|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
International Response: Abandoned Chemical Weapons Pose Continuing Challenge for OPCW By Bryan Bender As called for by the 1993 treaty, four countries —China, Italy, Panama and another state that remains confidential — have declared chemical weapons have been abandoned on their territory by other nations, according to the OPCW, the organization established to administer the convention. Yet, five years after the treaty entered into force, officials say countless unidentified chemical weapons stocks remain around the world, while those countries that have taken responsibility for abandoned weapons have achieved mixed results in fulfilling their treaty obligation to destroy them. In Ethiopia, abandoned chemical shells and munitions — believed to have been left behind in the 1930s by Italy, which documents show brought 80,000 tons of chemical weapons into the country — continue to be found, most recently by a construction crew building a school. Italy has not acknowledged ownership of the weapons, however, nor has Ethiopia formally registered their presence with the OPCW. The number of abandoned weapons in Ethiopia is unknown and they are scattered about the country. They are believed to be among countless abandoned chemical weapons left behind in Africa by Italy in the 1930s and later by World War II armies. Elsewhere, the United States tested an estimated 31,000 mustard gas and phosgene bombs on San Jose Island in Panama between 1944 and 1947, and live munitions have recently been found. Despite U.S. promises to dispose of the weapons, no plan has been established yet (see GSN, May 28). In China, on the other hand, where Japan abandoned chemical munitions in Manchuria in the 1930s, officials report significant progress has been made by Tokyo and Beijing in reaching agreement on a disposal plan and destruction of the stockpile is underway. “The destruction of old and/or abandoned chemical weapons is especially difficult and potentially dangerous,” according to the OPCW. “Chemical munitions produced relatively recently are well known to national experts, and their quantity normally allows for the destruction process to be organized on an industrial scale. Old and/or abandoned chemical munitions often require much more manual handling, however, and there is a greater risk of an explosive detonation or agent contamination.” The treaty defines old chemical weapons as those manufactured before 1925 and not believed to pose a continuing environmental hazard. While countries are still responsible for disposing of old chemical weapons, they are considered to be toxic waste. Abandoned weapons are defined as those manufactured after 1925. “Chemical weapons abandoned by one state party on the territory of another without its consent at any time since 1925 must be declared,” according to the treaty. “They also agree to destroy any chemical weapons that they own, possess, have jurisdiction over or abandoned on the territory of another state party without its consent at any time since 1 January 1925.” According to Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies fact sheet, after World War I chemical weapons are believed to have been used in at least four cases — by Libya against Chad in 1987; by Iraq against Iran and Iraqi Kurds during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War; possibly by Iran against Iraq in the same war; by Egypt against Yemen between 1963 and 1967; and by Italy in what is now Ethiopia around 1935. Ethiopia Highlights Challenge Ethiopia, where Italy is believed to have used chemical weapons in what was then called Abyssinia, is a recent example of the difficulty in identifying ownership of abandoned chemical weapons and working through the OPCW to reach agreement on how to dispose of them. Despite the large numbers of weapons that are known to have been deployed in Ethiopia, there is now no evidence of a concentrated stockpile. An Ethiopian Embassy official criticized Italy for not helping Ethiopia to learn if such a stockpile exists or to locate any abandoned weapons. Last year Ethiopian officials accused Italy of breaking international law by not disclosing the location of chemical weapons depots built during Mussolini’s occupation of the area. The discovery in May 2001 of live ammunition and grenades renewed fears that poison gas and other weapons were left behind. It is unclear, however, how many weapons remain or where they are located. At an autumn U.N. meeting — described to Global Security Newswire by an official who attended — an Ethiopian representative expressed frustration with Italy’s failure to acknowledge ownership of the weapons, provide documentation, or otherwise take steps toward locating any leftover stockpiles with the intent to destroy them. “Ethiopia is unhappy with the destruction of chemical weapons as called for under the CWC,” according to Jonathan Tucker of the U.S. Institute for Peace. “In 1936 Mussolini conquered Ethiopia and used mustard gas but apparently the Italians are challenging the fact that they have ownership.” The Italian government has not responded to repeated requests for official comment. Michael Moodie of the Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute, added, “If Ethiopia can prove they abandoned them in the 1930s then Italy could be found to be in violation of the treaty. It is a question of noncompliance. The financial responsibility [would be] Italy’s.” Whatever the outcome in Ethiopia, the OPCW believes chemical weapons may have been abandoned across North Africa, particularly after World War II. “There is so much of it in North Africa,” said Peter Keiser, an OPCW spokesman. “Those armies moved fast. Fronts moved quickly. Apparently it isn’t easy to determine. We need to determine ownership.” U.S. Accused of Dragging Its Feet in Panama In Panama, ownership has been established, but follow-on efforts have apparently bogged down. The United States has acknowledged ownership of the weapons on San Jose Island, including seven intact 500-pound and 1,000-pound phosgene bombs, as well as gas cylinders and phosgene rockets found on the island in September 2001. Panamanian Foreign Minister Jose Miguel Aleman has requested that U.S. reports detailing potential burial sites on the island be forwarded to his government, but no reports have been forthcoming, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists reported in August. The treaty reserves “the right of the territorial state party to request the abandoning state party to enter into consultations regarding the implementation of the obligation to destroy abandoned chemical weapons.” If Washington fails to dispose of the weapons in Panama, it would be “clearly violating the Chemical Weapons Convention,” the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a peace activist group, said in a recent report. Chinese and Japanese Cooperation The relationship between China and Japan in dealing with abandoned chemical weapons is cause for optimism, officials said. While sticking points remain, both countries have come to agreement on Japanese ownership of the abandoned weapons and Tokyo is in the process of disposing of them. “The Chinese and Japanese outcome essentially makes the Japanese responsible,” said Moodie. “It has required very close consultations between them. There was some dispute over whether all of them were Japanese. They are still working on it. The Manchurian stockpile is the biggest abandoned chemical weapons site declared under the convention, according to Keiser. “China wants it done more quickly, but the process is moving along,” he said. In a defense White Paper released yesterday, China detailed its participation in assisting Japanese efforts to dispose of the weapons. Still, a full accounting of abandoned chemical weapons remains illusive, particularly from World War II. Elsewhere in Asia, OPCW says that Allied forces also conducted countless chemical weapons experiments in jungle conditions, including at various sites in India and modern-day Pakistan and Australia. In 1989, 109 mustard-filled U.S. munitions were found abandoned in the Solomon Islands and were later destroyed. “Future discoveries of abandoned and improperly destroyed CW munitions … are likely events,” disarmament expert Maria Haug wrote in a 2001 report for the OPCW.
| ||||||||||
Back to top
