Doha hosts seminar on Chemical Weapons Convention

The three-day seminar on the Chemical Weapons Convention and Chemical Safety and Security Management for Member States of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the Asia Region, organised by the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW) in co-operation with OPCW, started yesterday.
In his speech at the opening of the seminar, Chairman of the NCPW Brigadier-General Hassan Saleh al-Nisf mentioned the great progress made by Qatar in implementing the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, in co-operation with OPCW.
Al-Nisf said that organising the seminar for the ninth year in a row at the Doha Regional Centre for Training on the Conventions on Weapons of Mass Destruction comes as an affirmation and promotion of the chemical industries as one of the important pillars of technological development in the world. At the same time the increase in the use of chemicals, including the substances listed in the three tables attached to the convention, requires the need to control the use of these chemicals to prevent the manufacture of chemical weapons.
He expressed hope that the seminar will deepen knowledge of the importance of the chemical safety and reduce the deviation in the use of chemicals to the trends prohibited under the convention, as well succeed in promoting safe dealing with chemicals.
Chairman of the NCPW explained that, to fulfil the requirements of Article 11 of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Qatar has issued a legislative system of regulations and laws for managing chemical safety and security in industrial facilities and academic institutions, in addition to encouraging the global exchange of scientific and technical information about chemicals, transfer of technology, equipment and expertise related to chemical industries not prohibited under the convention to developing countries to raise their growth rates, and promote the economic development of the States parties.
In his speech, Senior Programme Officer at OPCW’s International Co-operation and Assistance Division Dr Rohan Pereira hailed the close co-operation between OPCW and NCPW to organise the seminar, praising Qatar’s support to the organisation’s efforts to achieve the goals of chemical disarmament and non-proliferation of it, and ensuring the peaceful use of chemicals.
Dr Pereira clarified that the support of Qatar to OPCW’s efforts to ensure the implementation of the resolution relating to the provisions of the convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons and the peaceful use of chemicals strengthened the organisation’s efforts to achieve its goals and build capacity.
The first day of the seminar included a lecture by the NCPW delivered by Captain Abdulaziz Hamdan al-Ahmad.
The sessions touched on several axes related to chemical safety applications, such as planning and human factors, and safety and security management by submitting model studies.
The sessions also reviewed the process of reviewing management for chemical industries, besides several diverse topics, such as handling and management of dangerous materials in industrial areas.
On the sidelines of the seminar, al-Nisf told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the event aims, through the involvement of those local authorities, to keep them informed and aware of all developments related to chemical safety and security, he said.