Skip to main content

Reinforcing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) risks mitigation capacities in Rwanda

Meeting with the National CBRN Team of Rwanda

Kigali, Rwanda -

 


 

Funded by the European Union

A meeting with the Rwandan National CBRN Team took place in Kigali, on 23-24 March 2017, within the framework of the European Union (EU) CBRN Centres of Excellence (CoE) Initiative. The meeting was organised by the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation with the support of the CBRN Center of Excellence Regional Secretariat for Eastern and Central Africa (ECA).

This was the second in the series of meetings supported by the Secretariat and its purpose was to re-enforce the National Team’s knowledge of the CBRN CoE methodology and tools available within the programme, as well as to strengthen their understanding of the upcoming CoE projects.

The opening remarks were delivered by Mr. Ondrej Simek, Head of Political Section in the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Rwanda, Mr. Ram Athavale, Key On-Site Assistance Expert in the Eastern and Central Africa Regional Secretariat and Ms. Alma Pintol, ECA Regional Coordinator. The workshop was officially opened by Ms. Diyana Gitera, Head of Multilateral Affairs Directorate General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation who highlighted the government’s support to the programme and underlined the National Team’s efforts.

The meeting provided an opportunity for the participants to consider CBRN risks, threats and vulnerabilities specific to Rwanda, and to discuss the existing protocols, response mechanisms and achievements. The representatives of the ECA Regional Secretariat emphasized the roles of the National Focal Point and of the National CBRN Team within the programme and provided an update on the activities in the region.

On-Site experts, mandated to support the National Team in their technical activities, focused on the mapping of CBRN assets and activities, the needs assessment methodology and the training modalities of National CBRN Response Team.

The second day of the workshop was dedicated to information sharing on project proposals preparation and implementation, with special focus on the next projects to be implemented in 11 partner countries in the region namely: Support to the EU CBRN ECA CoE in Nuclear Security; and Combatting Falsified Medicines.

Both days of the meeting were marked by very fruitful discussions between the representatives of the national institutions that attended the meeting: the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources; the Ministry of Defence; the Ministry of Disaster Management; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; the Ministry of Health, Rwanda Biomedical Centre; the Ministry of Infrastructure; the Ministry of Justice; the Ministry of Trade, Industry and EAC Affairs; the National Commission of Science and Technology; Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration; Rwanda Environment Management Authority; Rwanda National Police; Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA); Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) and the University of Rwanda.

The next envisaged steps, agreed on by the participants are the formalization of the National CBRN Team and a workshop on Country’s CBRN needs assessment.

The EU CBRN CoE Risk Mitigation Initiative involves 56 countries in 8 regions of the world, is funded by the European Union and is jointly implemented by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC). The initiative has been developed with the technical support of relevant international and regional organizations, the EU Member States and other stakeholders, through coherent and effective cooperation at the national, regional and international level. The EU CBRN CoE Risk Mitigation Initiative aims at strengthening regional security and safety by sharing good practices and capabilities, by developing guidelines, by identifying and deploying resources to respond to the needs identified by partner countries and by supporting the development of national CBRN policies.

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

European Commission, Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace website (see section about "Stable Situations"): http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/node/7350