M. Mookodi¹

¹Department of Trade and Industry

Abstract:

South Africa has been a regional training centre for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Assistance and Protection Course and Analytical Chemistry Course since 2005. In the Assistance and Protection Course, participants dealing with the emergency response and protection against chemical weapons and toxic industrial chemicals are invited. The course covers theoretical and practical training on the usage of individual and collective protective clothing, monitoring, detection and decontamination techniques, as well as the handling of casualties after a chemical incident. In the Analytical Chemistry Course, participants are trained in sample preparation, basic analytical techniques and the use of certain laboratory equipment required for the analysis of toxic chemicals. South Africa posses skill in organising, hosting and in case of the above-mentioned conducting non-proliferation related training interventions using minimal resources and equipment that developing countries do possess. South Africa hosted the first Introductory Training Programme for African States of the CTBTO IMS in December 1995, and has been sporadically hosting CTBT training courses culminating in the Advanced Course of the On Site Inspection Third Training Cycle and the Ground and Airborne Visual Observation Course in October 2018.