Third International Basic Course on Assistance and Protection Held in Serbia

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the Republic of Serbia jointly organised a five-day assistance and protection training course from 10 to 14 July 2006 in Kruševac, The Republic of Serbia. This workshop was held at the Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence (NBCD) Training Centre of Competence. 18 participants from the following Member States attended this event: Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Common Wealth of Dominica, Latvia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malta, Nigeria, Qatar, Russian Federation, Republic of Serbia, Sri Lanka, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Turkey, and Viet Nam.

This training course is an annual event offered by the Government of the Republic of Serbia under Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The aim of the course was to provide training on planning and establishing a support team for the protection of civilian populations against chemical weapons; mounting rescue operations in contaminated areas; responding to incidents involving chemical-warfare agents; using individual and collective protective equipment; using monitoring, detection, and decontamination techniques; and taking samples.

The course offered an overview of the forms of assistance that the OPCW and Serbia can provide and also provided an opportunity for the exchange of information and experiences regarding the implementation of Article X of the Convention. Participants from Member States discussed future cooperation on offers that have been made by Member States to the OPCW under Article X of the CWC.

The Director of the OPCW International Cooperation and Assistance Division, Mr John Makhubalo who attended this event, met with Mr Zoran Stankovic, Minister of Defense, Mr Aleksandar Popovic, the Minister of Science and Environmental Protection and Mr Bratislav Djordjevic, President of the National Commission for the Implementation of the CWC. During these meetings, future cooperation between the OPCW and the Republic of Serbia was discussed.

Mr Makhubalo paid a visit to the National Poison Control Centre (NPCC), as this Centre is known for its expertise in the field of protection against toxic chemicals, and in the treatment of nerve agents poisoning, toxicology, and pharmacology. He also visited the Trayal Corporation in Kruševac, which produces equipment for protection against weapons of mass destruction, especially chemical weapons.

During this workshop, the Serbian authorities explained the protection capabilities that have been developed against a possible threat or use of chemical weapons which included information on its training methods for first responders. The Government of Serbia reiterated their continuing support to various OPCW assistance and protection training events.

PR45 / 2006

Categories: Assistance and Protection