Fifth Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Eastern Europe Held at the OPCW

The fifth regional meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Eastern Europe was hosted at the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, the Netherlands, on 29 and 30 May 2006.

Twenty-eight representatives from National Authorities of States Parties in Eastern Europe attended this event. In addition, the National Authorities of Switzerland and Uzbekistan, as well as a representative of the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), also participated. This year the meeting focused on the Chemical Weapons Convention’s requirements for the declaration of industrial activity and chemical transfers.

In his opening address to the meeting, the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, noted that some States Parties in the region have yet to complete drafting and enacting the legislation and administrative measures to be able to enforce the Convention in full at the national level. He underscored the shared responsibility and abiding interest of both individual governments and the international community in strengthening the Convention’s non-proliferation regime, thus reinforcing its ability to prevent the spread of these very dangerous weapons. Ambassador Pfirter also encouraged the National Authorities in Eastern Europe to pursue the goal of full and effective implementation to bolster the ban on chemical weapons so as to be able to contribute substantially to multilateral disarmament, non-proliferation, security and international cooperation in the promotion of the peaceful uses of science.

During the meeting, the National Authorities discussed their individual experiences in monitoring and controlling transfers of scheduled chemicals. One challenge commonly addressed is the need to effectively promote awareness within chemical industry and the academic community of the Convention’s reporting requirements and restrictions on the transfer of scheduled chemicals. The National Authorities also exchanged their experiences in processing and submitting declarations electronically.

The meeting afforded the National Authorities an opportunity to provide briefings on the status of the national application of the Convention’s requirements for comprehensive legislative and administrative measures, in accordance with Article VII of the Convention, as well as to continue bilateral consultations with officials from the OPCW Technical Secretariat.

This fifth meeting builds on the results of the previous annual meetings of National Authorities of States Parties in Eastern Europe, offering a forum for National Authority representatives to review and discuss issues related to the practical implementation of the Convention. These annual meetings serve to forge a better understanding of the declarations obligations under Article VI of the Convention. The participants gain greater familiarity with the procedures to be followed to meet the objectives of the 2005 follow-up decision to the plan of action to achieve full and effective national implementation as foreseen by Article VII of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

PR33 / 2006

Categories: Eastern Europe, National implementation