Funded by the European Union
The EU supports the National Action Plans of Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan on mitigating chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear risks
In the framework of the European Union (EU) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Centres of Excellence (EU CBRN CoE) Risk Mitigation Initiative, representatives of the Governments of Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, the European Union and the United Nations, as well as several regional partners and EU Member States convened on 28th September 2017 at the Grand Serail in Beirut for the presentation of the CBRN National Action Plans of Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan to mitigate CBRN risks.
In the opening session, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Lebanese Council of Ministers Mr. Fouad Fleifel said: "We thank the EU and friendly countries on their willingness to fund the implementation of the National Action Plan to mitigate CBRN risks, in compliance with the support that Lebanon receives from the International Working Group that was established through a United Nations Security Council resolution in 2014."
Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon Julia Koch de Biolley, said: "We have seen remarkable progresses achieved in CBRN defence in Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan in coordination with the EU Regional Centre of Excellence based in Amman and will encourage further steps to consolidate the important results achieved so far in inter-agency cooperation, capacity-building, and awareness."
The CBRN Lebanese National Focal Point, Dr Bilal Nsouli thanked the EU and the partner countries for their support, saying: "We highly appreciate the trainings provided to members of our specialised institutions and agencies, and we look forward to more collaboration in the future."
The opening session was followed by an overview of the work of the EU-funded CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence initiative and a presentation of the National Action Plans of Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. Background The EU CBRN CoE is a worldwide initiative jointly implemented with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). The Initiative aims to mitigate CBRN risks of criminal, accidental or natural origin by promoting a coherent policy, improving coordination and preparedness at national and regional levels and by offering a comprehensive approach covering legal, scientific, enforcement and technical issues.
The Initiative, implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), involves more than 60 countries and has been launched in 8 different regions of the world, namely: African Atlantic Façade; Central Asia; Eastern and Central Africa; Gulf Cooperation Council Countries; Middle East; North Africa; South East Asia; South East Europe, Southern Caucasus, Moldova and Ukraine. Each of these regions has a functioning Secretariat. The Regional Secretariats ensure cooperation and coordination with partner countries and are responsible for supporting them with the identification of needs, the formulation of regional project proposals, the development of national action plans and the implementation of the projects.
As a result of the on-going activities of EU CBRN CoE initiative in the Middle East, 20 projects – addressing countries’ needs - were launched since 2011.
Further information can be obtained on the CBRN CoE web portal: http://www.cbrn-coe.eu