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Doha: Qatar will liaise between an international watchdog and regional states for the implementation of an international ban on chemical weaponry.
Brigadier General Hasan Al Ali, chairman of the National Committee for the Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons, yesterday said the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has asked Qatar to be a focal point for the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in the region by providing advice and technical support to other Gulf countries.
"Qatar is in the forefront with regard to the fulfilment of the convention's conditions and we have been asked to provide other countries in the region with advice and help to complete implementation," he told Gulf News.
Asked whether the region is an area of illegal trafficking in chemical weapons, Al Ali said: "[The Gulf Cooperation Council] GCC countries are committed to peace and they do not produce nor traffic in chemical weapons. Proliferation and trafficking are illegal according to national legislations. If there is any trafficking, it is committed by smugglers and [they are severely punished]."
Al Ali was speaking on the sidelines of the Fifth Regional Meeting of the Asian Member States of OPCW, a three-day event aimed at discussing the challenges posed to the implementation of the Convention banning the production and use of chemical weapons.
Task force
Qatar, which has recently issued a new legislation prohibiting chemical weapons production and trade, has set up a complex task force under Al Ali's directives.
His committee monitors the implementation of six international treaties against chemical, biological, nuclear and conventional weapons' proliferation, nuclear testing and anti personnel mines.
"Our work envisages coordination with regional and international agencies. We have six subcommittees tasked with following up on the implementation of each treaty."
Asked whether OPCW required Qatar to play a role of mediator towards Arab countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, who have not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, Al Ali denied.
"The signing of the convention is a matter of politics," he said.
The four Arab countries besides Somalia, North Korea and Angola, are the only non-signatory states of CWC. Israel is in the group of other six countries that have signed the Convention but not ratified it.
Commenting on the prospects of Gulf cooperation on the chemical weaponry ban, Ahmad Al Bakr, director of legal affairs at the UAE Federal Customs Authority, said collaboration among the Gulf states is at the beginning.
"There was a meeting recently in Kuwait to discuss the implementation of CWC. I am sure more will be done in future in terms of cooperation and technical exchange," he said.
Doha, which has issued legislation prohibiting the production and trade of chemical weapons, will coordinate with regional and global agencies.
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