Abidjan hosts regional summit on prohibition of chemical weapons

A sub-regional forum on the Convention for Chemical Weapons opened on Tuesday in Abidjan, with an objective of allowing stakeholders from West Africa to discuss their experiences with regards to the convention.

The two day meeting will enable participants to identify the chemical products listed in the convention and inform the customs officials how these products are labelled as well as the mode of transporting them.

"The objective of this training is to reduce, or even eliminate the differences in declaration of chemical products during transportation between convention's state parties, hence guaranteeing the traceability of hazardous products and ensuring such products are used for peaceful purposes," the permanent secretary for the Commission on Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in Cote d'Ivoire Nanga Zinzendors said.

The Chemical Weapons Convention which came into force in 1997, aims to eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by state parties.

Cote d'Ivoire which is a state party, adopted in 1993 a law on prohibition and destruction of chemical weapons. Endit