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OPCW Implementation Support Branch | Training of personnel | Cooperation between National Authorities | Identification of assistance under Article X | Network of Legal Experts | Support from national bodies
1.1 From Article VII of the Convention it is clear that, when setting up a National Authority, a State Party has the discretion to either designate an existing agency or establish a new body to serve as the national focal point. This element of choice was introduced by the negotiators in order to accommodate different political and administrative systems and to ensure that the Convention is implemented in the best possible manner at a national level. Depending upon its governmental structure, level of industrial development, and specific industrial and security concerns, a State Party can devise its own National Authority to ensure that its obligations under the Convention are smoothly implemented.
1.2 In setting up the National Authority a State Party will have to study very carefully the functions that this body will have to perform. Once this study has been completed, input would be required from relevant national bodies, both governmental and non-governmental, to make it possible for the National Authority to adequately discharge its responsibilities. This paper will provide an indicative list of such national bodies and the contribution that they can be expected to make towards the work of the National Authority. Examples of National Authorities established with the involvement of such bodies will also be provided.
2.1 The tasks of a National Authority will depend upon the nature and extent of the obligation which the Convention imposes on a State Party. There are, nevertheless, certain obligations which are common to all States Parties. These include the preparation and submission of declarations under Articles III and VI; the enactment of new legislation or the revision of existing legislation to facilitate the enforcement of the Convention; preparations for receiving inspections, including approval of the list of inspectors; the issuing of multiple entry visas for inspectors; providing aircraft clearances; designating points of entry and exit, etc.; supplying information about the national programme related to protective purposes; deciding on the option for the provision of assistance under Article X; and facilitating the exchange of scientific and technological information in the field of chemicals for purposes not prohibited by the Convention, etc.
2.2 In order to be able to discharge these tasks a National Authority will require the active assistance of a number of national bodies specialising in specific areas. Such bodies will include, but should not be confined, to the following or their equivalents:
2.3 As the Convention was negotiated under the aegis of the United Nations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be the national body with the most extensive knowledge of the Convention during its evolutionary process. Representatives of this Ministry will have either participated in the negotiations leading to the conclusion of the Convention or will have kept track of developments in that area over the years. Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have at its disposal years of experience of dealing with the negotiation, conclusion and implementation of international agreements in diverse areas. It will also be familiar with the procedures for interacting with international organisations. The involvement of the Ministry in the establishment and running of a National Authority would consequently be extremely important, and is strongly recommended. In fact information currently available to the Secretariat shows that some Member States are inclined to set up their National Authority in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because of the specialised knowledge and expertise possessed by that Ministry in relation to the implementation of international treaties and relations with international organisations.
2.4 On a more practical level, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its nearest diplomatic outpost to The Hague, will be in day-to-day contact with the OPCW. Its advice on how to proceed with implementation procedures, based on its experience of and insight into developments in The Hague, would be invaluable to any intending or new State Party. The Ministry will also be able to provide information on the ratification and implementation process in other States, thereby enabling the National Authority to plan its own activities in a well-structured and goal-oriented manner.
2.5 As the CWC is a security treaty, the involvement of the Ministry of Defence in the work of the National Authority is essential. The Ministry would have to adapt defence policy to reflect not merely the Convention's restrictions on the possession and use of chemical weapons, but also its provisions relating to assistance to States Parties threatened or attacked with chemical weapons, and its procedures for responding to suspected instances of the use of chemical weapons. The Ministry of Defence will have to provide the OPCW with certain details about its programme related to protection against chemical weapons and will also have to prepare for a possible challenge inspection at militarily sensitive facilities.
2.6 The presence of old chemical weapons and abandoned chemical weapons on a State Party's territory or in any place under its jurisdiction or control has to be declared to the OPCW. Similarly, the possession of riot control agents, even if they are retained for training purposes only, also has to be declared. In both instances the Ministry of Defence would be the source of such information.
2.7 It is evident that input from the Ministry of Defence will be necessary for the National Authority to adequately discharge its responsibilities as set out in the Convention. The involvement of this Ministry from the very beginning would, therefore, facilitate the attainment of this objective.
2.8 The overall responsibility for enforcing the criminal justice system in most governmental systems rests with the Ministry of Interior. Thus, once all the enabling legislation, including penal laws, has been enacted by the competent authority the day-to-day enforcement of that legislation will be handled by the appropriate agencies under the Ministry. The coordination and sharing of information by this Ministry and the National Authority will facilitate the enforcement of such laws and will also ensure that a State Party's bona fides are not called into question as a consequence of any action by its nationals which is contrary to the provisions of the Convention.
2.9 In some States Parties the visa-issuing authority rests with the Ministry of Interior. Since a State Party is required to issue multiple entry/exit/transit visas to approved inspectors and other OPCW officials visiting on official business, cooperation between the Ministry of Interior and the National Authority will be necessary.
