Parties Executive Council

Conference of States Parties ( All member states), yearly conference or as required, the Executive Council of 41 member states which meets regularly throughout the year and the Technical Secretariat of 506 staff members from 66 nationalities. The operating 2005 Budget is approx 76.5 million Euros. 

The Conference shall establish at its first session the voluntary fund for assistance in accordance with Article X (Article VIII, subparagraph 21(j)) The Executive Council shall conclude agreements with States Parties on behalf of the Organisation in connection with Article X and supervise the voluntary fund referred to in Article X (Article VIII, subparagraph 34 (b)) and the Technical Secretariat shall administer the voluntary fund referred to in Article X (Article VIII, subparagraph 39(c)). 

The OPCW is thus the implementing body of the Convention. The two bodies vested with the responsibility for making decisions on policy matters and disputes over interpretation or implementation are the Executive Council and the Conference of States Parties. The Executive Council, comprising representatives of 41 member states elected for two-year terms, meets four five times per year. The Conference of States Parties includes all CWC states, meets annually (or more often if required), and oversees the implementation of the Convention. The day-to-day administration and implementation, including inspections, is the responsibihty of the Technical Secretariat under the leadership of a Director-General appointed by the Conference of States Parties on the recommendation of the Executive Council. All three principal organs of the OPCW are... 

The Executive Council, which has oversight of the operations of the OPCW on behalf of the States Parties, has had substantial achievements since entry into force. However, there has been disappointment that the Executive Council has not been able to reach decisions on many important issues, including some dating back to the Paris Resolution (tasks that the Preparatory Commission was requested to resolve before entry into force) that are considered important for the effective operation of the OPCW. The unresolved issues include legal and technical ones related to industry declarations and verification. The Review Document expressed concern about these delays and urged the Executive Council to increase its momentum and strive to conclude all unresolved issues. ... 

A number of States Parties have used the informal bilateral consultations procedures, provided for in Article IX of the treaty, to consult and seek clarifications from a number of States Parties on the information provided in their declarations. For example, in its national statement, the United States stated that it has utilised the consultative provisions of Article IX on numerous occasions to address our compliance concerns often with great success . In its national statement, the United Kingdom also stated that it had made use of these clarification provisions. However, no State Party has yet utilized the formal consultation procedures involving the Executive Council. ... 

The composition of the Executive Council caused a major headache in 1992. There were concerns among a number of negotiators and future States Parties that, based on the composition formula that was being developed, they would not receive a reasonable opportunity to participate in the deliberations of the Executive Council. However, as a result of the liberal use of Executive Council Rule of Procedure 22, any State Party can actively participate in the various issues being considered by the Executive Council, including the presentation of national papers, which has resulted in a reasonably high level of satisfaction with the operation of the Executive Council. ... 

One of these exercises simulated the entire challenge inspection process from the submission of the request, the convening of a special session of the Executive Council to consider the request, through to the preparation of a final report. These practice inspections are seen as valuable experience for the Executive Council, the Technical Secretariat and States Parties in preparing for the possibility of a real challenge inspection. 

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,... 

International cooperation, between States Parties, the OPCW Technical Secretariat and other organizations and bodies active in relevant fields, to advance the issue of CWC adherence through these stages will be crucial. Without it, universality within foreseeable time frames will not be achievable, particularly in view of the fact that the Executive Council, in adopting its Action Plan, was inspired by the objective of achieving universal adherence to the Convention ten years after its entry into force (i.e. by April 2007). 

An inspection requires approval from the 51-state Executive Council by at least 30 votes, with the vote taken no later than 96 hours after receipt of the initial request. The inspection party shall then arrive at the inspection site no later than nine days following the initial request for an inspection. The activities of the inspection team are restricted to an area not to exceed 1000 km, with a maximum time on site of 130 days. 

Although it is true that the CWC is, in a sense, under continuous review through the annual Conferences of the States Parties and the regular Executive Council meetings, it was argued that it would be irresponsible if the States Parties at the forthcoming Review Conference in April 2003 -given the mandate of the Review Conference... 

The treaty requires that chemical attacks should be investigated, and that the victims of such attacks should be assisted (including states parties that feel threatened by activities prohibited under the treaty). It obligates all states parties to proffer assistance, establishes a voluntary fund for this purpose, and indicates procedures for the rapid provision of detection systems, protective equipment, medical antidotes, advice and other assistance. Should the Technical Secretariat uncover evidence of non-compliance, the Executive Council must first consult with the states concerned, and, if necessary, set deadlines for corrective action to be taken. Should these measures prove insufficient, the Executive Council may refer the matter to the Conference of the States Parties, which may decide to recommend a collective response. In cases of particular gravity , the Conference is required to bring the issue before the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council. 

If a State ratifies or accedes to this Convention after the 10-year period for destruction set forth in paragraph 6, it shall destroy chemical weapons specified in paragraph 1 as soon as possible. The order of destruction and procedures for stringent verification for such a State Party shall be determined by the Executive Council. 

Each State Party shall meet the costs of destruction of chemical weapons it is obliged to destroy. It shall also meet the costs of verification of storage and destruction of these chemical weapons unless the Executive Council decides otherwise. If the Executive Council decides to limit verification measures of the Organization pursuant to paragraph 13, the costs of com-... 

A State Party may request, in exceptional cases of compelling need, permission to use a chemical weapons production facility specified in paragraph 1 for purposes not prohibited under this Convention. Upon the recommendation of the Executive Council, the Conference of the States Parties shall decide whether or not to approve the request and shall establish the conditions upon which approval is contingent in accordance with Part V, Section D, of the Verification Annex. 

If the Executive Council takes a decision pursuant to paragraph 16, the Organization shall have the right to monitor the implementation of the bilateral or multilateral agreement. Nothing in paragraphs 16 and 17 shall affect the obhgation of a State Party to make declarations pursuant to Article 111, this Article and Part V of the Verification Aimex. 

There are hereby established as the organs of the Organization the Conference of the States Parties, the Executive Council, and the Technical Secretariat. 

Consider and adopt at its regular sessions the report, programme and budget of the Organization, submitted by the Executive Council, as well as consider other reports Decide on the scale of financial contributions to be paid by States Parties in accordance with paragraph 7 ... 

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