Africa and the OPCW

• Foreword
• Africa and the Organs of the OPCW
• Benefits to Africa from OPCW's International Cooperation and Assistance Programmes
• International Cooperation - From Draft Report of the OPCW on the Implementation of the CWC in 2009
• Implementation Support - From Draft Report of the OPCW on the Implementation of the CWC in 2009
• OPCW Events in Africa
• Status of African Participation in the CWC

Africa is a major stakeholder in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). This publication lists some of the benefits which membership in the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) has brought to States Parties in Africa.

The goal of the OPCW is to free the world of chemical weapons, and 188 countries —including 50 in Africa— have now joined forces to achieve it. This goal is enshrined in the Convention, which entered into force on 29 April 1997.

In January 2006, the African Union and the OPCW signed a Memorandum of Understanding that underscores their continuing cooperation in the Convention’s implementation.

Nigeria and South Africa were elected as Vice-Chairs of the Conference at its Thirteenth Session and will hold office until successors are elected at the next regular session. Kenya and Morocco were appointed as members of the Credentials Committee.

Past Chairpersons of the Conference from Africa were:

• H.E. Mr Abuelgasim Abdelwahid Shiekh Idris of Sudan (Twelfth Session, November 2007);
• H.E. Ambassador Noureddine Djoudi of Algeria (First Review Conference, April-May 2003, and Seventh Session, October 2002);
• H.E. Mr Simbarashe S. Mumbengegwi of Zimbabwe (Second Session, December 1997).

Nine African States always represent the African region on the Executive Council, serving on a rotational basis.

For the period 12 May 2010 to 11 May 2011, the African members of the Executive Council are Algeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Sudan, and Tunisia.

Past Chairpersons of the Council from Africa were:

• H.E. Mrs H.B. Mkhize of South Africa (2006–2007);
• H.E. Abdel Halim Babu Fatih of the Sudan (2001–2002).

Algeria, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Tanzania are represented on OPCW subsidiary bodies, including the Advisory Body on Administrative and Financial Matters, the Confidentiality Commission and the Scientific Advisory Board.

The contribution of the African States Parties is reflected in a number of senior posts in the Technical Secretariat that are held by nationals from the region, including the Director of the International Cooperation and Assistance Division and the Director of Internal Oversight.

Associate Programme

During the ten-week Associate Programme in 2009, 28 technically qualified individuals from 27 Member States were provided training in various areas relating to the Convention, as well as in modern chemical-industry practices and chemical safety. National Authorities, academic and specialised institutions, chemical industry associations, and companies in several industrialised Member States, including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, assisted in organising various components of the programme. A voluntary financial contribution was received from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Japan contributed in kind towards the programme.

Conference-Support Programme

In 2009, 26 events in 23 different Member States were supported with a view to facilitating the exchange of scientific and technical information in areas relating to the peaceful use of chemistry. The events covered, inter alia, the following topics: chemical risk assessment; nanosafety; polymers and organic chemistry; contaminated site remediation; environmental pollution and toxicology; protection of human health and the ecosystem; food security and sustainable development; kinetics in analytical chemistry; and chemical, biological, radiological, and explosives operations.

Analytical-skills development courses

In 2009, three international courses were organised to provide training in the analysis of chemicals related to the Convention. A total of 37 qualified analytical chemists from 34 Member States were trained through these courses. Two courses were arranged with the Finnish Institute for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (VERIFIN) in Helsinki, Finland. A course, supported by South Africa and Finland, was designed for African Member States and held at the Protechnik Laboratories in Pretoria, South Africa. Furthermore, a pilot course at the national level on sample preparation and trace analysis of compounds related to the Convention was organised with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Serpong, West Java, Indonesia, with the participation of 31 local scientists.

Internship-Support Programme

The programme supported 17 internships in 2009. One of the internships was funded by a voluntary contribution from the Netherlands, two were supported by the Republic of Korea, and another by a voluntary contribution from China.

Programme for Support of Research Projects

The programme promotes the development of scientific and technological knowledge through research in areas relating to chemistry for purposes not prohibited under the Convention. Twenty-nine new projects (including 21 jointly funded by the International Foundation for Science and eight directly managed by the OPCW) from 19 Member States were supported in 2009.

