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Chemical firms told to register, obtain substances' list

ABU DHABI- The National Committee for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has urged all semi-government and private sector firms and factories in the country dealing in chemical substances to register their names with the Armed Forces General Headquarters (GHQ) and to obtain a list of the banned chemical substances.

In an announcement in the local print media, the committee said the move was in accordance with the Federal Decree No 104 for 2000 on the ratification of the Convention on The Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.

According to the committee, all firms dealing in import, re-export, transport, stockpiling, use and manufacturing of chemical weapons should approach the GHQ offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

The Sharjah office will handle firms based in Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras AL Khaimah, and Fujairah.

Firms will be requested to fill in required forms.

The committee emphasised that all concerned firms should rectify their status in accordance with the Federal Decree No 104 for 2000 within six month in order to avoid legal liability.

The UAE is also a member of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which was established to enforce the Convention and to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation among the signatories of the Convention.

In addition to Convention on The Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, the UAE has recently signed a Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA. The agreement was signed by Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and IAEA Director General Mohammed El Baradei.

According to Shaikh Hamdan, the signing of the agreement reflected the UAE's ke enness to bolstering the security and stability of the Middle East through the excellent relations it has with the countries in the region and its adherence to international laws and principles.

He said while signing the accord that the UAE had since its formation complied with the international obligations on using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, noting that the UAE had joined Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, NPT, in 1996.

With the signing of the Safeguard Agreement, the UAE made an undertaking for the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to benefit from the IAEA's expertise in the field.

As part of its commitment, the UAE has recently formed a national committee in charge of encountering potential effects of weapons of mass destruction.

According to Staff Major-General Mohammed Salim bin Kardous Al Ameri, Director-General of Civil Defence who chaired a meeting of the committee recently, the UAE had witnessed an increase in the imports of hazardous chemical substances which are used in industrial production and for meeting requirements of modern life.

He said the committee had been formed on the directives of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Staff of UAE Armed Forces.

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