Defence Secretary graced the NACWC awareness programme for top
officials of the Ministry of Defence
March 26, 2024
The Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne presided over the awareness programme focusing on countering the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) through Know Your Customer (KYC) and customer due diligence as the Chief Guest conducted by the National Authority for Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC) at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) today (Mar 26).
The awareness programme was conducted with the participation of high-ranking officials from the MOD and top officials from the relevant institutions in the subject area. The guest speaker of the programme was Dr. Rohan P. Perera, an affiliate subject matter expert on Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) risk mitigation at the United States Civilian Research Development Foundation (CRDF).
On commencing the Programme, the Director of the National Authority, Rear Admiral (Dr.) Ravi Ranasinghe highlighted the notable surge in chemical-related incidents in Sri Lanka recently, exemplified by events such as the Water Care chemical storage fire in Homagama and the Kandana chemical factory fire.
Further, he notified on the progress of the initiatives taken by the NACWC to formulate the National Security Concerned Chemicals Act and Online Chemical Monitoring and Regulating System (CM&RS) with the consent of the President.
During the lecture, Dr. Rohan P. Perera elaborated on the urgent need to prevent the spread of WMD in Sri Lanka as well as globally. With the rise of non-state actors and the globalization of trade, the risk of these dual-use items falling into the wrong hands has heightened, necessitating robust measures to counter their proliferation.
Among these measures, he emphasizes the requirement of enhancing KYC and customer due diligence processes by the licensing authorities and trade control entities to uplift the standards and create a safer and more secure environment.
Notable attendees to the programme included the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security, the Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, commanders from the Army and Air Force and Ms. Sarah Welsh from the Embassy of the United States of America.
