Workshop on the draft Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

From 27 to 29 September, in Ninh Binh, the Chemical Corps (Standing Office 81) cooperated with the Export Control and Related Border Security Program of the US Department of State (EXBS Program) and the European Union’s Programme on Export Control of Dual-Use Goods for South-East Asia (EU P2P Programme) to organise a workshop on the draft Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Overview of the workshop.

The workshop was attended by delegates from a number of central ministries and sectors; delegates from Vietnam’s National Focal Point for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and from Standing Office 81; and experts from the EXBS and EU P2P programmes.

This was the fourth workshop in a series of activities organised by Standing Office 81 in cooperation with the EXBS and EU P2P programmes to improve the legal framework on countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hien delivers the opening remarks at the workshop.

In his opening remarks, Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hien, Deputy Head of Standing Office 81, summarised the results of the activities organised so far to improve the legal framework. According to Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hien, this workshop was an important milestone in the process of improving Vietnam’s legal framework on countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; at the same time, its results would also be an important basis for Standing Office 81 to continue working with domestic and international experts and to seek the views of the relevant ministries and sectors in order to advise the competent authorities on finalising the draft Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction at an early date and submitting it to the Government as soon as possible.

Senior Colonel Nguyen Dinh Hien expressed his confidence that, with the experience, in-depth expertise, dedication, enthusiasm and high sense of responsibility of the experts and participants, the workshop would be a great success, contributing to accelerating the process of drafting Vietnam’s Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Workshop participants pose for a group photo.

At the workshop, participants and experts focused on discussing in detail the contents of the draft Law on Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The draft Law was developed by the experts on the basis of the findings of a survey on how far Vietnam’s legal system meets the obligations on countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction set out in the international treaties to which Vietnam is a party, such as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004)...

Vuong Nguyen