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Opening Regional Secretariat for the African Atlantic Façade

EU CBRN Risk Mitigation CoE Initiative

Rabat -






Funded by the European Union

Within the framework of the European Union (EU) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence (CBRN CoE) Initiative, representatives of the Government of Morocco, EU, the United Nations (UN) as well as the representatives of several other countries, convened on 19 March 2013 at the Moroccan Civil Protection Headquarters in Rabat for the official opening of the CBRN CoE Regional Secretariat for the African Atlantic Façade. The Kingdom of Morocco was represented by H.E. Mr. Youssef Amrani, Minister Delegate for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and H.E. Mr. Noureddine Boutayeb Wali, Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior. The European Union was represented by His Excellency Mr. Eneko Landaburu, Ambassador of the EU Delegation in Morocco. The opening was also attended by Mr. Aloys Kamuragiye, Resident Representative of the United Nations.

Launched in 2010, the CBRN CoE is an initiative of the EU implemented jointly by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), under the aegis of the EU Institutions. 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. It addresses regional CBRN needs through tailored projects and aims at strengthening policies, institutional capacity building at both regional and national levels as well as a regional culture of safety and security.

The Initiative involves over 60 countries in 8 different regions of the world with Regional Secretariat being established in each region, 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. The Regional Secretariats ensure cooperation and coordination with partner countries and are responsible for supporting them with the identification of needs, the formulation and implementation of regional project proposals and the development of national action plans.

As a result of the on-going activities of CBRN CoE for the African Atlantic Façade, 10 projects – addressing countries’ needs - have been launched in 2013.

The Official Opening of the Regional Secretariat for the African Atlantic Façade included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Morocco and UNICRI and a live demonstration of the CBRN risk mitigation action performed by the Moroccan Civil Protection.

 

For more information:

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

European Commission, Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace website:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/fpi/what-we-do/instrument_contributing_to_stability_and_peace_en.htm