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Costs and Benefits of Membership. The
most fundamental restriction placed upon member states is that they do not
develop, produce, stockpile, transfer, or use chemical weapons. However,
the CWC also imposes constraints on the transfer of chemical agents among
states. Member countries may not transfer schedule 1 and schedule 2 agents to
non-member countries. Furthermore, member states must request an
end-use
certificate from non-member states if they are transferring schedule 3 agents.
Members bear the considerable costs of setting up a national capability to
monitor the chemical industry's activities and prepare the two national annual
declarations required under the CWC.
In return for agreeing to these restrictions,
member states receive several benefits. Upon membership, states are eligible for
assistance from other member states in developing their civilian chemical
industries. Member states are also eligible for OPCW technical and financial
assistance with chemical research. In extreme circumstances, member states may
also receive aid to destroy CW or CW facilities in order to meet the
treaty's most fundamental requirements (Russia, for example, has received
CW dismantlement aid from many states). Finally, all CWC members pledge to aid
those who have been attacked or threatened by chemical weapons.
Successes. One of the major successes
of the CWC has been its near-universal membership. As of August 2007,
182
countries have joined the CWC, leaving only six states which have signed
but not ratified the treaty (including
Israel),
and seven others who have neither signed nor ratified the treaty (including
Egypt,
Iraq,
North Korea,
and
Syria).
Under the CWC, thousands of tons of chemical weapons have been catalogued and destroyed. Source: www.opcw.org
Due in large part to its near-universal
membership and unprecedented verification and enforcement mechanisms, the CWC
has made significant progress in reducing or eliminating CW stockpiles and
destroying, converting, and inactivating CW production facilities:
- Of the 71,000 tons of
declared CW stockpiles, one-third has been destroyed, along with roughly
one-third of the 8.6 million declared chemical munitions and containers. All
other declared CW stockpiles have been verified and
inventoried.
- Over 90 percent of all CW production
facilities have been destroyed or converted to civilian use, and the remaining
facilities have been deactivated.
- Nearly 3,000 inspections have taken place at hundreds of CW-related facilities
as well as commercial chemical facilities in 79 member countries.
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Further Reading:
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