Chemical Weapons Convention

July 9, 2023

Recently, the United States has destroyed the last of its declared chemical weapons stockpile, a milestone in the history of warfare dating back to the First World War.

Why in news?

The U.S. faced a September 30 deadline to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention.

Key facts about Chemical Weapons Convention

It is a multilateral treaty that bans chemical weapons and requires their destruction within a specified period of time.
It entered into force on April 29, 1997.
It requires states-parties to declare in writing to the OPCW their chemical weapons stockpiles, chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs), relevant chemical industry facilities, and other weapons-related information.
The CWC is open to all nations and currently has 193 states-parties.
India is a signatory and party to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
It has signed the treaty at Paris on 14th day of January 1993.
It is pursuant to provisions of the Convention enacted the Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000.

What is Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)?

It is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Mission: To implement the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in order to achieve the OPCW’s vision of a world that is free of chemical weapons and of the threat of their use, and in which cooperation in chemistry for peaceful purposes for all is fostered.
Headquarters: Hague, Netherlands.
It receives states-parties’ declarations detailing chemical weapons-related activities or materials and relevant industrial activities.
It is authorized to perform inspections to verify that signatory states are complying with the convention.
It also performs testing of sites and victims of suspected chemical weapons attacks.