(26 - 30 September 1994)

REPORT

WORKING GROUP B

1. Introduction

Working Group B on Verification and Technical Cooperation and Assistance, under the chairmanship of Mr. Sylwin Gizowski of Poland, held three meetings on 27 and 28 September 1994 to receive the Reports of the Expert Groups under its purview and to take appropriate action.

2. Inspection Procedures

2.1 Working Group B received the Third and Fourth Reports of the Expert Group on Inspection Procedures (PC-VIII/B/WP.2 and Corr.1 and PC-VIII/B/WP.12). The Reports were presented by Mr. Sergei Kisselev of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the Expert Group.

2.2 Working Group B noted the following recommendations of the Expert Group, arising out of its meeting held from 11-15 July and recorded in PC-VIII/B/WP.2 as amended:

(a) that Appendix 1 of PC-IV/B/WP.7, entitled "Equipment for Inspections and Investigations", and the tables contained therein, address the task of developing "special provisions for the designation of specific types of equipment for specific types of inspections", with the following additions:

(i) the NDE equipment (equipment for ultrasonic pulse echo, acoustic resonance spectroscopy and neutron interrogation) will be primarily for use in inspections of CW munitions and chemicals relevant to the Convention in containers when NDE techniques are more suitable for inspection of stored chemicals;

(ii) the portable neutron interrogation equipment may also be used to check for the "presence/absence" in sealed containers of the elements phosphorus, sulphur, arsenic, nitrogen and chlorine, and, to the extent possible, the elements of carbon, hydrogen, fluorine, bromine and iodine and the ratios of all these elements. Special software is required to process and display the prompt photon energies relating to these elements;

(iii) infrared techniques are for use during inspections of, inter alia, CW storage, CW destruction and old and/or abandoned chemical weapons. Any other use is likely to require software to allow a "present/absent" type of response to meet the confidentiality concerns of the inspected State Party;

(iv) inspection equipment or parts of inspection equipment, listed as approved equipment, and designed to collect information during the course of inspections shall provide the inspected State Party with the capability of taking note of the information that has been collected. This requirement will not apply to system software or other OPCW data storage provided they are located on a ROM or a medium that prevents recording of information, and is sealed and certified by the Technical Secretariat. This requirement shall be interpreted neither as a right of the inspected State Party to prevent the collection and storage of information except in cases duly identified by the Convention or OPCW regulations nor as a right of the inspected State Party to prevent or otherwise impair the right of the inspection team to report such information. This requirement shall not be interpreted as impairing the inviolability as referred to in subparagraphs 11 (c) and (d) of Part II of the Verification Annex;

(b) that the Secretariat should use the above-mentioned provisions (contained in paragraph 3.2 of the Expert Group Report) as guidelines for procuring equipment, preparing equipment documentation and, to the extent possible, when planning for future inspections. The Secretariat is requested, for consideration by the Expert Group, to update the list of equipment mentioned in paragraph 3.2 of its Report, and to make use of the Annex to PC-VIII/A/WP.7 with a view to developing the draft list of approved equipment mentioned in paragraph 27 of Part II of the Verification Annex. This list should provide indications on the specific types of equipment required for the particular types of inspection, on the basis of which the Technical Secretariat, in accordance with paragraph 28 of Part II of the Verification Annex, will, to the extent possible, select that equipment which is specifically designed for the specific kind of inspection required;

(c) that the Secretariat shall not purchase any type of inspection equipment whose operational requirements have not been approved by the Commission and whose technical specifications have not been developed by the Specialist Task Force on Inspection Equipment Issues and approved by the Expert Group on Inspection Procedures;

(d) that, at the present time, the items on the list of equipment in the Annex to PC-VIII/A/WP.7 be divided into the following categories:

(i) items of equipment which have operational requirements and technical specifications;

(ii) items of equipment that have operational requirements but no technical specifications; and

(iii) items of equipment that do not have either operational requirements or technical specifications;

(e) that the adoption by the Group of the list of equipment in the Annex to PC-VIII/A/WP.7 is for budgetary purposes only. This list should not be interpreted as a list of equipment recommended for adoption by the Conference of the States Parties as referred to in paragraph 27 of Part II of the Verification Annex.

