Kingston workshop to focus on managing CBRNE disasters

News

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

A two-day workshop to help the Caribbean Community (Caricom) develop capabilities to respond to emergencies related to the accidental or deliberate use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive (CBRNE) materials will open in Kingston today.The workshop — a joint efort of INTERPOL and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) — will bring together several senior officials representing law enforcement agencies in the region, as well as policy personnel from ministries of foreign affairs and the national security from Caricom member states.The objective of the workshop is to acquaint security planners and law enforcement in the region to the implementation of national emergency response systems to strategic threats and to acquaint them with the critical infrastructure needed to develop adequate national and regional response capacities.O’Neil Hamilton, co-ordinator of a joint Caricom-United Nations programme aimed at preventing the trans-shipment, transit or export of CBRNE materials and related technology within the region, says the workshop is “an important initiative which serves to deepen cooperation between the international community and Caricom states in facing non-traditional security and potential public health challenges.”The workshop also represents an expanded engagement between INTERPOL, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and Caricom member states to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction within the Caribbean.In addition to delegations from Caricom member states, the meeting will also be attended by Dr Gabriele Kraatz-Wadsack, chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch of the United Nations.

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Kingston workshop to focus on managing CBRNE disasters