OPCW Trains Iraqi Officials in CWC Implementation

On 6 July 2005, an implementation training workshop for nine representatives of the Government of the Republic of Iraq commenced at the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague. The three-day course, which is made possible by a voluntary contribution from the Government of Japan, addresses the specific requirements of the Iraqi Government to ensure that the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is effectively applied when Iraq accedes to the CWC.

OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, met the Iraqi officials, and on behalf of the OPCW, welcomed their participation in the CWC training course. He thanked the officials for their clear determination to facilitate Iraq’s efforts to meet the objectives of the CWC and assured them of the OPCW’s firm commitment to provide the Iraqi Government the support necessary to advance the process of Iraq’s accession to the CWC.

In his opening statement to the training course, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the OPCW, H.E. Mr Kyoji Komachi, expressed his Government’s support for the aspiration of the Iraqi Government to join the OPCW and commended Iraq for its desire to proceed with the process of accession to the CWC and implementation of the chemical weapons ban in Iraq.

The Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Sir Colin Budd, in his opening statement welcomed the Iraqi officials and the willingness of the Iraqi Government to address the task of fulfilling their obligations under the CWC, assuring the Iraqi officials that this effort would receive his Government's full support.

On behalf of his Government, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the OPCW, Mr Pete Ito, welcomed the Iraqi officials’ resolve to enhance their understanding of the CWC and the OPCW’s mission as a clear demonstration of Iraq’s commitment to accede to the CWC, and to ensure that its full and effective implementation in Iraq will meet the aspirations of the Iraqi Government’s express political commitment to the global chemical weapons ban.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr Siamand Banaa, reaffirmed that his Government and the States Parties to the CWC shared a common desire and purpose in seeking to accede to the CWC, in particular to ensure that the horrors of chemical warfare will never occur again in Iraq, and stated that Iraq, which had suffered greatly from abuses of chemical weapons, will take a leading part in the OPCW in the future.

The training course provides the representatives of the Iraqi Government the expert guidance needed to prepare obligatory declarations, establish and efficiently operate a National Authority, enact national implementing legislation and put in place the required regulatory measures to eliminate chemical weapons and to prevent their spread in accordance with the CWC.

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