2.3 Working Group B endorsed the recommendation of the Expert Group that the Secretariat should endeavour to ensure that the procurement of its inspection equipment will be fully transparent, and that the opportunity to bid for contracts should be open equally to companies from all Member States. Working Group B recommended that, to assist the Secretariat to achieve this aim, Member States should take action to inform the Secretariat about potential contact points in their respective countries for the supply of equipment. Working Group B indicated that it was also important for the process by which the Secretariat will select successful bids to be fully transparent.

2.4 Working Group B:

(a) noted Attachment 1 to the PC-VIII/B/WP.2 ("Equipment Specifications For Inspection Equipment");

(b) considered Attachment 2 to PC-VIII/B/WP.2 ("Procedures for the Inspection by the Inspected State Party at the Point of Entry/Point of Exit (POE) of Approved Equipment Carried by the Inspection Team") and submitted it to the Commission for adoption; and

(c) considered Attachment 3 to PC-VIII/B/WP.2 ("The Use of Approved Equipment During On-Site Inspections") and submitted it to the Commission for adoption.

2.5 Working Group B requested the Expert Group at its next meeting to address, in addition to the tasks noted in paragraph 2 of PC-VIII/B/WP.2 as remaining unresolved, the following outstanding issue:

(a) consider the updated list of equipment to be prepared by the Secretariat in accordance with paragraph 3.3 of the Expert Group Report on the basis of Appendix 1 of PC-IV/B/WP.7 entitled "Equipment for Inspections and Investigations" and making use of the list contained in the Annex to PC-VIII/A/WP.7, with a view to developing the draft list of approved equipment mentioned in paragraph 27 of Part II of the Verification Annex.

2.6 Working Group B, acting on the recommendations arising out of the meeting of the Expert Group held on 20 September 1994 and recorded in PC-VIII/B/WP.12:

(a) requested Member States to assist the Secretariat in obtaining spectral data for those scheduled compounds for which no data has currently been provided;

(b) noted the data format to be included by the Secretariat in any request for the purchase of GC-MS and infra red spectrometers (Annex 1 to PC-VIII/B/WP.12);

(c) noted the proposed mixtures for the generation of a GC-MS data set developed by the specialist Task Force for the Benchmark Testing of the Required Data Analysis System for this item of equipment (Annex 2 to PC-VIII/B/WP.12);

(d) requested Member States to assist the Secretariat in the preparation of the GC-MS data set using the mixtures developed by the Task Force;

(e) noted the technical specifications for 13 items of health and safety inspection equipment (Annex 3 to PC-VIII/B/WP.12);

(f) endorsed the Expert Group's understanding that any modifications, including any additions to or deletions from any approved inspection equipment, including the equipment types, quantities, operational requirements or technical specifications, may not be undertaken without the request of the Expert Group or following its prior approval;

(g) requested the Expert Group on Safety Procedures to consider the issue of the requirements for chemical weapons antidotes, and to ask the Secretariat to request Member States to provide information on the availability of antidotes meeting these requirements and also to provide information that they might have to ensure that the list of available treatment is comprehensive;

(h) noted the list of equipment items and technical specifications for the standard sampling kit (PC-VIII/A/WP.7 and Annex 4 to PC-VIII/B/WP.12);

(i) requested Member States to provide appropriately qualified experts to attend the next meeting of the Task Force on Inspection Equipment Issues to address the specific issues aimed at finalising elaboration of the technical specifications for a sampling kit for chemical munitions. Items required for rendering the munitions explosively safe should be discussed and identified;

(j) requested Member States to submit to the Secretariat sample preparation procedures, prior to the 15 December 1994, for on-site use including:

(i) general procedures intended to allow detection within a broad range of chemicals relevant to the Convention; and

(ii) optimised procedures intended to detect specific analytes in specific matrices; and

(k) requested Member States to submit sample splitting procedures to the Secretariat, prior to the 15 December 1994.

3. Confidentiality

3.1 Working Group B received the Fourth Report of the Expert Group on Confidentiality (PC-VIII/B/WP.3). The Report was presented by Mr. Antony Taubman of Australia, the Chairman of the Expert Group.

