Page 3 News
PROCUREMENT WATCH UNICRI has opened its call for tenders for the CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative, with over 12 Million Euros available for fully funded projects. The Centres of Excellence on Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear risk mitigation is a European Union Initiative that is being implemented jointly by UNICRI and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. The main aim of the Initiative is to facilitate regional cooperation to enhance CBRN policies and capabilities. Tenders must be led by a not for profit organisation, and response are due by April 15th, 2012. The Initiative covers, currently, eight different regions of the world including: African Atlantic Façade; Central Asia; Gulf Cooperation Countries; Middle East; North Africa; South East Asia; South East Europe, the Caucasus, Ukraine and Moldova; Sub-Saharan Africa Countries participating in the Initiative benefit from reinforcement of national CBRN policy; membership of an ever growing network of CBRN experts; coordination and integration through the establishment of National CBRN Teams; implementation of projects that address specific country needs; and, the maximisation of existing capacities in the region. Regional Secretariats are being established in the regions where the Initiative operates to provide technical support and to aid CBRN National Teams to achieve their objectives. The secretariats will, moreover, assist partner countries in the assessment of their needs and the development of projects to address these needs and potential gaps in national CBRN Policy. In this regard, the present Call for Proposals has been issued to seek competent and appropriate partners for the implementation of projects within the Framework of the CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative. A detailed list of the projects (outlining Titles, Budget, Duration, Objectives and Activities) can be downloaded from this page. –
http://www.cbrn-coe.eu/call_for_proposals.html All submissions or queries should be made electronically to:
coeprojects@unicri.it with the Project Number in the
subject line, or via post.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Sir,
It was with surprise that I read the Leader article in CBRNe World’s Winter 2011 issue (“HD Ready”) about the mandate and work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Given the importance of the CBRN community as OPCW stakeholders, I hope you will publish this response.
According to your article, the OPCW should have known about chemical weapons that were discovered in Libya by its new government last year and not previously declared by the former regime of Muammar Gaddafi.
The OPCW has conducted its verification activities in Libya in the same manner as every other State Party, and in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. On joining the OPCW in January 2004, Libya was obliged to submit a formal declaration detailing all of its chemical weapons assets. The OPCW duly verified these assets, as well as all of Libya’s ensuing destruction activities, with on-site inspections.
Under Article IV (chemicals weapons) and Article V (CW production facilities) of the Convention, the OPCW’s mandate is limited to inspecting and verifying materials that are declared by States Parties, and at those locations stipulated in their declarations. The only exception to this is the “challenge inspections” mechanism under Article IX, to be decided by the decision-making organs of the Organisation. As of this date we have never been requested to conduct a challenge inspection.
The discovery by the new government in Tripoli of some additional quantities of sulfur mustard and chemical weapons munitions in 2011 that were not declared by the Qaddafi regime has naturally provoked serious concern. The OPCW will continue working with the Libyan authorities to ensure that Libya’s chemical weapons are fully accounted for and destroyed in their entirety.
Implementing the Convention is an ever-evolving work, as the job of destroying all currently declared chemical weapons stockpiles nears completion. But the OPCW’s track record in verifiably eliminating an entire category of weapons of mass destruction speaks for itself, and has made a significant contribution to international peace and security.
Since it was established in April 1997, the OPCW has overseen and verified the destruction of nearly three-quarters of the world’s declared chemical weapons. By 2016, all but 1% of these arsenals will be destroyed - an unprecedented achievement in the annals of disarmament. As of today, the Convention has attracted 188 States Parties, making it the fastest growing arms treaty in history. For these reasons, among others, the OPCW is widely viewed as one of the most successful multilateral organisations in the realm of security.
Michael Luhan OPCW Spokesman, The Hague, the Netherlands
CBRNe South America 2012, 13-14 March, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. More information on
www.icbrnevents.com 6 CBRNe WORLD February 2012
www.cbrneworld.com
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