South Asian Workshop on Technical Aspects of the CWC Transfers’ Regime Held in Nepal

A sub-regional workshop for customs authorities in South Asia on technical aspects of the Chemical Weapons Convention’s transfers’ regime was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 9-10 August 2006. This workshop was jointly organized by the Government of Nepal and the OPCW. Over 50 participants, including 17 from 9 States Parties (Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka) and one State not party (Myanmar), attended the workshop. A representative from the European Union also participated in the workshop.

The workshop was designed to provide a platform for experience sharing among participating States Parties on topics such as the identification of chemicals relevant to the Convention including the Harmonised System, current recommendations of the World Customs Organization and potential changes to that System, sources of information for customs officials as well as current laboratory- and customs-related matters, such as discrepancies in the reporting of transfers’ of scheduled chemicals (including those occurring to or from free ports and free zones), software for customs services, risk assessment, and transshipments. Participating States Parties also made presentations on the software used by their customs authorities in monitoring the import and export of scheduled chemicals. The primary aim of the workshop was to improve the ability of Member States from South Asia to track transfers of scheduled chemicals. The workshop also sought to identify practical solutions which customs authorities in South Asia may wish to consider in order to improve data reporting under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Mr Bhojraj Ghimire, Chief Secretary of the Government of Nepal, said that “it is important for officials of customs authorities, who shoulder the major responsibility of handling imports and exports in their respective customs check points, to update themselves on the systems developed by the OPCW and the relevant information on CWC-related chemicals. Technical knowledge for customs officials about these chemicals reduces the likelihood of unaccounted border crossing of CWC-related chemicals. A workshop of this nature will create an environment to help monitor compliance, and provides a platform for States Parties to share and exchange of expertise on the proliferation of the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and their destruction”.

Mr Ghimire reiterated “the commitment of the Government of Nepal to the obligation of the disarmament instruments including the CWC, and [wished to] inform this session that national legislation implementing CWC provisions is in the process of finalization”.

The workshop was funded through a voluntary contribution received from the Republic of Korea.

PR46 / 2006

Categories: Asia, National implementation, Non-proliferation of chemical weapons