Assistance and Protection Against Chemical Weapons
Assistance and protection against chemical weapons, their use, or threat of use, in accordance with the provisions of Article X of the Convention.
Assistance against chemical weapons
Protection against chemical weapons
Assistance and Protection Against Chemical Weapons
Chemical weapons are frightening and dreadful weapons. They inflict excruciating and long-term suffering on a mass scale. Some Member States have the capacity to protect their populations against chemical weapons, while others do not. All Member States have pledged to provide assistance and protection to fellow Member States threatened by the use of chemical weapons or attacked with chemical weapons.
Resources from a Voluntary Fund for Assistance, as well as individual offers of equipment and trained personnel, are available, should the need arise to swiftly dispatch assistance and expertise. A network of protection experts consults regularly on the means to improve the ability of Member States to respond to the use of chemical weapons and to protect civilian populations. If a Member State requests assistance, the Technical Secretariat is responsible for the effective coordination of the assistance and protection measures provided by Member States. These capabilities can include expertise in predicting hazards, in detecting and decontaminating chemical agents, in medical relief, and in on-site coordination with humanitarian and disaster response agencies.
The OPCW Technical Secretariat organises courses aimed at providing training to first responders, government experts and emergency response units in building and developing national and regional capabilities and emergency response systems against the use, or threat of use, of chemical weapons. Over 2,200 participants have benefited.
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