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Another institution that plays a key role in the implementation of the Convention is the National Authority. While the OPCW is the mechanism through which compliance is verified, the National Authority is the mechanism through which compliance is achieved and demonstrated. Each State Party is required, under Article VII, paragraph 4, to “designate or establish a National Authority to serve as the national focal point for effective liaison with the Organization and other States Parties”. The National Authority must be designated by the date of the entry into force of the Convention for the State Party concerned.
States Parties enjoy wide discretion in determining the size, structure, composition, and mandate of their National Authorities. As the words “designate or establish” indicate, State Parties may either assign the task of acting as the National Authority to an existing government department or agency, or they may create an entirely new entity specifically for this function. Each State Party’s actual situation (e.g. whether or not it possesses chemical weapons, chemical weapons production facilities, Schedule 1 facilities, significant chemical industry and/or export-import activities relevant to the Convention, as well as the resources it can allocate) determines the composition, structure and mandate of its National Authority. The National Authority can be either a centralised entity with responsibilities covering all aspects of national implementation of the Convention, or a decentralised entity playing a liaison role between the OPCW and the several government departments or agencies responsible for specific aspects of national implementation. The administrative burden is not necessarily great. In States Parties which possess no chemical weapons and have little or no chemical industry of relevance to the Convention, the National Authority can be a body, the tasks of which are assigned to a number of persons in a government department or ministry.
OPCW States Parties have structured their National Authorities in a variety of ways. As at May 2000, four States Parties have established an inter-ministerial body as their National Authority; 49 have located their National Authority within the Ministry or Department of Foreign Affairs; seven States Parties have located their National Authority within the Ministry or Department of Defence; 14 have located their National Authority within the Ministry or Department of Trade and Industry or Economy; and four States Parties have located their National Authority within the Ministry or Department of Health or the Environment. Finally, eight States Parties have located their National Authority elsewhere – two in the Office of the President; one with a Minister Extraordinary for Special Projects; one in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research; one in the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs; one with an agency reporting to the Office of the Prime Minister; one as a Commission of the Cabinet of Ministers; and one as an independent governmental authority.
As the national focal point for liaison with the OPCW and other States Parties, the national data collection point, and the facilitator of national implementation, an effective National Authority is of central importance to the effectiveness of the Convention itself. To meet its basic obligations, each State Party must be in a position to carry out the following fundamental functions: (a) to submit all the required declarations; (b) to communicate with the OPCW; (c) to cooperate with other States Parties; (d) to facilitate OPCW inspections; (e) to respond to OPCW requests for assistance; (f) to protect the confidentiality of classified information; (g) to monitor and enforce national compliance; and (h) to cooperate in the field of chemical activities for purposes not prohibited under the Convention.1 All these functions involve a State Party’s National Authority to a greater or lesser extent, and the mandates of National Authorities have been defined correspondingly. The range of responsibilities and powers which has been specifically assigned to the National Authority in implementing legislation can be broadly categorised in seven clusters:
1. Declared chemical weapons possessor States Parties will also have the major task of destroying stockpiles and production facilities.
Since the entry into force of the Convention experience has shown that many National Authorities face significant challenges in carrying out the varied tasks assigned to them under the Convention. The main challenges reported by National Authorities are summarised below.
Awareness of the scope of the Convention. For the governments of states which do not possess any chemical weapons, and which have little or no chemical industry relevant to the Convention, it is often difficult to prioritise and to assign scarce resources to the task of implementing the Convention. Added to this is the fact that the Convention’s title can be misleading – officials in the governments of states which do not possess chemical weapons may believe that the Convention is not relevant to them. National Authorities have had to expend considerable effort to inform various government departments and agencies the scope of the Convention and the manner in which it relates to national interests, as well as its control mechanisms and reporting obligations.
Collection of export and import data. VA Parts VII and VIII require States Parties to submit initial and annual declarations on aggregate national data for the previous calendar year on the quantities produced, imported and exported of each Schedule 21 and 3 chemical, as well as a quantitative specification of imports from and exports to each country involved. Accurate import and export data is obviously critical for an accurate declaration of aggregate national data.2 The Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (HS), which is used by 95% of states world wide (either as parties to the HS Convention, or applying it on a voluntary basis) for customs and statistical purposes, is playing an increasing role in monitoring transboundary movements of categories of goods. The main obstacle for National Authorities in compiling their aggregate national data is the fact that customs authorities normally use only a six-digit code to identify goods. This code identifies a chemical family, but not a specific chemical. National Authorities are therefore not in a position to determine, from the statistics of customs authorities, whether shipments should be included in their declaration or not.3 The Secretariats of the OPCW and of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) are exploring the possibility of introducing an eight-digit system, but States Parties will first have to agree to use it if it is to provide a solution to this particular problem.
1. In respect of Schedule 2 chemicals, this declaration shall also include aggregate national data for the previous calendar year on quantities processed and consumed.
2. Many States Parties which have a developing chemical industry neither produce or process Schedule 2 and 3 chemicals nor consume Schedule 2 chemicals; they only import them. This is the key data relevant to most small National Authorities.
3. For example, the HS heading 2922.19 identifies ethanolamines, but will not provide an indication of whether the shipment includes the three ethanolamines which appear on Schedule 3 (ethyldiethanolamine, methyldiethanolamine, triethanolamine) or other, unscheduled ethanolamines.
Identifying relevant private facilities or plants. Several National Authorities have found it necessary to carry out significant research and outreach to ensure that all declarable facilities/plants are identified and that the owners are aware of their obligations under the Convention. This task is a continuing one, since vigilance and mechanisms are required to identify new facilities or plants of relevance that are being established.
Compelling the submission of information. In many cases, legislation is needed to create the legal obligation for persons to report relevant information to the National Authority for the compilation of national declarations. The fact that some States Parties have not yet enacted national implementing legislation has meant that they have been unable to require third parties to submit the data needed. These States Parties have therefore been unable to compile and submit their declarations within the deadlines stipulated in the Convention.
The Secretariat of the OPCW is working to assist National Authorities to face these challenges in a variety of ways.