The Tenth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is convening in The Hague from 7 to 11 November 2005. H.E. Ambassador José Antonio Arróspide, Permanent Representative of Peru to the OPCW, has been unanimously elected Chairman of the Conference.
A record number of the 175 CWC States Parties are attending the annual five-day Conference. In addition, four of the eleven Signatory States, which have signed but not yet ratified or acceded to the CWC, are attending the Conference as Observers, including: Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, and Israel. The CWC will enter into force for the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 11 November 2005, at which time the Democratic Republic of the Congo will become the 175th OPCW Member State.
For the first time, Syria will observe the Conference together with Angola, Iraq, and Lebanon, four of the eight States that have not as yet taken action on this treaty.
Several international organisations are also in attendance, including the Council of the European Union, the League of Arab States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), as well as fourteen non-governmental organisations and chemical industry associations.
On the opening day, heads of delegation, including eight Ministers, addressed the Conference, reaffirming their Governments’ commitment to universal and effective adherence to the CWC. The Conference of the States Parties is the ultimate policy-making organ of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). At its Tenth Session, delegates will be considering the CWC’s implementation on such matters as the total elimination of declared chemical weapons stockpiles and production capacity, the verification and non-proliferation regime under the global chemical weapons ban, as well as the OPCW’s budget and work plan for 2006. The work plan includes the number of approved inspections of chemical weapons-related and relevant industrial sites, in addition to the international outreach and support programmes pursued to ensure the global ban’s universal and effective application.
In his opening address to the Conference, OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, reported that five of the six States Parties which have declared chemical weapons, had destroyed approximately 12,235 metric tons of chemical warfare agent under OPCW verification—a figure representing approximately 17% of the total stockpiles. He noted that the OPCW’s overall verification figures demonstrate continuing progress as over 2,200 inspections have been conducted at chemical weapons-related and industrial sites, located on the territory of more than 70 Member States. While noting with satisfaction the rising pace of destruction, he called upon all States Parties that have declared chemical weapons to complete the stockpiles’ destruction within the stipulated deadlines in compliance with the CWC.
Director-General Pfirter underscored the steady pace in the growth of OPCW’s membership, stating that the CWC is expanding its reach, the verification regime has widened its scope to include more facilities, more sites, and more countries, ultimately expanding the Convention’s coverage. He emphasized that this trend is essential in preventing the proliferation of chemical weapons, reiterating that the CWC’s universal and complete application serves to thwart terrorist access to chemical weapons.
In this regard, Director-General Pfirter underlined the importance of maintaining and strengthening cooperation between international organisations to aid the OPCW in its drive to achieve universality and to improve the implementation of the chemical weapons ban where needed. He expressed, on behalf of the OPCW, gratitude to EU Member States of the OPCW, the Council of the European Union and to the European Commission for the generous voluntary contribution provided to the OPCW through the European Union’s joint action. Director-General Pfirter indicated that the second Joint Action with the European Union was now being considered for approval by the European institutions for 2006, which will significantly enhance the OPCW’s ability to attract new Member States and to provide the OPCW membership programmes designed to enhance implementation.
Director-General Pfirter stressed that the OPCW’s contribution to international peace and security is largely dependent upon the will of all States Parties to implement the treaty in full. He commended those States Parties that had made concrete progress in the fulfilment of their obligations during the two-year Action Plan on National Implementation, and reminded the Conference that considerably more effort would need to be expended to achieve the promise implicit in the CW ban: a chemical weapons-free world.
This Tenth Session of the Conference coincides with the target date for the review of the National Implementation Action Plan, which called upon all States Parties to take the necessary steps and set realistic target dates leading to the enactment of the necessary legislation to detect, pursue and punish any breach of the CWC.
Since the Action Plan was adopted at the Conference’s Eight Session in October 2003, the number of State Parties requesting and receiving implementation support has increased significantly. Over 100 States Parties have assessed their requirements and received such support, while the number of legislative drafts now under review has increased four times, rising from 36 to 152 submissions during the course of the Action Plan.
The Conference will also be deliberating other decisions, including the request by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya for extensions of the intermediate deadlines for the destruction of its chemical weapons stockpiles, as well as the OPCW’s efforts to foster international cooperation in the peaceful uses of chemistry.
The two-year Action Plan to achieve the Convention’s universality will be reviewed at this Session. Since the previous Conference in 2004, eight more Member States have joined the OPCW, while nineteen States are urged to take action to join the treaty in order to be able to include all States within the jurisdiction of the Convention.
