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Second Workshop in Gabon to prepare the National Action Plan to mitigate CBRN risks

EU CBRN Risk Mitigation CoE Initiative

Libreville -


 




Funded by the European Union

The second workshop held in Gabon for the National Action Plan to mitigate Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) risks took place in Libreville from 18 September to 19 September 2014 and was hosted by the Ministry of Interior. More than 25 high-level officials from different ministries and international experts shared experience on mitigating risks related to CBRN materials and agents and discussed the National CBRN Action Plan also in consideration of the inputs of a previous meeting carried out in July which laid the basis for its development.

The overall purpose of the National Action Plan is to articulate a national vision for risk mitigation into a national CBRN action plan and to identify priorities for building capacity. The action plan – to be developed in a series of workshops – will be designed to ensure that separate efforts are incorporated into one coherent approach, thus strengthening national capacities for prevention, detection, preparedness and response to CBRN threats. The initiative also facilitates the identification and implementation of projects and ensures that capacity building is part of a coordinated and sustainable approach. Its development is based on a voluntary and bottom-up approach entirely led by countries who decide which information to include in the National CBRN Action Plan and how it will be used.

The main objective of the second workshop was for the National CBRN team and international experts to present and review the draft National CBRN Action Plan, resulting from a series of previous meetings, with a particular focus on identification of priorities.

The workshops are part of the European Union CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence initiative (EU CBRN CoE). This initiative promotes and supports the development and implementation of national CBRN policies and creates a network of regional initiatives. It aims at strengthening regional security by increasing local ownership, local expertise and long-term sustainability. This includes sharing good practices and capabilities, developing guidelines as well as identifying, collecting, analysing and deploying resources to respond to the needs identified by partner countries.

The EU CBRN CoE initiative is funded by the European Commission and implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). The European External Action Service is also involved in the follow-up of the initiative. The initiative is developed with the technical support of relevant international and regional organisations, the EU Member States and other stakeholders, through coherent and effective cooperation at the national, regional and international level. The initiative involves 47 countries in 8 regions of the world.

For more information:

CBRN Centres of Excellence website:
http://www.cbrn-coe.eu/

European Commission, Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace website:
ec.europa.eu