National committee on chemical weapons holds meeting

Manama, Dec. 31 (BNA): The National Committee on Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Development, Production, Use and Stockpiling and their Destruction held its fifth meeting. Chaired by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Shaikha Rana Bint Isa bin Daij Al Khalifa, with the participation of the Committee members who represent the relevant ministries and government bodies, the committee looked into the topics tabled on agenda of its meeting. The Committee was informed of the outcome of the participation in the Twenty-third Meeting of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention. The meeting, held from 19-20 November in the Hague, reviewed the efforts of the Kingdom's National Committee on the Prohibition of Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and their Destruction in carrying out its commitment to limiting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Committee also reviewed the outcomes of the Fourth Review Conference of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, held on November 21 - 30 in The Hague. A delegation from the Kingdom participated in the review and made a statement praising the work of the Organization and its joint cooperation with the Kingdom of Bahrain The Kingdom of Bahrain, in its statement, called upon States to accede to this Convention immediately and referred to the importance of the obligation for all countries to implement international conventions and Security Council resolutions related to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to take measures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. She urged necessary measures to prevent terrorist groups from acquiring such weapons and or delivering them to maintain international peace and security. It is worth noting that the Review Conference is held every five years, which represents an opportunity for the States Parties to the Convention to review the mechanisms of their implementation and to develop the strategy work for the Organization for the five years to follow. The purpose of the conference is to strengthen the role of the Convention in the promotion of international peace and security and ensure the universality of the Convention and effective implementation of its provisions, in particular those related to the destruction of chemical weapons and ways of cooperating with the Organization for the prevention of such weapons. In this regard, Dr. Shaikha Rana stressed the importance of continuing effective cooperation with the OPCW for its important role in promoting international cooperation to ban chemical weapons and assist the States Parties to the Convention to fulfill their obligations. The committee also reviewed the results of the national training course on the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, the amended protocol for small quantities of nuclear materials and the additional protocol organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 4-6 November of this year. The course was organized by the Committee in the Kingdom of Bahrain in coordination with the International Atomic Energy Agency, in the presence of the members of the Committee and representatives of all relevant ministries and government bodies. The plans and programs to be implemented by the Committee during the upcoming period were also discussed. On the end of the Committee’s term for 2018, the annual report on the National Committee's work was reviewed during the meeting and is to be submitted to the cabinet in fulfillment of the Committee's obligations and competences contained in Cabinet Resolution No37/2017. At the end of the meeting, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked all the members of the Committee, the ministries and government agencies representatives for their continuous contributions to the work of the Committee over the past year.