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| The Hague, 8 November 2005 | |||
The Seventh Annual Meeting for the National Authorities that are implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was held at the Hague-based headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on 5 and 6 November 2005.
The Meeting was attended by 142 representatives from 92 Member States; the contracting State Party, Democratic Republic of the Congo, which will become the 175th OPCW Member State on 11 November 2005; and two States that have not as yet joined the Convention, Comoros and Djibouti to discuss the implementation of the Convention. The National Authority meeting served to facilitate the exchange of information and experience in the implementation of the Convention, and to promote cooperation among States Parties. The meeting also sought to identify priorities and the ways and means through which the States Parties and the Technical Secretariat can offer focussed assistance for better implementation of the Convention.
The meeting provided participants with an opportunity to share information on practical approaches to national implementation that have been adopted by international organisations with working relationships with the OPCW. The purpose of this information-sharing was to facilitate national implementation of various international treaties such as the Convention and others covering the regulation of chemical substances. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the United Nations Environmental Programme also participated in the meeting. Together, the OPCW and IUPAC are engaging the academic and professional communities to raise awareness of the chemical weapons ban. The OPCW is participating in UNEP training programmes for customs officials under the Green Customs Initiative.
In his opening address to the CWC National Authorities, OPCW Director General, Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, noted that “progress in the implementation of Article VII obligations has gained momentum under the Action Plan although much remains to be done. The Plan of Action identifies the steps that States Parties are to take to ensure appropriate implementation of the Convention; these include the designation or establishment of a National Authority, the enactment of legislation and the adoption of administrative measures needed in order to implement the Convention. Still today, only 79% of States Parties in Africa; 71% in Asia and 86% in Latin America notified the Technical Secretariat on the establishment of their National Authority, a basic national implementation measure to be taken by States Parties to implement the Convention. In addition, over 60% of our membership has yet to adopt legislation that covers all areas which are crucial to enforcement of the Convention”.
The Director-General further noted that “the Secretariat has responded to over one hundred official requests for assistance, including 65 technical assistance visits. In addition, States Parties have also offered assistance through technical assistance visits and support for awareness workshops and training courses, conducted at the request of Member States. Within the course of the two-year Action Plan, the number of legislative drafts under review has increased four times, rising from 36 to 152 submissions”. Director General Pfirter assured the participating National Authorities that the OPCW shall continue to support them through programmes that promote the exchange of experience and provide training through bilateral assistance visits, regional meetings and thematic workshops.
OPCW Member States are obliged to designate or establish a National Authority to implement the Convention effectively. The National Authority is responsible for submitting initial and annual declarations and other information as provided for in the Convention, escorting OPCW inspection teams to relevant facilities, providing assistance and protection for any Member State which suffer or threatened by a chemical attack, as well as fostering the peaceful uses of chemistry. The CWC National Authority acts as the focal point in the State Party's interaction with other States Parties and the OPCW's Technical Secretariat. As of 7 November 2005, 151 National Authorities have been established. In total, 157 States Parties have submitted initial declarations to the OPCW. In addition, 105 States Parties have submitted implementing legislation. Of that number, over half, or 59 States Parties have enacted comprehensive implementing legislation.
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an international, multilateral disarmament treaty which bans the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons. The States Parties to the CWC are obligated to declare any chemical weapons-related activities, to secure and destroy any stockpiles of chemical weapons within the stipulated deadlines, as well as to inactivate and eliminate any chemical weapons production capacity within their jurisdiction.
The CWC entered into force in 1997 and mandated the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to eliminate chemical weapons forever. The OPCW verifies the irreversible destruction of declared chemical weapons stockpiles, as well as the elimination of all declared chemical weapons production facilities. The OPCW Member States, together with OPCW inspectors, monitor the non-diversion of chemicals for activities prohibited under the CWC and verify the consistency of industrial chemical declarations. In addition, OPCW States Parties undertake to provide protection and assistance, if chemical weapons have been used against a State Party, or if such weapons threaten a State Party. The CWC also calls for international cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry.
The CWC is the single disarmament agreement that in its daily application around the world is used to verify the on-going elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction, chemical weapons. OPCW inspections are conducted in dozens of countries, where both military and industrial sites are subject to verification. The verification procedures and the declaration obligations of the States Parties are applied in an entirely non-discriminatory manner, following protocols negotiated and adopted in intensive and transparent multilateral negotiations. All States Parties enjoy the same rights and bear the same obligations, regardless of their declared possession of chemical weapons.
The global chemical weapons ban is approaching universality: as of 11 November 2005, 175 States will be party to the CWC and have taken the sovereign decision to renounce chemical weapons in perpetuity, while voluntarily complying with a strict verification regime. Together, these countries form the OPCW. Only 19 States have not as yet acceded or ratified the CWC. Every country is urged to accede to, or ratify, the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons is illegal everywhere. Universality of the CWC is a key priority in establishing a global and permanent ban of chemical weapons.
The CWC's international jurisdiction and deterrent effect is bolstered by the steadily expanding membership of the OPCW, now encompassing over 95% of the global population, as well as 98% of the relevant global chemical industry. The broad coverage of this disarmament treaty, the most complex and comprehensive international agreement of its kind ever to be adopted, grants States party to the CWC an ever more robust assurance that chemical weapons will no longer be developed, produced, stockpiled, used or transferred.
Six States Parties have declared chemical weapons and must destroy over eight million items, including munitions and containers —in total, over seventy-one thousand metric tonnes of extremely toxic chemical agents. By comparison, one drop of a nerve agent, no larger than the head of a pin, can kill an adult within minutes after exposure.
Every Member State must introduce and apply legislation to make the development, production, use, stockpiling or transfer of chemical weapons by any person or group illegal. Severe penalties must be imposed should this crime be committed. Each Member State is obliged to provide other Member States with its fullest cooperation so as to expedite prosecution.
To make sure that the Convention is implemented effectively, Member States are obliged to designate or establish a “National Authority”. This body participates in and coordinates OPCW inspections of relevant industrial or military sites, makes initial and annual declarations, participates in assisting and protecting those Member States which are threatened by, or have indeed suffered, a chemical attack, and fosters the peaceful uses of chemistry. In addition, the National Authority acts as the focal point in the State Party's interaction with other States Parties and the OPCW's Technical Secretariat. The OPCW Technical Secretariat has established a coordinated mechanism to support Member States in their national implementation of the Convention. The focus of this work is to provide advice and assistance to the staff of National Authorities in order to help them enhance their skills and expertise.
100% of the declared chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) have been deactivated. All are subjected to a verification regime of unprecedented stringency. Over 75% of the declared CWPFs have been eliminated. Over 25% of the 8.6 million chemical munitions and containers covered by the Convention have been verifiably destroyed. Nearly 17% of the world's declared stockpiles of approximately 71,000 metric tonnes of chemical agent have been verifiably destroyed. Over 2,000 on-site inspections have been conducted in over 70 States Parties to verify compliance with the CWC.
For further information please contact: Media and Public Affairs Branch, + 31 (0) 70 416 3710, media@opcw.org,
Johan de Wittlaan 32, 2517 JR The Hague, The Netherlands.