2.10 Under Article III a State Party is required to declare any riot control agents in its possession. As this is a law enforcement measure the reporting requirement will presumably fall on the Ministry of Interior.
2.11 The Convention's provisions will have an impact, not only on the producers of chemicals listed on the Schedules, but also on the consumers and processors of such chemicals. For instance the paper, textile, pharmaceutical, printing ink, plastics, pesticide, and mining industries might all use scheduled chemicals in their production processes. This wide scope of applicability places a responsibility on the National Authority to ensure that the targeted industries fulfil their obligations under the Convention, including receiving inspections, where necessary. To achieve this the National Authority will require the active involvement of the existing national regulatory body in that particular field. In most cases this regulatory body will be the Ministry of Industry.
2.12 One of the foremost tasks of the National Authority, after it has been established, will be to determine the extent of a State Party's declarable industry. Thereafter the management of each facility or plant which is engaged in such activities will have to be advised of its obligations under the CWC, including reporting and monitoring requirements, the obligation to receive routine and challenge inspections, and the measures taken to protect confidential business information by the National Authority and the OPCW, etc. In performing these tasks the National Authority will need to rely upon the Ministry's specialised expertise and knowledge of relations with industry.
2.13 The Convention allows the transfer of Schedule 1 chemicals only to another State Party and that too only for specified purposes. Three years after the entry into force of the Convention, States Parties to the Convention will be required to limit themselves to transferring Schedule 2 chemicals to or receiving them from other States Parties. In the case of Schedule 3 chemicals the CWC requires a State Party to adopt the measures necessary to ensure that chemicals transferred to a State not Party to the Convention are not used for prohibited purposes. These requirements place a legal obligation on the Ministry of Trade to regulate commerce in scheduled chemicals in a manner which ensures that the provisions of the Convention are not violated.
2.14 In addition to ensuring that the Convention's regime regulating transfers of scheduled chemicals is strictly applied, the Ministry of Trade would become the primary source of information for the National Authority for those declarations of imports and exports of scheduled chemicals above specified thresholds that are to be provided to the OPCW on a regular basis. Although the Ministry will have some data-gathering procedures already in force, it may have to introduce appropriate adjustments to take into consideration the provisions of the Convention, such as those relating to time limits, quantities and thresholds.
2.15 As the Ministry of Trade is engaged in overseeing activities that are relevant to Convention implementation, its involvement in the work of the National Authority would be highly desirable.
2.16 Signing and ratifying the Convention are not, by themselves, sufficient to ensure its effective implementation. Under Article VII each State Party is required, in accordance with its constitutional process, to adopt the measures necessary to implement its obligations under the Convention. This would involve both the enactment of new laws and the amendment of existing legislation to ensure the domestic implementation of the obligations which a State Party assumes under the Convention. However, the precise content of implementing legislation in each State Party will vary according to circumstances.
2.17 The tasks of assisting with the ratification process, preparing new laws (or amendments to existing laws) and marshalling them through the legislative process would, in most political systems, fall on the Ministry of Law, which has specialised knowledge of this area. The involvement of this Ministry in the initial stages of establishing the National Authority and appropriate consultation between it and the National Authority, once it has been established, would, therefore, greatly facilitate national implementation.
2.18 Creating awareness of the Convention is an important means of sustaining support for the activities of the National Authority. Educating particular target groups about the purpose and benefits of the Convention will generate a conducive climate for national implementation, particularly where inspections are involved.
2.19 By its nature the Chemical Weapons Convention deals with chemical substances, many of which will be familiar or comprehensible to chemists and research scientists in related fields. A representative with an appropriate research background may thus supply invaluable advice to the National Authority on sources of information that may be relevant to declarations and other issues.
2.20 One example of this is the Convention's requirement that declarations with respect to riot control agents must specify the chemical name, structural formula and the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number, if assigned, of each chemical it holds for riot control purposes. Riot control agents are, however, as a rule procured under their trade names, rather than in the specialised way referred to above. While the Secretariat will always be willing to assist in this regard, a representative on the National Authority with an appropriate research background will be in a position to suggest locally available sources of information.
2.21 Another example is the work often done by research scientists on small quantities of novel chemical substances, particularly in the areas of medical and chemical research. It would be helpful to have an appropriately qualified and experienced representative on the National Authority who is aware of such specialised research and who can communicate authoritatively with such institutions and researchers about the relationship between their research work and the CWC.
2.22 Many countries have national bodies responsible for the scientific and technological advancement of their countries. It would be desirable to have a representative of each such body on the National Authority, to ensure that these bodies may benefit from any programmes that the Secretariat might offer in relation to the exchange of technological information in the field of chemistry.
The implementation of the Convention by a State Party is a national responsibility. Consequently, all national bodies which can usefully assist in realising and implementing obligations arising out of the Convention should be appropriately involved in the work of the National Authority.