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Setting up a National Authority | Initial Declarations Under Article VI | Identification of Declarable Activities | Preparations for Inspections

Setting Up a National Authority

In accordance with Article VII of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), in order to fulfil its obligations under the Convention, each State Party shall designate or establish a National Authority to serve as the national focal point for effective liaison with the Organisation and other States Parties. Each State Party must notify the Organisation of its National Authority at the time that the Convention enters into force for it.

As it becomes clear from the above provision of the Convention, either an existing government entity may be designated to serve as a CWC National Authority or a purpose-build structure may be established.

Why creating a National Authority is important? Mainly, because the implementation of the Convention involves a number of government agencies responsible for various aspects of ensuring compliance. Therefore, effective inter-agency coordination as well as communication with the OPCW are necessary.

The Convention does not prescribe which government entity should be designated or established as a National Authority, nor does it prescribe any particular structure of such an entity. Its composition, structure and size would depend on the State Party’s government structure as well as on the nature of the State Party’s obligations under the CWC. For example, in cases when States Parties possess chemical weapons (CW) and/or former CW facilities, Schedule 1 facilities, or a sizeable chemical industry the tasks of their National Authorities would be more demanding compared to the situations when States Parties do not possess such facilities. It does not mean, however, that States Parties that do not have any of the above facilities may do without a CWC National Authority. Apart for the fact that creating such a National Authority is a legal obligation under the Convention, there is a number of important reporting and regulatory obligations common to all States Parties. The implementation of such obligations without a dedicated government authority could prove extremely difficult. Such common obligations include, among others:

• collecting and submitting an initial declaration under Articles III and VI of the Convention;
• collecting and submitting notifications required by the Convention;
• collecting and submitting a declaration on assistance and annual information on national programmes for protection, under Article X of the Convention;
• enacting and enforcing national legislation enabling internal implementation of the Convention, including the enactment of the required penal legislation and its extension to any prohibited activity;
• preparing for and receiving inspections;
• overseeing the implementation of confidentiality requirements with regard to OPCW related information.

The choice of a government entity to act as a CWC National Authority is therefore entirely that of a State Party. The following table illustrates the choices made by the 109 States Parties that had designated or appointed a National Authority by January 2002: 

Most National Authorities have a centralised structure in which the responsibility for all aspects of national implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention lies with a core office which directs the involvement of other government departments and agencies in the implementation of specific aspects of national obligations under the CWC. The effective functioning of this mechanism is important for ensuring internal compliance with the State Party’s obligations under the Convention. This includes, among other things:

• overseeing regulated chemical industry activities and the export and import of  scheduled chemicals;

• gathering data from industry and government agencies (ex. customs, defence) necessary to prepare declarations and information for submission to the OPCW;

• conducting internal checks and inspections; and

• organising national workshops and briefings and providing advice and consultation for government and industry officials.

Other National Authorities, however, retain only the function of general coordination among relevant government institutions and provide for liaison between the government and the OPCW. In this case, the responsibilities for implementing individual aspects of CWC related obligations are delegated to relevant ministries, for example:

• Ministry of Defence: destruction and verification of CW and related facilities, collection of annual data on protective programmes;
• Ministry of Economy or Industry: regulation of relevant industry activities, including the collection of annual declaration data;
• Ministry of Trade or Customs: overseeing export controls and collection of data on the transfers of scheduled chemicals;
• Ministry of Justice or Attorney General’s Office: enacting and enforcing implementing legislation;
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: ensuring OPCW’s privileges and immunities.

In relation to consultation, control checks, assessment, and specialised advice, other entities are often chosen to assist in the work of the National Authority on an ad hoc basis or to form an advisory board that may form a more permanent consultative mechanism. Such other entities that may be involved in the work of a National Authority may include the Ministry of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Trade, Information and Justice. The armed forces, the police, and research institutions may also have a role to play.

Setting up a National Authority | Initial Declarations Under Article VI | Identification of Declarable Activities | Preparations for Inspections