Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

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Context

• The United States has destroyed the last of its declared chemical weapons stockpile, a milestone in the history of warfare dating back to World War I.

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

About

• The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is a multilateral treaty that bans chemical weapons and requires their destruction within a specified period of time.
• The treaty is of unlimited duration and is far more comprehensive than the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which outlaws the use but not the possession of chemical weapons.

Genesis and Commencement

• CWC negotiations started in 1980 at the UN Conference on Disarmament. 
• The convention opened for signature on January 13, 1993, and entered into force on April 29, 1997.

Implementation

• The CWC is implemented by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is headquartered in The Hague.

Mechanism of Implementation

• The OPCW receives states-parties declarations detailing chemical weapons-related activities or materials and relevant industrial activities.
• After receiving declarations, the OPCW inspects and monitors states-parties’ facilities and activities that are relevant to the convention, to ensure compliance.

Members and Parties

• The CWC is open to all nations and currently has 193 states-parties.
• Israel has signed but has yet to ratify the convention.
• Three states have neither signed nor ratified the convention (Egypt, North Korea, and South Sudan).

Prohibitions

The Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits:

• • Developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, or retaining chemical weapons.
  • The direct or indirect transfer of chemical weapons.
  • Chemical weapons use or military preparation for use.
  • Assisting, encouraging, or inducing other states to engage in CWC-prohibited activity.
  • The use of riot control agents “as a method of warfare.”

Declaration Requirements

• The CWC requires states-parties to declare in writing to the OPCW their chemical weapons stockpiles, chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs), relevant chemical industry facilities, and other weapons-related information.
• This must be done within 30 days of the convention's entry into force for each member state.

Chemical Weapons Stockpiles—States-parties must declare all chemical weapons stockpiles, which are broken down into three categories:

• • Category 1: chemical weapons based on Schedule 1 chemicals, including VX and sarin.
  • Category 2: chemical weapons based on non-Schedule 1 chemicals, such as phosgene.
  • Category 3: chemical weapons including unfilled munitions, devices and equipment designed specifically to employ chemical weapons.

Other weapons-related declarations states-parties must make include:

• Chemical weapons production facilities on their territories since January 1, 1946.
• Facilities (such as laboratories and test sites) designed, constructed, or used primarily for chemical weapons development since January 1, 1946.
• “Old” chemical weapons on their territories (chemical weapons manufactured before 1925 or those produced between 1925 and 1946 that have deteriorated to such an extent that they are no longer useable).
• “Abandoned” chemical weapons (abandoned by another state without consent on or after January 1, 1925).
• Plans for destroying weapons and facilities.
• All transfers or receipts of chemical weapons or chemical weapons-production equipment since January 1, 1946.
• All riot control agents in their possession.

Chemical Industry

• The CWC requires states-parties to declare chemical industry facilities that produce or use chemicals of concern to the convention.
• These chemicals are grouped into “schedules,” based on the risk they pose to the convention. A facility producing a Schedule 1 chemical is considered a Schedule 1 facility.

1. 1. Schedule 1 chemicals and precursors pose a “high risk” to the convention and are rarely used for peaceful purposes. States-parties may not retain these chemicals except in small quantities for research, medical, pharmaceutical, or defensive use. Many Schedule 1 chemicals have been stockpiled as chemical weapons.
   2. Schedule 2 chemicals are toxic chemicals that pose a “significant risk” to the convention and are precursors to the production of Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 chemicals. These chemicals are not produced in large quantities for commercial or other peaceful purposes.
   3. Schedule 3 chemicals are usually produced in large quantities for purposes not prohibited by the CWC but still pose a risk to the convention. Some of these chemicals have been stockpiled as chemical weapons. 

Note: The CWC also requires the declaration of facilities that produce certain nonscheduled chemicals.

MUST READ ARTICLE:  CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS: https://www.iasgyan.in/blogs/chemical-warfare-agents

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-set-to-destroy-its-last-chemical-weapons-closing-a-deadly-chapter-dating-to-world-war-i/article67052562.ece