Laboratory-Assistance Programme

Under this programme, technical assistance was extended to laboratories in Argentina, Botswana, and Ecuador. A course in Kenya on the running and interpretation of GC MS spectra was supported at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology for 25 participants from seven different African States Parties.

Equipment-Exchange Programme

Under the Equipment-Exchange Programme, which supports the voluntary transfer of laboratory equipment, equipment-exchange assistance was extended to the Department of Chemistry, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia; the Department of Chemistry, University of Malawi, Malawi; and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the Netherlands. Ten computers received from China as a voluntary contribution have been transferred to nine Member States in Africa.

Chemical-safety management

A new initiative was taken on chemical-safety management for chemical-industry outreach and industry-related aspects of the implementation of the Convention. A two-day seminar was organised in cooperation with the Japanese Government in Tokyo, Japan. The seminar was attended by 19 participants from 10 States Parties. Also, a five-day course on promoting chemical safety for States Parties in Africa was organised in Wuppertal, Germany, with participants from 10 African States Parties. The course was supported by a voluntary contribution from Germany.

The provision of assistance and protection under Article X of the Convention provides a positive security guarantee to States Parties through the mobilisation of international assistance in case of the use or threat of use of chemical weapons. It also acknowledges their right to receive expert advice on protection capacities against chemical weapons.

Advice to States Parties on protection programmes against chemical weapons

In 2009, the Secretariat conducted national capacity-building training courses against chemical weapons for first responders in Sri Lanka. At the request of Viet Nam and Yemen, the Secretariat provided expert advice to them in order to identify how best to implement their programmes for the development and improvement of a protective capacity against chemical weapons.

Capacity-building workshops and training courses were conducted for first responders in several regions or subregions with a view to facilitating regional coordination. In February, the Secretariat (together with the Regional Arms Control Verification and Implementation Assistance Centre) organised the annual seminar for the States Parties of Southeast Europe, held in Croatia. In April, the Secretariat organised (with financial support from the Government of Spain) a regional Article X workshop in Peru for the States Parties of the Latin America and Caribbean region. In September, the Secretariat (in collaboration with the National Authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) organised a regional emergency chemical response training course in Jamaica for the States Parties of the Caribbean Community and Common Market.

The Secretariat organised international courses, workshops, and meetings on assistance and protection for first responders in collaboration with the governments of Brazil, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Peru, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, and Tunisia.

In collaboration with the National Authority of Qatar, the Secretariat organised the annual assistance-coordination workshop in Qatar in November. The Secretariat, together with the National Authority of Spain, also organised a protection-network meeting in Spain.

Coordinating and mobilising the international-response mechanism

The Secretariat has continued formal communication with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the Euro Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and other agencies potentially involved in an emergency response, in order to cope with mandated assistance tasks in a cost-effective and coordinated manner. Technical visits to evaluate detailed information about the offers of assistance from States Parties under paragraph 7 of Article X took place in Austria, Colombia, France, India, Japan, and Ukraine. A technical visit conducted to Cuba was funded by the European Union Joint Action 2007 in support of OPCW activities under Article X.

The facilitator on Article X issues called for informal consultations to discuss the following matters: policy guidance and strategies in respect of States Parties’ submissions on their national programmes related to protection against chemical weapons; the annual calendar of events conducted by the Secretariat; a report by the Director General on the status of implementation of Article X of the Convention as at 31 December 2008 (EC-55/DG.5, dated 26 January 2009); a Note by the Secretariat on evaluation of the effectiveness of Article X programmes (EC-55/S/2, dated 28 January 2009; Corr.1, dated 6 March 2009; and Corr.2, dated 16 April 2009); a Note by the Secretariat on the content of the assistance-and-protection data bank and its use (EC-57/S/3, dated 18 June 2009); the induction procedures for qualified experts pursuant to Part XI of the Verification Annex to the Convention (S/775/2009, dated 3 July 2009); and the status of preparation of the aforementioned ASSISTEX 3 exercise (S/760/2009, dated 22 April 2009).

In-house training sessions were conducted with the support of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the members of the Secretariat’s Assistance Coordination and Assessment Team, with a view to maintaining its readiness to provide assistance in the event of a request by a Member State.

