Regional Training Course on Implementation of Biological Weapons Convention Concludes in Doha

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Doha, January 17 (QNA) - The regional training course on the implementation of Biological Weapons Convention wrapped up Wednesday at UN House in Doha.
   The two-day course was intended to promote the UN convention through creating a debate forum, sharing information and best practices among national focal points, as well as those concerned with it in the states parties in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
   The national focal points, along with representatives of 14 states party to the Biological Weapons Convention from MENA participated in the course organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and funded by the European Union (EU) in collaboration with the Qatari National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW).
   The training course offered an opportunity for sharing information and the best practices related to the national implementation of the of Biological Weapons Convention, especially with respect to setting national legislations and action plans, as well as preparing confidence-building measures, as the major mechanism to achieve comprehensive peace and bolster transparency among states party to the Biological Weapons Convention.
   The course contributed to actively and productively sharing knowledge among participants to enhance the national focal point network of the Biological Weapons Convention, in addition to promoting feelings of belonging to the society and empowerment among community individuals.
  The aforementioned course highlighted future training opportunities and amplified the awareness at national and regional levels on the provisions of the convention as a critical steps to ensure effectiveness of embargo imposed on biological weapons, as a subset of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The event shed the light on the significance of cooperation and engagement of all state sectors in sharing information to build confidence measures, as per each sector purviews that would essentially optimize the quality of the provided data and help implement the national measures related to the implementation of the convention.
   In addition, the training course included detailed instructions related to the roles and responsibilities of the national focal points, as well as practical information about all aspects of the national implementation of this convention, including coordination among agencies and presenting reports of confidence-building measures. (QNA)