Background Note for Editors
THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION AND THE OPCW IN BRIEF / STATUS REPORT
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an international, multilateral disarmament treaty which bans the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons. The States Parties to the CWC are obligated to declare any chemical weapons-related activities, to secure and destroy any stockpiles of chemical weapons within the stipulated deadlines, as well as to inactivate and eliminate any chemical weapons production capacity within their jurisdiction.
The CWC entered into force in 1997 and mandated the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to eliminate chemical weapons forever. The OPCW verifies the irreversible destruction of declared chemical weapons stockpiles, as well as the elimination of all declared chemical weapons production facilities. The OPCW Member States, together with OPCW inspectors, monitor the non-diversion of chemicals for activities prohibited under the CWC and verify the consistency of industrial chemical declarations. In addition, OPCW States Parties undertake to provide protection and assistance, if chemical weapons have been used against a State Party, or if such weapons threaten a State Party. The CWC also calls for international cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry.
The CWC is the single disarmament agreement that in its daily application around the world is used to verify the on-going elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction, chemical weapons. OPCW inspections are conducted in dozens of countries, where both military and industrial sites are subject to verification. The verification procedures and the declaration obligations of the States Parties are applied in an entirely non-discriminatory manner, following protocols negotiated and adopted in intensive and transparent multilateral negotiations. All States Parties enjoy the same rights and bear the same obligations, regardless of their declared possession of chemical weapons.
The global chemical weapons ban is approaching universality: as of 11 November 2005, 175 States will be party to the CWC and have taken the sovereign decision to renounce chemical weapons in perpetuity, while voluntarily complying with a strict verification regime. Together, these countries form the OPCW. Only 19 States have not as yet acceded or ratified the CWC. Every country is urged to accede to, or ratify, the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons is illegal everywhere. Universality of the CWC is a key priority in establishing a global and permanent ban of chemical weapons.
The CWC’s international jurisdiction and deterrent effect is bolstered by the steadily expanding membership of the OPCW, now encompassing over 95% of the global population, as well as 98% of the relevant global chemical industry. The broad coverage of this disarmament treaty, the most complex and comprehensive international agreement of its kind ever to be adopted, grants States party to the CWC an ever more robust assurance that chemical weapons will no longer be developed, produced, stockpiled, used or transferred.
OPCW Status Report
Six States Parties have declared chemical weapons and must destroy over eight million items, including munitions and containers —in total, over seventy-one thousand metric tonnes of extremely toxic chemical agents. By comparison, one drop of a nerve agent, no larger than the head of a pin, can kill an adult within minutes after exposure.
Every Member State must introduce and apply legislation to make the development, production, use, stockpiling or transfer of chemical weapons by any person or group illegal. Severe penalties must be imposed should this crime be committed. Each Member State is obliged to provide other Member States with its fullest cooperation so as to expedite prosecution.
To make sure that the Convention is implemented effectively, Member States are obliged to designate or establish a “National Authority”. This body participates in and coordinates OPCW inspections of relevant industrial or military sites, makes initial and annual declarations, participates in assisting and protecting those Member States which are threatened by, or have indeed suffered, a chemical attack, and fosters the peaceful uses of chemistry. In addition, the National Authority acts as the focal point in the State Party’s interaction with other States Parties and the OPCW’s Technical Secretariat. The OPCW Technical Secretariat has established a coordinated mechanism to support Member States in their national implementation of the Convention. The focus of this work is to provide advice and assistance to the staff of National Authorities in order to help them enhance their skills and expertise.
100% of the declared chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) have been deactivated. All are subjected to a verification regime of unprecedented stringency. Over 75% of the declared CWPFs have been eliminated. Over 25% of the 8.6 million chemical munitions and containers covered by the Convention have been verifiably destroyed. Nearly 17% of the world’s declared stockpiles of approximately 71,000 metric tonnes of chemical agent have been verifiably destroyed. Over 2,000 on-site inspections have been conducted in over 70 States Parties to verify compliance with the CWC.
States not party
Eleven States have signed but have not yet ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention as at 3 October 2005
1. Bahamas (Date of Signature: 02-03-94)
2. Central African Republic (14-01-93)
3. Comoros (13-01-93)
4. Congo (15-01-93)
5. Djibouti (28-09-93)
6. Dominican Republic (13-01-93)
7. Guinea-Bissau (14-01-93)
8. Haiti (14-01-93)
9. Israel (13-01-93)
10. Liberia (15-01-93)
11. Myanmar (14-01-93)
Eight States have not yet acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention as at 3 October 2005
1. Angola
2. Barbados
3. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
4. Egypt
5. Iraq
6. Lebanon
7. Somalia
8. Syrian Arab Republic
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