3.2 Working Group B noted that the Expert Group requires more time to complete the draft OPCW Policy on Confidentiality, including the continuation of its deliberations on the following principal issues:

(a) the general principles for the handling and protection of confidential information;

(b) the composition and procedures of the "Commission for the settlement of disputes related to confidentiality"; and

(c) the responsibility of States Parties in relation to breaches of confidentiality.

3.3 Working Group B also endorsed the recommendations of the Expert Group that:

(a) work should continue on the range of issues relating to the responsibilities of States Parties in responding to breaches of confidentiality; and

(b) the Chairman of the Expert Group continue to undertake informal consultations with a view to furthering an understanding of the issues set out in its mandate, and especially to achieving prompt resolution of the general principles for the handling and protection of confidential information.

4. Technical Cooperation and Assistance

4.1 Working Group B received the Fifth Report of the Expert Group on Technical Cooperation and Assistance (PC-VIII/B/WP.4). The Report was presented by Mr. Sarvajit Chakravarti of India, the Chairman of the Expert Group.

4.2 Working Group B expressed its appreciation to the Kingdom of the Netherlands for conducting training of 80 National Authorities' personnel from developing countries. Working Group B further encouraged Member States to offer similar training, if possible in Convention languages other than English, in order to enable the largest possible number of National Authorities to benefit.

4.3 Working Group B recommended that the Commission request the Secretariat to prepare a study by collecting information, especially from interested Member States, on the types of categories of information that could be included in a database to facilitate the exchange of information relating to economic and technological development in the field of chemicals, taking into account the availability and cost of existing databases for relevant purposes.

4.4 Working Group B requested the Expert Group to continue its deliberations on outstanding issues relating to Articles X and XI.

5. Chemical Industry Issues

5.1 Working Group B received the Fifth and Sixth Reports of the Expert Group on Chemical Industry Issues (PC-VIII/B/WP.5 and PC-VIII/B/WP.10). The Reports were presented by Mr. Adam Noble of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Chairman of the Expert Group.

5.2 Working Group B considered the following understandings reached by the Expert Group concerning recycled Schedule 2 chemicals and the meaning of "production" in the context of Schedule 1 production facilities covered under Article VI. Working Group B recommended these understandings for adoption by the Commission at its Ninth Session.

5.3 The Working Group was not able to recommend the forwarding to the Commission of the understanding developed by the Expert Group in relation to past production of Schedule 1 chemicals at facilities having a capacity above 1 tonne per year, for purposes not prohibited under the Convention. The Group recommended that the Expert Group continue consideration of this issue on the basis of the understanding as reflected in paragraph 2.4 of its Sixth Report (PC-VIII/B/WP.10).

6. Training

6.1 Working Group B received the Fifth Report of the Expert Group on Training (PC-VIII/B/WP.7). The Report was presented by Mr. Behnam Behrooz of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Chairman of the Expert Group.

6.2 Working Group B endorsed the following recommendations of the Expert Group:

(a) that Member States be encouraged to make offers of training resources and to contact the Secretariat to finalise those offers with a view to meeting the shortages in the requirements for M2 and M3 training;

(b) that Member States which have made formal offers or are developing offers for training review those offers to ensure that the Secretariat is provided with details of all costs and all equipment requirements, bearing in mind the level of resources that will be allocated for training in the Budget of the Commission for 1995;

(c) that Member States which have made formal offers be encouraged to submit their certification information sets to the Secretariat as soon as possible;

(d) that the Secretariat, in collaboration with the Member States involved, continue to refine the contents of the draft proposals on trainee performance evaluations and contractual arrangements between the Secretariat and training centres, with a view to presenting them for review by the Expert Group on Training at its next scheduled meeting;

(e) that the Secretariat, in close collaboration with those Member States involved, conduct a thorough review of its current GTS training plan with a view to reducing programme costs, in order to achieve the GTS objectives within the 1995 Budget allocation of Dfl. 13,000,000 for training. The Secretariat should report its initial findings and recommendations for review and approval by the Expert Group on Training at its next meeting;

(f) that the Secretariat begin an investigation of complementary and alternative training options to national offers of M2 and M3 training, in order to make up training shortages that are expected to remain. The Secretariat should report its preliminary findings for consideration by the Expert Group on Training at its next meeting;

(g) that the Secretariat continue to liaise closely with the training centres of Member States which have offered training, to ensure that maximum use is made of the offers for M1, M2 and M3 training, and that all current and future offers are fully co-ordinated so that the students meet all training objectives;

(h) that the Secretariat assess the qualification of the individuals responding to the inspector/inspection assistant Vacancy Notices to meet the Inspectorate requirements in order to develop options for adjustments that might become necessary to the length or content of courses/modules. The Secretariat should provide the Group with this assessment at its next meeting.

