Signed by United States: 13 January 1993
Advice & Consent of Senate: 24 April 1997
Entry into Force (EIF): 29 April 1997
Structure: 24 Articles, 3 Annexes

Background: The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is the first multilateral agreement that provides for the elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. It was negotiated in the United Nations' Conference on Disarmament, and was approved for signature by the UN General Assembly in September 1992 after 12 years of talks. The Convention was opened for signature in Paris on 13 January 1993, and 130 nations were original signatories, it now has 153 States Parties.

Treaty Objectives: The goal of the CWC is to prohibit the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons (CW), as well as provide for their destruction.

Treaty Provisions: States Parties are prohibited from engaging in military preparations to use chemical weapons; assisting or encouraging anyone to engage in activities prohibited by the Convention; or using riot control agents as a method of warfare. In addition, States Parties are obliged to destroy all chemical weapons in their possession, located any place under their jurisdiction/control, or abandoned on the territory of other States Parties, as well as any CW facilities it owns or possesses, and provide assistance and protection against chemical weapons.

The CWC's implementing body is the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The OPCW consists of three organs: the Conference of States Parties, the Executive Council, and the Technical Secretariat. The Conference of States Parties is comprised of representatives from each State Party, and is responsible for major decisions regarding implementation of, and compliance with, the CWC. The Executive Council consists of 41 members, and serves as the executive organ of the OPCW. The Council is responsible for considering compliance issues, and will refer serious compliance concerns to the UN Security Council. The Technical Secretariat is responsible for compiling and reviewing data declarations, conducting on-site inspections, and for monitoring compliance with the Convention.

The CWC classifies chemicals into three Schedules of Toxic Chemicals and Precursors. Schedule 1 chemicals are the most lethal and primarily consist of current chemical weapons and their precursors, which pose a high risk to CWC objectives. Schedule 2 chemicals are dual-use, highly-toxic chemicals which pose a significant risk to CWC objectives and are used in many industrial applications. Schedule 3 chemicals are generally dual-use chemicals that have been produced or used as a chemical weapon or are tertiary Schedule 1 precursors, and may be widely used in industrial applications.

The CWC contains ambitious and intrusive monitoring and verification regimes. Because of the fact that many chemicals in common industrial use and a wide variety of industrial facilities can be used to produce CW, a comprehensive system of data declarations and inspections has been developed.

Information Exchange: No later than 30 days after EIF, States Parties were required to submit detailed data declarations which documented CW stocks; production, processing, consumption, and import/export of certain chemicals; and historical information on CW development and production programs. Declarations on plans for destruction of CW must be submitted no less than 60 days before the annual destruction periods, and a report on the actual implementation of destruction plans must be submitted no later than 60 days after the destruction period.

Verification: Facilities where declarable activity takes place (and where volumes of scheduled chemicals meet threshold criteria), are subject to initial and systematic ("routine") inspections by the OPCW, possible continuous monitoring with installed instruments, and to challenge inspections based only on suspicions of non-compliance. In addition, any facility located in a State Party (or under its jurisdiction and control) may also be subject to a challenge inspection.

The CWC provides for three general types of inspections: initial inspections, systematic (or "routine") inspections, and challenge inspections. As part of the systematic inspection regime, some facilities may be subject to continuous monitoring by instrumentation installed and maintained by the OPCW. In addition, OPCW inspectors may be continuously present at CW destruction facilities for extended periods.

Current Issues: There are twenty-five signatories that have not yet ratified the convention. This will continue to be an issue until ratification takes place and compliance can be fully verified. In addition, of those that have ratified the treaty, only 55% have reported to OPCW that they have enacted the legislative and administrative measures required by the Convention.

The 1st Review Conference was held at The Hague, Netherlands, on April 28, 2003. At the conference, the United States agreed to provide assistance to other States Parties in establishing national implementation measures to help the domestic enforcement of the Convention. The U.S. is currently working on the best methods to provide this assistance.

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