Facilities abandoned chemical weapons

The destruction of these declared stockpiles has made considerable progress. There have been difficulties and delays, but there is no doubting the full commitment of all possessor States Parties to complete the destruction of all their chemical weapons within the time frames established by the Convention. Furthermore, facilities that were used in the past to produce chemical weapons are being destroyed or converted for legitimate purposes. Destruction as well as conversion operations are subject to systematic verification by the OPCW, which has conducted more than 1,800 inspections, in 65 States Parties, since the beginning of inspections in 1997. More than 1,000 of these inspections were conducted at CW facilities (CW storage facilities, former CW production facilities, destruction operations, and locations where old and/or abandoned chemical weapons are being recovered and destroyed). Some... 

Within a given time frame, CWC member countries must declare all of their chemical weapons production facilities, all CW stockpiles and storage facilities, any chemical weapon munitions (filled or unfilled), and all abandoned CW agents and munitions. 

For the purpose of destroying abandoned chemical weapons, the Abandoning State Party shall provide all necessary financial, technical, expert, facility as well as other resources. The Territorial State Party shall provide appropriate cooperation. 

The First Review Conference recalled the need to adopt decisions on a number of unresolved issues related to chemical weapons, old chemical weapons produced after 1925, abandoned chemical weapons, and chemical weapons production facilities. It noted that the Council has included several urgent and long-standing issues in its work programme, and requested the Council to continue working towards an early resolution of these issues. 

Article I of the CWC obliges states parties to destroy any chemical weapon stockpiles in its possession or which it has abandoned on the territory of another state party. As well, a state party must destroy its chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) or convert them for peaceful purposes not prohibited under the Convention. A state party is required within 30 days of ratifying or acceding to the Convention to declare to the Technical Secretariat whether or not it possesses any chemical weapons or has possessed or produced them in the past. Likewise, old chemical weapons (OCW), both those produced before 1925, and those produced between 1925 and 1946, have to be declared. A state party must also notify the OPCW if it has... 

First, the CWC prohibited the development, production, acquisition, retention, stockpiling, transfer and use of all chemical weapons Furthermore, states that signed and ratified the agreement were required to declare any and all CW stockpiles. They were also required to destroy their chemical weapons within a reasonable amount of time— in anywhere from five to ten years—depending on their specific circumstances. States were also held responsible for the clean-up of any chemical weapons that had been abandoned in another state s territory. In addition, CWC members agreed to destroy or convert to peaceful use any chemical-weapons production facilities operated since 1946 under their jurisdictions. 

Significantly, a state that is party to the Convention has primary responsibility for the disposal and clean-up of chemical weapons abandoned on another state party s territory. As the verification annex of the CWC states, [the] Abandoning State Party shall provide all necessary financial, technical, expert, facility as well as other resources. The Territorial State Party shall provide appropriate cooperation. This is the clause that, for example, obUges Japan to survey the remains of chemical weapons its armies left behind in China and pay the associated costs of disposal. 

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