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| The Hague, 3 October 2005 | Number 1 | ||
Every nation that has renounced chemical weapons by ratifying or acceding to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) has the right to request and to receive assistance and protection against the use, or threat of use, of chemical weapons in accordance with the provisions of Article X of the CWC. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), now numbering 174 Member States, stands ready to provide such international assistance. To respond effectively to the potential threat of chemical terrorism, a cooperative, synergetic approach is required by present realities and by security challenges around the world.
The Government of Ukraine is hosting a major field exercise, "Joint Assistance 2005", to test and refine international cooperation procedures to deliver emergency assistance, following a simulated terrorist attack using a chemical agent. This exercise has been planned and coordinated jointly by Ukraine, the OPCW and NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC). The assistance coordination and chemical consequence management field exercise, "Joint Assistance 2005" will be held near Lviv, Ukraine from 9 to 12 October 2005 at the Yavoriv training site.
On 30 September 2005, the Government of Ukraine and the OPCW’s Technical Secretariat concluded a bilateral technical arrangement to facilitate the exercise’s smooth conduct.
Ukraine, with the support of OPCW and EADRCC experts and resources, will perform chemical reconnaissance, decontamination measures, temporary evacuation, provision of life support to the affected population, delivery of medical care, specialised search and rescue activities, water purification and sampling and analysis activities. Additionally, the OPCW will conduct an Investigation of Alleged Use of chemical weapons (IAU). The total participation in Joint Assistance 2005 will number approximately 1,000 team members from the Ukraine, twelve OPCW Member States, and seven Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) nations, participating as assistance coordination, rescue and relief experts, as well as observers, evaluators and support staff.
In addition to international — civil and military — assistance coordination and consequence management teams, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) will establish an On-Site Operations Coordination Centre (OSOCC), which — as part of the scenario — will help the stricken nation to coordinate the effective use of assistance and international consequence management resources. Representatives from forty-three OPCW and EAPC Member States will follow the exercise’s activities. While the exercise is conducted, observers have the option of attending three half-day seminars related to the scenario to promote an in-depth exchange of information on issues related to terrorism.
During the exercise, national and international teams will conduct practical field work in different exercise locations in and around the Yavoriv training site. The exercise will conclude on 13 October 2005 with a live demonstration by teams from the host nation and other participating countries.
Previously, the OPCW held IAU exercises in the Czech Republic and Poland, and, in 2002, a major assistance coordination field exercise was conducted in Croatia.
During the duration of the exercise a press centre will be operational in the exercise area. A schedule of specific media opportunities will be communicated closer to the event. Enquiries concerning accreditation and additional information should be addressed to Ms. Yulya Zakashanska at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine – tel. +380 44 2381718, fax +380 44 238 1899, e-mail: press3@mfa.gov.ua.
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 16 October 2005, 174 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 20 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 INFORMATION — NOT AN OFFICIAL RECORD
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.