General purpose criterion

Article II therefore uses not the degree of toxicity of a chemical as a defining criterion but instead its intended purpose ( general purpose criterion ). Any toxic or precursor chemical is regarded as a chemical weapon unless it has been developed, produced, stockpiled or used for purposes not prohibited, and only as long as types and quantities are consistent with such purposes. The definition covers all toxic or precursor chemicals if intended for CW purposes - irrespective of whether they have been listed on one of the Schedules and irrespective of their exact degree of toxicity. ... 

The reach of this provision is extensive and is made more so by the so-called general purpose criterion set out in Article II of the CWC. This defines chemical weapons to mean, inter alia, [tjoxic chemicals and their precursors, except where intended for purposes not prohibited under this Convention as long as the types and quantities are consistent with such purposes . In essence, this definition means that the Article I obligations undertaken by States Parties apply to all toxic chemicals and their precursors. These obligations are not limited to the chemicals that are subject to verification under the CWC. ... 

In the cases of Australia and France the issue is ameliorated somewhat by the fact that both have incorporated the general purpose criterion into their legislation. Thus, at least post facto, both states would have the ability to penalize activities involving toxic chemicals that are undertaken for prohibited purposes. In addition, these States Parties would have the required regulatory framework for facilities working with toxic chemicals as a result of their participation in the Australia Group. 

A number of CWC States Parties, however, have not incorporated the general purpose criterion in their legislation and also do not generally regulate the purposes of activities involving toxic chemicals. The lack of regulation of toxic chemicals that are outside the CWC s verification... 

It can thus be seen, that as in the BTWC, the chemical weapons are defined in the CWC under a general purpose criterion which makes it clear that the prohibition covers any chemical which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm and that this includes all such chemicals, regardless of their origin or of their method of production and regardless of whether they are produced in facilities, in munitions or elsewhere. The prohibition thus covers all chemical weapons, past, present and future. 

The SAB rightly concluded by underlining the importance of the general purpose criterion which embraces all chemicals in their remarks that ... 

As already noted, a central provision of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is the general purpose criterion which prohibits Toxic chemicals and their precursors, except where intended for purposes not prohibited under this Convention, as long as types and quantities are consistent with such purposes . The implementation of this general purpose criterion is placed by Article VI on each State Party which shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that toxic chemicals and their precursors are only developed, produced, otherwise acquired, retained, transferred, or used within its territory or in any other place under its jurisdiction or control for purposes not prohibited under this Convention . 

CPC [general purpose criterion] in requiring that any toxic chemical can only be used for permitted purposes and that this stipulation does not apply only to the chemicals listed in the Schedules . It goes on to say that States Parties should review their activities to implement the general purpose criterion in the wake of the terrorist attacks on 11 September, 2001. 

The most recent UK National Authority Annual Report11 for 2003 has a section entitled The General Purpose Criterion . This recognizes that the negotiators of the Convention realized that... 

In the following, an analysis is made first as to why the general purpose criterion should be seen as being of increasing importance and then of some current international initiatives that are addressing chemicals that are of potential risk to public health or to the environment in order to explore how these initiatives might be harnessed to implement the CWC general purpose criterion. 

It was noted above that the General Purpose Criterion is clearly recognized as being central to the... 

As the General Purpose Criterion is a central provision in the CWC, it is important that both the fact and the method of its implementation is made generally known. It would be important for National Authorities to report to the OPCW, as well as nationally both what action they have taken and the nature of this action to implement the General Purpose Convention, thereby strengthening the implementation of the CWC and ensuring its continued health and effectiveness in totally preventing chemical weapons. 

Chemical weapons are totally prohibited under the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The General Purpose Criterion ensures that all toxic chemicals, past, present and future, are prohibited unless they are for purposes not prohibited under the Convention. The regime against chemical weapons will become more effective as the Chemical Weapons Convention approaches universality and international initiatives in regard to toxic chemicals become more widely applied throughout the world. National measures to ensure that toxic chemicals do not present a risk to health and safety can and should be harnessed to ensure effective implementation of the obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention to ensure that such chemicals are only used for purposes permitted under the Convention. 

Pearson GS (2000). The CWC General Purpose Criterion how to implement CBW Conventions Bull, 49(September), 1-7 (available at http //www. sussex.ac.uk/spru/hsp). 

This so-called general-purpose criterion not only makes it clear that peaceful uses of the biosciences are legitimate undertakings for states parties to the BWC, but also allows the use of pathogenic organisms or toxins in quantities and for purposes other than use as weapons. 

Although the general purpose criterion contained in Article I of the BWC makes clear that in principle all future scientific and technological advances are covered by the Convention, states parties over the years have regarded it as important to have a statement to this effect included in the Final Declaration of successive Review Conferences. At the First Review Conference in 1980 this reaffirmation of the comprehensive scope of Article I merely stated that ... 

The workshop participants were of the view that the comprehensive scope of the Convention - the General Purpose Criterion - needs to be preserved and restated, so as to maintain the relevance of the Convention in the light of scientific, technological, and political developments. 

The CWC contains a general purpose criterion (GPC) that bans the production and use of all toxic chemicals except where they are to be used for peaceful purposes, such as would be the case for a commercial pesticide. The GPC is the principal mechanism by which technological and scientific developments can be taken into account by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the organization that implements the CWC. The definition in the CWC is phrased to ensure that bulk CW storage containers and binary chemical weapon or other multicomponent systems are covered by the convention. See also BIOLOGICAL... 

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