As already mentioned, the Secretariat, with the cooperation of the Government of Tunisia, has initiated preparatory steps to organise ASSISTEX 3, one of which being the organisation of the initial planning meeting, which was held in Tunis, Tunisia, from 17 to 19 November. The representatives of the States Parties participating in the meeting discussed the organisational aspects of the exercise. The Secretariat has received nominations for national teams from 10 States Parties, as well as from UNOCHA.

Obligations of States Parties under paragraphs 4 and 7 of Article X of the Chemical Weapons Convention

Between the entry into force of the Convention and the end of 2009, 135 States Parties had submitted information on their national programmes for protective purposes, pursuant to paragraph 4 of Article X (see Annex 9).

As at 31 December 2009, 76 Member States had met their obligations under paragraph 7 of Article X.

At the end of 2009, in accordance with subparagraph 7(a) of Article X, 43 States Parties had made contributions to the voluntary fund for assistance. As at 31 December 2009, the fund amounted to EUR 1,399,776.03.

In 2009, the Secretariat’s implementation-support programmes continued to focus on assisting States Parties in meeting their obligations under Article VII of the Convention. In particular, the Secretariat assisted in areas such as establishing National Authorities for effective liaison with the Secretariat; taking the necessary steps to enact legislation, including penal legislation, and to adopt administrative measures to implement the Convention; identifying declarable chemical-industry and trade activities; and submitting declarations. The Secretariat has also responded to the needs of States Parties by providing training and workshops in the areas of customs and the implementation of the requirements of the transfers regime, licensing, and the training of National Authority personnel as national inspection escorts.

Technical assistance

Twelve Member States (Bhutan, Burundi, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mongolia, Senegal, and the United Republic of Tanzania) received bilateral TAVs in the above mentioned areas, while one TAV was cancelled at the request of the State Party concerned.

Regional and subregional meetings

Four regional and subregional meetings, and workshops for National Authorities and other government officials involved in the implementation of the Convention took place in Bulgaria (May), Mexico (September), and Viet Nam and Morocco (October) in order to discuss practical aspects of implementing the Convention. These meetings also enabled National Authorities from the regions to exchange best practices and views on their own efforts towards national implementation and to draw on the expertise available from the Secretariat on specific issues such as the transfers regime under the Convention.

Specialised workshops and training courses

Seven regional and subregional workshops for customs officials and port authorities on the technical aspects of the Convention’s transfers regime were conducted in the United Republic of Tanzania (March) for the States Parties of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Southern African Development Community; Belarus (May) for Eastern European States Parties; Hong Kong (June) for States Parties from Asia; Malaysia (August) for the States Parties of Southeast Asia; Chile (September) for the Group of Latin and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC); Qatar (November) for Member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council; and Burkina Faso (December) for Central and West African States Parties. In addition to the specialised workshops and training courses in the area of customs, staff from the Secretariat also attended the annual meeting of the Green Customs Initiative in Belgium, with a view to furthering cooperation within this framework and with the World Customs Organisation. Additionally, in response to the evolving needs of States Parties, the Secretariat offered training for national inspection escorts in Iran for both international and national participants (August) and in Malaysia (December) for Malaysian National Authority personnel.

Two training courses for National Authority personnel were hosted by France (March) and South Africa (July). An Article VI electronic-declaration training course was held in Spain (June) for Member States from the GRULAC.

The Secretariat also continued its efforts to engage with parliamentarians, national and regional parliaments, and regional organisations with a view to emphasising the importance of the Convention and the necessity of enacting national implementing legislation. To this end, staff from the Secretariat attended the high-level meeting of the AU and the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in Ethiopia (April) and the Inter Parliamentary Union meeting in Switzerland (October), and conducted a workshop for parliamentarians and National Authorities in the Great Lakes region of Africa in the United Republic of Tanzania (November).

Eleventh Annual Meeting of National Authorities

In 2009, the focus of the annual meeting held in November/December was the role of National Authorities in effective implementation of the Convention. The key focus of the meeting, which attracted 172 participants from 117 States Parties, was on engagement and the sharing of experiences and best practices among States Parties. Twelve States Parties gave presentations on various aspects of their national implementation efforts. During the meeting, the Secretariat also accommodated 226 consultations between the Secretariat and National Authorities on a wide range of issues of common interest.