Headquarters of the OPCW

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ORGANISATION FOR THE PROHIBITION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS (OPCW) AND THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS CONCERNING THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE OPCW... 

The Kingdom of the Netherlands shall not incur by reason of the location of the headquarters of the OPCW within its territory any international responsibility for acts or omissions of the OPCW or of its officials acting or abstaining from acting within the scope of their functions, other than the international responsibility which the Kingdom of the Netherlands would incur on the same footing as other States Parties. 

Meetings of the Scientific Advisory Board shall be held at the headquarters of the OPCW in The Hague. 

The modular approach is based upon the current capacity of the OPCW in terms of offers of assistance by States Parties (in the form of material and personnel), and the capacity of the Secretariat to store, maintain, transport, and distribute the items and resources most likely to be needed should a CW-related emergency arise. The components of this approach would involve a central stockpile of resources and equipment in the Organisation s headquarters, available for immediate dispatch to a requesting State Party, and in addition, stockpiles of resources which have been offered by States Parties and organised in the form of modules. The modules would be categorised into basic assistance modules (BAMs) for emergency assistance, and specialised assistance modules (SAMs) for supplementary and humanitarian assistance. The Secretariat would store BAMs and a very limited stockpile of humanitarian assistance, while both BAMs and SAMs would be stockpiled by the States Parties. The basic module could consist of pallet-packed items, ready to be airlifted within 12 hours after the request for assistance has been received. The BAMs in the headquarters stockpile will be identical to the BAMs stored by States Parties. This will facilitate identification, packing, dispatch, and the delivery of assistance. 

This chapter discusses the negotiation of the provisions of the CWC related to Review Conferences, and then considers the preparations for, and the conduct of, the first Review Conference (RevCon), which was convened at the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague from 28 April to 9 May 2003. The outcomes of the RevCon are then considered, followed by an assessment of the potential value of the RevCon in guiding the activities of the OPCW until the next RevCon, which is scheduled to take place in 2008. 

C-I/DEC.59 adopted by the Conference of the States Parties at its First Session on 14 May 1997 and entitled OPCW Headquarters Agreement . To facilitate the full implementation of the OPCW Headquarters Agreement, the Conference of the States Parties adopted at its Eleventh Session decision C-11/DEC.9 on the establishment of a Host Country Committee. 

The Government recognises the inviolability at any time of the headquarters, which shall be under the control and authority of the OPCW as provided in this Agreement. 

Recognising that resolving in a constructive and timely fashion any issues that may arise in connection with the interpretation and implementation of the Headquarters Agreement is of interest to the Member States of the OPCW, including the Host Country, as well as to the Director-... 

Security outside the OPCW premises as defined in the OPCW Headquarters Agreement will be provided by the Netherlands at no cost to the OPCW. Internal security within those premises will be the responsibility of the OPCW. 

Only in 1997 the Convention on chemical weapons took effect for 87 member-countries - initiators of the Convention. According to the Convention to perform the requirements was created the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) with headquarters in Hague. 

This system is described in a concept and in annexes to the concept, and is the culmination of a review of all possible approaches to mobilisation. The concept and annexes propose a modular approach, with a limited stockpile at headquarters, and sufficient stockpiles within States Parties in various regions. These stockpiles would be ready to be mobilised within hours by one direct airlift. A limited stockpile could be deployed within hours after the receipt of a request, along with the OPCW s assistance coordination and assessment team (ACAT). The team would assess the needs of the requesting State Party, and on that basis, the assets stockpiled within States Parties would be dispatched. The Secretariat would ensure that the stockpiles met the necessary requirements, and were available when needed. 

The following article will take the reader through the various phases of an inspection, from mission planning to the return of the inspection team to the OPCW headquarters. By this, it will describe the concept of sampling and analysis, the equipment and procedures used during inspections, highlight some critical aspects, and refer to experiences gained. 

Recalling further that no objection was received by the Secretariat by 10 January 1997 in The Hague and the Commission s provisional approval of the above-mentioned Draft OPCW Headquarters Agreement therefore became final. 

Headquarters means the area and any building, including any OPCW laboratory, equipment store, conference facilities, parts of buildings, land or facihties ancillary thereto, irrespective of ownership, used by the OPCW on a permanent basis or from time to time, to carry out its official fimctions ... 

The appropriate authorities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the amenities of the headquarters are not prejudiced and that the purposes for which the headquarters are required are not obstructed by any use made of the land or buddings in the vicinity of the headquarters. The OPCW shad take aU reasonable steps to ensure that the amenities of the land in the vicinity of the headquarters are not prejudiced by any use made of the land or buildings in the headquarters. 

Any dispute between the OPCW and the Government concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement, or any question affecting the headquarters or the relationship between the OPCW and the Government, which is not settled amicably, shall be referred for final decision to a tribunal of three arbitrators, at the request of either Party to the dispute. Each Party shall appoint one arbitrator. The third, who shall be chairman of the tribunal, is to be chosen by the first two arbitrators. 

This Agreement shall be construed in the light of its primary purpose of enabling the OPCW at its headquarters in the Kingdom of the Netherlands fully and efficiently to discharge its responsibilities and fulfil its purposes. 

In order to facilitate their participation in the sessions of the Conference, a meeting room will be made available for use by all accredited NGOs. The need for any technical equipment and services that may be required should be communicated in advance by the NGO Coordinator to the Secretariat, and will be supplied on a reimbursable basis. In the event that a meeting room is not available at the Conference venue, a meeting room will be made available at the OPCW Headquarters building. 

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