Declarations and other submissions

All health care professionals who are involved with supplementary prescribing will require continuing professional development (CPD). Practitioners have a responsibility to keep themselves up to date with clinical and professional developments. Since 2005, podiatrists (and others) have also had to meet the requirements of the Standards for Continuing Professional Development of the Health Professions Council. This is a self-declaration, which has to be kept current with practice within an individual s practice. It is subject to periodic audit, requiring the submission of evidence of CPD to the HPC. Employers should allow practitioners access to relevant education and training. The Department of Health has commissioned CPD support for supplementary prescribers through the National Prescribing Centre (see www.npc.co.uk). 

The First Review Conference stressed the importance of the timely, complete, and accurate submission of the declarations required of each State Party under Article HI. The First Review Conference noted with satisfaction that, by the end of 2002, all but two States Parties had submitted their declarations under Article III. The First Review Conference called upon the remaining States Parties that had yet to submit their Article III declarations to do so without any further delay, and called upon those states that had become States Parties in the meantime to submit their declarations under Article III when they are due. The First Review Conference encouraged the Secretariat to monitor progress in this respect, to offer assistance, including to states preparing to join the Convention in the future, and to keep the Council informed about the situation. The First Review Conference also encouraged States Parties that are able to do so, to provide assistance to other States Parties, if requested, in the preparation and submission of declarations and amendments and to inform the OPCW about such assistance. 

The First Review Conference reaffirmed the importance of national implementation as an essential element of the implementation of the verification and other provisions of Article VI and Parts VI through IX of the Verification Annex. It addressed this issue in detail under agenda item 7(c)(v). The First Review Conference encouraged States Parties to share their experiences about the most effective ways to implement the Convention, and to cooperate in the resolution of issues they may encounter in the implementation of these provisions. The First Review Conference encouraged the Secretariat to continue providing technical assistance to States Parties, by mutual consent, in relation to the identification of declarable facilities, the submission of declarations under Article VI, the receipt of OPCW inspections and other technical questions that may arise in the implementation of the provisions related to activities not prohibited under the Convention. 

The Second Review Conference also reaffirmed that declarations provided by States Parties under Article III, which establish a baseline for measuring progress in the elimination of chemical weapons stockpiles, need to be comprehensive and accurate. The Second Review Conference reminded States Parties to ensure that their declarations under Article III are updated in a timely manner, if and when new information becomes available. It called upon the Secretariat to continue rendering, when requested, technical assistance to States Parties on the preparation of declarations. The Second Review Conference also encouraged States Parties that are in a position to do so to assist other States Parties, at their request, in the preparation and submission of declarations and amendments. 

Globally, there is concern that biased results could be produced from studies conducted by investigators who own shares or other financial benefits in the pharmaceutical company sponsoring their trials. The Declaration of Helsinki (2000) requires that sources of fimding, institutional affiliations and possible conflicts of interest should be declared in any publication. All studies conducted on products that are likely to be part of a submission to the US FDA require the sponsor to make a disclosure of financial holdings of the investigators that participate in all studies. Any significant pa)unents (US 25000)... 

Encourages States Parties to lend advice, upon request, to other States Parties in drafting and adopting national measures necessary to implement the Convention, inter alia to ensure that the laws reflect the comprehensive nature of the Convention by covering all activities that are to be prohibited or required in aceordance with the Convention, and that involve the use of any toxic chemicals and their precursors to cover the provision of annual declarations on past and anticipated activities to ensure the implementation of the provisions related to transfers of scheduled chemicals and to cover the annual submission of information on national... 

The First Review Conference agreed that the reporting by the Secretariat to the Council and to the States Parties on verification results is an important matter, enabling States Parties to be assured of continued compliance with the Convention by other States Parties. This reporting includes the submission by the Secretariat to the States Parties of certain information to be provided in annual declarations, as well as general information that the Secretariat provides about the results of its verification activities, in accordance with the provisions of the Annex on the Protection of Confidential Information (hereinafter the Confidentiality Annex ). 

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