OPCW Deputy Director-General (center), OPCW Director of Inspectorate Division (center right) and the new group of chemical weapons inspectors.
A new cohort of recently recruited inspectors is now fully qualified to conduct inspection activities for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and received diplomas at a graduation ceremony today.
The event follows a 13 week intensive training for 12 chemical production technologists as well as chemical weapons and munitions specialists recruited in January 2016. The training covered all aspects of OPCW verification activities and included the theory as well as practical exercises and mock inspections.
“The OPCW now has at its disposal a new group of highly qualified inspectors to fulfil our Organisation’s mission, to keep the world free from the threat of chemical weapons. They have demonstrated remarkable commitment and readiness and have been trained to take on the most challenging tasks such as working in toxic areas and identifying the chemical agents present. They were also trained to verify the activities of chemical industry, in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention,” said Marcelo Kos, Director of OPCW’s Inspectorate Division.
A number of States Parties provided crucial support to the training program including training and other facilities as well as expert trainers. They include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and the United States.
The OPCW’s Inspectorate Division’s work is crucial to the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention through the deployment of inspection teams to States Parties to the Convention. The Inspectorate monitors the destruction of declared chemical weapons stockpiles, inspects chemical industry facilities, and provides assistance to protect against chemical weapons.
For more on the work of the OPCW’s Inspectorate Division: