Disarmament in Review
From 24 to 25 July 2024, in San Salvador, El Salvador, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) organized a national workshop on the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the preparation of Confidence Building Measures (CBM) reports. The workshop was organized in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador and its Permanent Mission in Geneva and carried out with the financial support of the European Union. The workshop was attended by more than 35 national participants from several national entities.
Opening remarks were provided by Mr. Jorge Alberto Umaña, Director General of Foreign Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, Ambassador François Roudié from the European Union Delegation in El Salvador and Mr. Camilo Duplat, Head of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in El Salvador.
Mr. Jorge Alberto Umaña, Director General of Foreign Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador speaking during the opening segment of the workshop.
On the first day of the workshop, presentations were given by UNODA on the BWC and key aspects of its national implementation, the role and responsibilities of BWC National Contact Points (NCP) as well as the importance of CBM reports and BWC national implementing legislation. Best practices on national implementation of the Convention and the preparation of CBM reports in Colombia were shared with participants by Ms. María Milagros Ávila Paz, Coordinator, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombia.
During the second day, participants engaged in a series of interactive exercises on the elaboration of CBM reports. Through these exercises, a mapping of the relevant contributing entities was carried out and potential timelines for the elaboration process were discussed. UNODA outlined further assistance opportunities to El Salvador and possible next steps were discussed. The workshop concluded with closing remarks by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNODA.
Workshop participants engaging in interactive exercises on the elaboration of Confidence Building Measures reports.
The national workshop provided a valuable opportunity to national stakeholders to engage on ways to further strengthen the implementation of the Convention at the national level and to map additional assistance needs and opportunities.
