EU and Kenya Join Forces in Addressing Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Risks
Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear (CBRN) threats and risk have recently risen to the forefront of the international agenda with the use of chemical weapons on civilians populations in Syria as well as the attempted poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter through the use of a nerve gas agent in Salisbury, UK, on 4 March this year. Everyday CBRN risks also exist closer to home e.g. in cases where chemicals are dumped illegally on a waste site, with dangerous chemical materials permeating into the ground water. Such chemical materials may subsequently end up being used in agriculture, thereby posing harmful effects to public health.
Kenya was well-represented at the annual meeting of the CBRN National Focal Points by virtue of the fact that Kenya is hosting the CBRN, Regional Secretariat for the Eastern & Central Africa region. Consequently, both Kenya’s CBRN National Focal Point and the Head of the CBRN Secretariat participated in the Brussels event. National Focal Points from 60 CBRN partner countries and 8 Heads of Regional Secretariats used the four-day meeting to take stock of CBRN risks and threats existing in in the EU and in partner countries and to forge common strategies moving forward. There was a strong recognition of the internal-external security link, meaning that CBRN incidents and accidents in one country may easily affect neighbouring countries. Consequently, states are encouraged to co-operate, in order to address and manage the resulting challenges. The objective of the EU-financed CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative is to assist partner countries to mitigate CBRN risks and build capacities aimed at preventing accidents from happening as well as deterring any malicious use of CBRN agents and materials, including the fight against CBRN terrorism. In view of the cross-border nature of CBRN threats, the CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative places a strong focus on strengthening regional security and safety.
The CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative is the EU’s largest civilian external security programme, with a total funding envelope of EUR130 million from 2014 to 2020.