THE Ministry of Defence (MinDef) and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) co-hosted the National Legal Workshop for Brunei Darussalam on the Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) .
The workshop was held at the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (SHHBIDSS) from March 26-27.
Acting Permanent Secretary at the MinDef Haji Amiruddin bin Haji Mohammad Hassan presented certificates of appreciation to participants during the closing ceremony.
Director of Defence Policy at the MinDef Haji Adi Ihram bin Dato Paduka Haji Mahmud officiated the workshop.
The workshop aimed to assist Brunei Darussalam in making its initial submission on the legislative and administrative measures in implementing the CWC, to finalise the draft legislation of CWC and to outline the next steps in implementing the CWC legislation.
Forty participants from government agencies and industry establishments attended the workshop. Among them were officers from the Attorney General’s Chambers, Royal Brunei Police Force, directorates and units of the Ministry of Defence and Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Royal Customs and Excise Department, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fire and Rescue Department, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Energy, Manpower and Industry, and Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd.
The OPCW, based in the Hague, Netherlands is responsible for implementing the CWC. Among the OPCW’s missions are to ensure the destruction of chemical weapons, to prevent their re-emergence in any member states, and encourage international cooperation in the peaceful uses of chemistry.
Brunei Darussalam is a signatory and state party to a broad range of United Nations treaties and conventions including the CWC. Brunei Darussalam signed the CWC on January 13, 1993 and ratified it on July 28, 1997.
