He noted that 145 Member States have submitted this information at least once since the entry into force of the Convention, including 75 thus far in 2011.

The Director-General observed that threats associated with non-State actors’ use of chemical weapons have created a renewed interest in the OPCW’s coordination of emergency assistance to States Parties. He underlined that a quick and efficient response is the key to countering the impact of an attack with chemical weapons or toxic chemicals, which can only be achieved by a full national or regional response.

Director-General Üzümcü added that, with the OPCW entering a period of transformation as a result of the expected completion of destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles in the coming years, assistance and protection-related tasks can be further reinforced, especially in regions and countries that lack protection capacities.

* Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Finland, Gambia, India, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Namibia, Poland, Pakistan, Paraguay, Portugal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates