The OPCW, in collaboration with the Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO), organized the first ever dedicated sub-regional training course for customs authorities and representatives of National Authorities from the Pacific Islands States on the Technical Aspects of the Transfers’ regime of the Chemical Weapons Convention in Nadi, Fiji from 30th June to 2nd July 2010.
The course attracted 26 participants from 13 States Parties (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu). Representatives from the Ocenia Customs Organisation, the South Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat also took part in the training course.
At the opening of the training course, Mr Kulufeinga ‘Anisi Bloomfield, Head of the Oceania Customs Organisation Secretariat thanked the OPCW for this collaborative effort to reach out to customs authorities and National Authorities to create awareness about the need for taking effective enforcement measures to implement the transfers provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Mr Bloomfield said that “the countries in the sub-region have significant capacity constraints to develop the required legal structures, including appropriate legislation and, to effectively enforce their international obligations to prevent the misuse of their territories by criminals and non-state actors”. He hoped that through this training course, customs authorities from the States Parties in the region will be better prepared to enforce the transfers provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Mr Bloomfield expressed the hope that the OPCW will continue to collaborate with the OCO in the future to jointly address capacity building requests made by the Pacific Islands States in the area of monitoring trade in scheduled chemicals.
The training course offered comprehensive information on technical issues relating to the transfers’ regime. The topics covered during the training course included an overview of the CWC and the OPCW, the role of the National Authority and the need for effective interaction with stakeholders. The course also covered identification of chemicals relevant to the CWC, including current recommendations of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) on the identification of scheduled chemicals in the Harmonised System, and potential changes to that system and those recommendations, sources of information for customs officials and customs laboratories: the Handbook on Chemicals, the OPCW Central Analytical Database, and other useful databases. Course participants also explored discrepancies in the reporting of transfers of scheduled chemicals, and, practical customs-related matters, such as control of scheduled chemicals in free ports and free zones, risk assessment, transshipments, and software for customs services.
During the training course, the participants were provided with relevant information on practical ways in implementing the Convention’s provisions, with the aim of eliminating discrepancies between the quantities of scheduled chemicals declared by importing and exporting States Parties in respect of the same transfers. Practical exercises and group discussions designed to enhance the participants and their States Parties’ capacities to effectively track the import and export of scheduled chemicals were also held.
The training course sought to create greater awareness and to encourage better coordination amongst relevant stakeholders to further enhance the national implementation of the provisions of the transfers’ regime.
The training course was organized with support from the European Union which provided funds as part of the 2009 Council Decision.
