Inspected State Party

Sample collection will generally be conducted by the inspected State Party (during investigations of alleged use (IAU), the inspection team may collect the samples itself), however, the IT may collect the sample(s) if agreed in advance between the inspected State Party and the IT [VA.II.52], The IT has the right to conduct sample analysis using its own approved equipment or it may witness analysis performed by the inspected State Party [VA.II.53]. This leads to two different concepts for on-site analysis as laid out below. 

On-site Analysis Conducted by the Inspected State Party and Witnessed by the Inspection Team (IT)... 

If the analysis is conducted by the inspected State Party, OPCW inspectors are in the role of witnessing... 

Within this approach lays the possibility of various levels of assistance by the inspected State Party offering equipment, such as the use of inspected site laboratory facilities, fumed hoods, and the like. Such offers are laid down in facility agreements concluded between the inspected site and the OPCW, following an initial inspection. However, fundamental to this approach is that sample preparation and analysis are conducted by OPCW inspectors according to OPCW-approved procedures with equipment that meets OPCW QA/QC criteria. All activities may be witnessed by inspected State Party representatives. 

Confidentiality concerns, in particular, in relation to inspections of industry facilities and in relation to activities not prohibited by the Convention have led to several measures aimed at protecting sensitive information. In order to allow the inspected State Party to retain all data produced by the GC/MS, the equipment is operated from a removable hard disk, which may be retained on site at the end of the inspection. Another measure has been the design of dual mode software for the GC/MS by modifying the operating software of the instrument to offer operation in so-called open or blinded mode as explained in the following. 

Representatives of the inspected State Party or of the inspected facility shall take samples at... 

Where possible, the analysis of samples shall be performed on-site. The inspection team shall have the right to perform on-site analysis of samples using approved equipment brought by it. At the request of the inspection team, the inspected State Party shall, in accordance with agreed procedures, provide assistance for the analysis of samples on-site. Alternatively, the inspection team may request that appropriate analysis on-site be performed in its presence. 

The inspected State Party has the right to retain portions of all samples taken or take duplicate samples and be present when samples are analysed on-site. 

Sampling and on-site analysis may be undertaken to check for the absence of undeclared scheduled chemicals. In case of unresolved ambiguities, samples may be analyzed in a designated off-site laboratory, subject to the inspected State Party s agreement. 

Additional procedures for exit monitoring activities as agreed upon by the inspection team and the inspected State Party may include, inter alia . .. 

The inspected State Party shall designate the perimeter entry/exit points to be used for access. The inspection team and the inspected State Party shall negotiate the extent of access to any particular place or places within the final and requested perimeters as provided in paragraph 48 the particular inspection activities, including sampling, to be conducted by the inspection team the performance of particular activities by the inspected State Party and the provision of particular information by the inspected State Party. 

The inspection team shall have the right to collect samples of types, and in quantities it considers necessary. If the inspection team deems it necessary, and if so requested by it, the inspected State Party shall assist in the collection of samples under the supervision of inspectors or inspection assistants. The inspected State Party shall also permit and cooperate in the collection of appropriate control samples from areas neighboring the site of the alleged use and from other areas as requested by the inspection team. 

If duplicate samples cannot be taken and the analysis is performed at off-site laboratories, any remaining sample shall, if so requested, be returned to the inspected State Party after the completion of the analysis. 

Continuous air sampling (monitoring) for health and safety purposes is the responsibility of the ISP (Inspected State Party). For real-time monitoring over a short period, the IT has the option to use handheld detectors triggering an alarm if contamination levels exceed a certain concentration. In case of... 

Operations and Planning Branch will arrange for the transport of equipment to the Point of Entry (POE) of the inspected State Party. While the small... 

Traditional GC/MS analysis and data processing could reveal the identity of chemicals that are not related to the purpose of the inspection. Under certain circumstances this may not be acceptable for the inspected State Party (ISP) because the information may be considered as confidential for business or for national security reasons. 

The presence of the only one and removable hard disk was requested by decision of Conference of the State Parties on its first session (3). In Attachment 6 of the decision 71 concerning specific operational requirements for GC/MS system, it says that all data in nonvolatile memory must be retainable at the inspected site under joint custody of the Technical Secretariat (TS) and the inspected State Party. The hard disk with all raw data may be considered as containing highly protected information and requested to be left on site of inspection. 

Although minor problems have occasionally arisen in the course of some inspections, for the most part they have been carried out smoothly and with the full cooperation of the inspected State Party. 

Article IX, para. 2, states Without prejudice to the right of any State Party to request a challenge inspection, States Parties should, whenever possible, first make every effort to clarify and resolve, through exchange of information and consultations among themselves, any matter which may cause doubt about compliance with this Convention, or which gives rise to concerns about a related matter which may be considered ambiguous. ... 

According to the challenge inspection procedure in the CWC, the requesting State Party is first required to submit an inspection request to the Executive Council of the OPCW (where the decision on the challenge inspection would be made) as well as to the Director-General of the Technical Secretariat. The request must contain, at least, the following information (a) the State Party to be inspected, (b) the point of entry into the inspected State Party, (c) the size and type of the inspection site,... 

The inspection team, after arriving at the point of entry of the inspected State Party, would not move immediately to the inspection site. This is because, although the inspection of a particular site would already have been requested by the requesting State Party, the exact site for inspection would still need to be determined through negotiations between the inspection team and the inspected State Party. 

The inspection site, indicated with perimeter , would first be proposed by the requesting State Party. If this requested perimeter is acceptable to the inspected State Party, it will become the final perimeter , and the inspection team will be transported to that final perimeter if not, the inspected State Party must propose an alternative perimeter . If the alternative perimeter is acceptable to the inspection team, it will become the final perimeter if not, the perimeter negotiations will continue at the alternative perimeter. If no agreement is reached on the perimeter of the inspection site, the alternative perimeter will be designated as the final perimeter. 

In any event, the inspection team is allowed to have access, within the requested perimeter , not later than 108 hours after the arrival of the inspection team at the point of entry (Verification Annex, Part X, para. 39). It should be noted, however, that the inspected State Party must have been provided with information regarding the location of the requested inspection site at the latest 12 hours before the inspection team s arrival at the point of entry (Verification Annex, Part X, para. 6). Thus, the inspected State Party would have at maximum roughly 120 hours (five days) to prepare for the inspection. 

As stated above, the inspected State Party is obliged to provide the inspection team with access within the requested perimeter . In other words, there is no restriction with regard to the access within the requested perimeter as such. This does not, however, mean that the access to (or within) facilities and areas within the requested perimeter is also unlimited. 

Thus in a challenge inspection, although access within the requested perimeter itself is assured, the inspected State Party is allowed to take various measures to protect sensitive installations and confidential information in terms of both the timeline for giving access and the intrnsive-ness of such access. 

On the other hand, the way in which the inspection is to be conducted is rather constrained. In terms of the timeline, the inspection team might have to wait up to five days before being permitted to enter the requested inspection site. Access itself could also be hmited by the inspected State Party using the managed access technique. 

In cases where facilities or areas of an inspected State Party are located on the territory of a State not Party to this Convention, the inspected State Party shall take all necessary measures to ensure that inspections of those facilities or areas can be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Annex. A State Party that has one or more facilities or areas on the territory of a State not Party to this Convention shall take all necessary measures to ensure acceptance by the Host State of inspectors and inspection assistants designated to that State Party. If an inspected State Party is unable to ensure access, it shall demonstrate that it took all necessary measures to ensure access. 

---