OPCW Director-General Visits Mexico

The Director-General highlighted the recent accession of the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic to the CWC.

On 1 September 2009 the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, paid an official visit to Mexico City where he addressed the opening session of the Tenth Regional Meeting of OPCW National Authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

During his visit Director-General Pfirter met with the Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Ambassador Juan Manuel Gómez-Robledo. He commended Mexico for its unwavering commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and work of the OPCW, and provided the Deputy Foreign Minister an overview on the implementation of the Convention.

Ambassador Gomez-Robledo reaffirmed Mexico’s strong commitment to the objectives of the CWC and expressed his Government’s firm support for the work of the OPCW in implementing the global chemical weapons ban.

In his address to the Tenth Regional Meeting, the Director-General highlighted the recent accession of the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic to the CWC, which he noted achieved universality of the Convention in Latin America and the Caribbean. He stressed that the next challenge will be to ensure that all OPCW Member States in the region appoint a National Authority, submit their initial declarations to the Technical Secretariat, and put into place the legislative and administrative measures to implement the CWC at national level.

Tenth Regional Meeting of National Authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean

Mexico City, Mexico, 1-3 September 2009

The Government of Mexico and the OPCW jointly hosted the Tenth Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties in Latin America and the Caribbean in Mexico City from 1 to 3 September 2009. The meeting attracted 23 participants from 21 States Parties (Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St Kitts & Nevis, St Vincent & Grenadines, Uruguay and Venezuela), along with the National Authority of Mexico.

The Meeting programme provided representatives of National Authorities with an overview of the status of implementation of the Convention and the Second Review Conference; a review of the requirements of Article VII and its status of implementation; new developments regarding the implementation of Article VI; and, the submission of Article VI declarations in electronic form. Representatives from across the region also had the opportunity to share national experiences and review existing methods to collect data on the import and export of scheduled chemicals, discuss their experiences in receiving chemical industry inspections and the ways to improve their effectiveness and efficiency.

Participating National Authorities delivered presentations on national implementation of the CWC focusing on the status of implementation and the verification regime. They also held bilateral meetings with OPCW experts to discuss legal issues and matters relating to declarations, industry issues and international cooperation.

OPCW NEWS  40/2009, revised 8/9/2009 08:00 UTC

Categories: Latin America and the Caribbean, National implementation, Outreach