Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/2108Dangos y teitl llawn

2. Selection of implementing agency and coordination with other relevant funding initiatives U.K.

2.1. Implementing Agency – the Organization of American States (OAS) U.K.

The OAS has been actively supporting Member States’ non-proliferation efforts in the Americas since 2005. In 2010 the CICTE Secretariat was given a specific mandate to develop a programme to assist in the implementation of UNSCR 1540 (2004). Consequently, a strategic partnership was formed between the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the 1540 Committee Group of Experts, and the OAS/CICTE Secretariat to implement a technical assistance and capacity building pilot project in the Americas to facilitate Member States’ efforts to implement the different areas covered by UNSCR 1540 (2004).

One of OAS/CICTE’s main objectives has been to work with countries whose governments are fully engaged in the physical protection and accounting of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (‘CBRN’) materials as part of those states’ non-proliferation efforts. Another objective has been to seek to help the beneficiary states implement UNSCR 1540 (2004) by identifying specific needs and challenges in order to tailor legislative assistance and specialised capacity-building activities aimed at strengthening Member States’ preventive framework against the use of CBRN materials by non-state actors.

The regional framework provided by OAS carries a comparative advantage due to the transnational nature of the threats, which necessarily entail cooperation between neighbouring countries in order to meet those challenges. CICTE’s regional approach to these issues will ensure consistency so that efforts are not duplicated and it can maximise efficiency. In this regard, the OAS, as the premier regional organisation in the Americas, is in a unique position in the hemisphere to demonstrate effectiveness due to its existing network of national points of contact, its extensive presence throughout the region and its ability to work in the field with the proposed beneficiary countries.

More generally, OAS/CICTE has worked closely with the governments of numerous OAS Member States and achieved important results in the biosafety and biosecurity area. For example, OAS/CICTE has assisted Member States in various ways, such as:

• drafting 1540 national action plans and strengthening legal and regulatory frameworks;

• building capacity to prevent and combat nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological material trafficking and smuggling;

• promoting the exchange of effective practices through the use of the peer review methodology; and

• facilitating coordination at the political level to identify areas for regional and sub‐regional cooperation.

2.2. Coordination with Other Relevant Funding Initiatives U.K.

As a general practice, OAS/CICTE coordinates its activities with other agencies and organisations receiving funds from both the same and different donor governments and international bodies. In the case of organisations receiving support from the European Union for work related to the activities proposed under this project, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), the 1540 Committee and its Group of Experts, and the Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit (BWC‐ISU) are directly relevant to the project, and it is worth noting that OAS/CICTE already works closely with them. The coordination with these bodies will be carried out by the management team based at OAS Headquarters, to ensure all efforts are complementary and to avoid duplication, and project activities will be aligned with 1540 and BWC obligations.

In this regard, OAS/CICTE believes the Project is clearly in line with the 2019 European Council Decision to support implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention outside the European Union (‘the Decision’). The proposed Project would further the Decision by helping to reduce the threat of proliferation of biological and toxin weapons in the region. In doing so, the Project would take into account the rapid advancements in life sciences, in order to ensure that governments’ legal and regulatory frameworks to counter such threats meet current international standards. As a result, the Project would help to ensure that OAS Member States are well prepared to respond quickly to any threats that may arise.

With respect to policy development, OAS/CICTE will continue to work in this area by way of its Regular Sessions and the Committee on Hemispheric Security of the OAS Permanent Council.

The main objective of this proposal is to improve biosafety and biosecurity in beneficiary countries by raising awareness and building capacity among relevant sectors, in line with UNSCR 1540 (2004), including the enforcement of effective domestic measures to prevent the proliferation of biological weapons and their means of delivery. These efforts will be aimed at life scientists in the field of biosafety and biosecurity in the public and private sectors, as well as at policymakers and legislators. Activities include training courses for life scientists in beneficiary countries, as well as the development of an online training course to reach even more beneficiaries in the region. OAS/CICTE will carry out these activities in coordination with our strategic partners and, as noted in the Methodology section, for highly specialised training and tasks, the OAS may also contract short-term support (experts, trainers and researchers), and will work with its partners in those areas (including the BWC-ISU, UNODA, OIE and the European Union) and academia in order to ensure that personnel meet all the technical requirements, including, where possible, drawing from the rosters maintained by those organisations.