NEWS RELEASES

May 28, 2001 (10:05 a.m. EDT) No. 68

CANADA TO HOST UNMOVIC TRAINING COURSE

Canada will host a five-week training course beginning May 28, 2001 for inspectors attached to the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission in Iraq (UNMOVIC).

Canada's hosting of this training exercise underscores this country's support for UNMOVIC and its mandate. Iraq's ability to produce weapons of mass destruction and missiles remains a serious threat to international peace and security, and UNMOVIC represents the world's collective response to this threat.

UNMOVIC was established by Security Council Resolution 1284 on December 17, 1999, to replace the UN Special Commission. Its mandate is to disarm Iraq of its chemical and biological weapons and missiles and to operate a system of ongoing monitoring and verification. The Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, Dr. Hans Blix, will visit Canada to launch the training course. While Iraq continues to refuse to accept its obligation to co-operate with UNMOVIC, preparations, including training of inspectors, continue so that the organization can respond quickly when the time comes to begin operations in Iraq.

Previous UNMOVIC training courses have taken place in New York, Paris and Vienna.

Some 60 trainees from 28 countries will participate in the Canadian course, which will be held mainly in Ottawa, with site visits to other centres. In addition to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Department of National Defence, Canadian industry will play a significant role in this initiative by making their facilities available to course participants.

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