Workshop on Matters Related to Other Chemical Production Facilities (OCPFs)

On the second day of the workshop participants visited two OCPF sites – namely, Shell Nederland Chemie in Rotterdam and Chemtura in Amsterdam - as well as the OPCW laboratory in Rijswijk

A first-ever workshop on “Matters Related to Other Chemical Production Facilities (OCPF)” was held at the OPCW Technical Secretariat on 25 and 26 November 2009 which attracted 107 participants from 72 States Parties, including representatives of National Authorities, OPCW delegations and industry experts.

In his opening remarks to the workshop the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, stressed that OCPFs are a crucial part of the non-proliferation regime established by the Convention, and expressed the hope that the workshop’s outcome would benefit the consideration of these matters by the OPCW policy-making organs.

“In order to make the comprehensive prohibition against chemical weapons more enduring, we need to continually review our activities, our practices and our procedures,” Director-General Pfirter said. “In this context, issues relating to an effective and future-oriented regime covering OCPFs are of utmost importance.”

The workshop served as a platform for dialogue to promote a better understanding of issues relevant to verification of OCPFs and to consider how such a verification regime can be made more effective in terms of the Convention’s goals. On the second day of the workshop participants visited two OCPF sites – namely, Shell Nederland Chemie in Rotterdam and Chemtura in Amsterdam - as well as the OPCW laboratory in Rijswijk.

The workshop was chaired by H.E. Mr José Artur Denot Medeiros, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the OPCW, and made possible with the financial support of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Canada.

OPCW NEWS 57/2009

Categories: National implementation, Non-proliferation of chemical weapons