6.3 Working Group B requested the Expert Group on Training, upon completion of the GTS cost-effectiveness review, to forward those training issues with budgetary implications directly to the Expert Group on Programme of Work and Budget for consideration at its next meeting, in accordance with the request of that Expert Group as contained in PC-VIII/A/WP.7.

6.4 Working Group B requested the Expert Group on Training to continue its consideration of outstanding training issues at its next meeting. Working Group B expressed the hope that, given the work already done, substantial progress in the outstanding areas should be made by the time of the Ninth Session of the Commission.

7. Chemical Weapons Issues

7.1 Working Group B received the Second Report of the Expert Group on Chemical Weapons Issues (PC-VIII/B/WP.8). The Report was presented by Mr. Sylwin Gizowski of Poland, the Chairman of the Expert Group, who was assisted by the following Friends of the Chair:

Dr. Graham Cooper of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on CW production issues;

Mr. Ian Mundell on behalf of LCol James Knapp of Canada, on CW storage issues; and Lt. Col. Patrick Dewez of France, on CW destruction issues.

7.2 Working Group B:

(a) adopted the proposal that the different model facility agreements be issued together in a Handbook and that an introductory section, which incorporates the concepts developed by the Group at its last meeting (PC-VII/B/WP.9), be included setting out the aims and purpose of the model facility agreements; and

(b) requested that the Expert Group on CW Issues give the highest priority at its next meeting to completing its work on the model facility agreement for a CWSF.

8. Old and Abandoned Chemical Weapons

8.1 Working Group B received the Third Report of the Expert Group on Old and Abandoned Chemical Weapons (PC-VIII/B/WP.9). The Report was presented by Dr. Florian Haug, on behalf of Mr. Peter Krejsa of Austria, the Chairman of the Expert Group.

8.2 Working Group B:

(a) requested the Chairman of the Expert Group to conduct private consultations on the remaining issues related to old chemical weapons and abandoned chemical weapons. The Chairman of the Expert Group shall report on the results of these consultations to Working Group B at the Ninth Session of the Commission; and

(b) requested the Chairman of Working Group B to undertake consultations with interested delegations on how best to address the issue of abandoned chemical weapons buried on the territory of a State Party after 1976 or dumped in its waters after 1984 both in the context of a possible challenge inspection and of its implications for the Technical Secretariat's responsibilities in this regard and to task appropriate Expert Groups to consider these issues. The Chairman of Working Group B shall report on the results of these consultations to Working Group B at the Ninth Session of the Commission.

9. Proposed Plan of Activities and Schedule of Meetings of the Expert Groups under Working Groups A and B as well as of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country for the Period October - December 1994 (PC-VIII/9/Rev.1)

Working Group B amended and approved the definition of tasks and the listing of documents for the meetings of Expert Groups under the purview of Working Group B as contained in the Proposed Plan of Activities and Schedule of Meetings submitted to the meeting (PC-VIII/9/Rev.1), and referred the amended definition of tasks and listing of documents to the Commission for approval.

10. Any other business

10.1 Working Group B noted the recommendation of the Expert Group on Data Systems concerning the need for a common understanding in relation to the security requirements of the IMS for the smooth implementation of the Convention. Working Group B brought to the attention of the Expert Group on Confidentiality the implications of operating in the security requirements, as well as the need for clarification of the draft material on general principles for the handling and protection of confidential information presently under consideration by that Group, including the definition of a clearly defined need-to-know principle as mentioned in paragraph 5.2 of PC-VIII/A/WP.2.

11. Conclusion of meeting

The Report of Working Group B was adopted and the meeting concluded at 17:50 on 28 September 1994.

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