OPCW - Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

This post is related to one of the recent news which claimed that 90% of the world's chemical weapon has been destroyed and the agency that achieved it was OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons). Do read it carefully because it is really a big step towards peaceful Co-existence. And special thanks toSABATINA who has dedicated this post to all the readers of Bankers Adda.


     

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997. As of today OPCW has 190 Member States, who are working together to achieve a world free of chemical weapons.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation, located in The Hague, Netherlands.

OBJECTIVES :

OPCW Member States share the collective goal of preventing chemistry from ever again being used for warfare, thereby strengthening international security. To this end, the Convention contains four key provisions:

destroying all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCW

monitoring chemical industry to prevent new weapons from re-emerging;

providing assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical threats; and

fostering international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the Convention and promote the peaceful use of chemistry.

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) :

It is an arms control treaty which outlaws the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and their precursors. The full name of the treaty is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction and it is administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

  

Member States:

The OPCW Member States represent about 98% of the global population and landmass, as well as 98% of the worldwide chemical industry.

WORK OF OPCW:

Demilitarisation

Elimination of the chemical weapons stockpiles and chemical weapons production facilities subject to the verification measures established in the Convention.

Non-proliferation

Non-proliferation of Chemical Weapons, through the application of verification and implementation measures.

Assistance & Protection

Assistance and Protection against Chemical Weapons, their use, or threat of use, in accordance with the Convention.

International Cooperation

The OPCW's international cooperation programmes focus on capacity building for the peaceful applications of the chemistry.

Universality

Promoting the Universality of the Convention and the Benefits of becoming a Member State.

National Implementation

Support to States Parties in implementing national requirements of the Convention.

Recent developments:

OPCW Opens New International Laboratory Training Facility (29 may 2015 )

(OPCW) inaugurated a purpose-built training facility at its laboratory in Rijswijk, near The Hague. The facility will allow the OPCW to train experts from laboratories around the world seeking to gain the prestigious OPCW-Designated Laboratory status.

Major milestone reached as 90% of global chemical weapon stocks destroyed: (26 may 2015 )

OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, today announced that 90% of declared chemical weapons had been verified by the OPCW as destroyed.  This includes stocks of unitary weapons, such as sulfur mustard, and primary precursor chemicals for producing deadly nerve agents, like sarin.  All destruction activities have been completed in a safe manner.  

Note : The Chemical Weapons Convention has 190 States Parties, with six States – Angola, Egypt, Israel, Myanmar, North Korea and South Sudan – still outside the Convention.  Angola’s and Myanmar’s parliaments recently approved joining the  Convention, and both countries are expected to soon become States Parties.

Basic Training Course on Assistance and Protection against Chemical Weapons for Arabic-Speaking States Parties held in Algeria (26 may 2015):

A basic training course on assistance and protection against chemical weapons for Arabic-speaking States Parties was held in Algiers, Algeria from 18 to 22 May 2015. The course was the first to be held in Arabic, and it was jointly organised by the OPCW and the government of People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria – Ministry of National Defence.

Twenty international participants from 12 State Parties (Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia)as well as 14 participants from Algeria attended the course which was held in the national Military Health School. First of 12 Chemical Weapon Production Facilities in Syria Destroyed, (03 February 2015) The destruction of an underground structure in Syria that previously hosted a chemical weapon production facility – the first of twelve planned to be destroyed – was completed on 31 January 2015. OPCW inspectors verified and declared the structure as destroyed on the same day. At the same time, destruction activities and preparatory work at the eleven remaining structures continue.

2013 Nobel Peace Prize :

On 11 October2013 , the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that the OPCW had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "extensive work to eliminate chemical weapons". In the announcement, the OPCW and the Chemical Weapons Convention were praised.

In September, 2014, OPCW had overseen destruction of some 97 percent of Syria's declared chemical weapons, an extraordinary accomplishment. But now it seems that there are stocks and infrastructure that were undeclared, including a ricin factory.

However, OPCW says that the production facility was declared in 2013 and is scheduled for verification and destruction. An OPCW team is currently in Beirut holding consultations with the Syrian authorities for the purpose of destroying the ricin factory and clearing up any further discrepancies.

1990 CHEMICAL WEAPONS ACCORD:

On June 1, 1990, Presidents George H.W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the bilateral U.S.–Soviet Chemical Weapons Accord; officially known as the "Agreement on Destruction and Non-production of Chemical Weapons and on Measures to Facilitate the Multilateral Convention on Banning Chemical Weapons". This pact was signed during a summit meeting in Washington D.C

Relations with the United Nations

The organization is not an agency of the United Nations, but cooperates both on policy and practical issues. On 7 September 2000 the OPCW and the United Nations signed a cooperation agreement outlining how they were to coordinate their activities.

The United Nations Regional Groups also operate at the OPCW to govern the rotations on the Executive Council and provide informal discussion platform.