Obligations arising from the Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention CWC
- The Chemical Weapons Convention
The CWC entered into force on 29 April 1997. Switzerland signed on 14 January 1993 and ratified it as the 27th State on 10 March 1995. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the CWC at an international level.
The CWC is the first multilateral disarmament treaty, which prescribes the elimination of a whole category of weapons of mass destruction within a defined period of time and under a global control mechanism. It forbids the development, production, acquisition, retention, stockpiling, transfer, and use of chemical weapons, unless they are intended to be used for not prohibited purposes such as medical, pharmaceutical or protective activities.
In the CWC, toxic chemicals and their precursors are classified into three groups based on their level of toxicity and their possible application. Schedule 1 lists the actual/potential chemical weapons agents and their precursors without civilian application. Schedule 2 contains the potential chemical weapons agents and their precursors with little civilian application. Finally in Schedule 3, basic industrial chemicals are found.
The CWC stipulates among others that all activities involving more than 100g of Schedule 1 chemicals must be declared to the OPCW and verified by this organisation once a year. Furthermore, the facility used to handle chemical weapons should be declared too.
Obligations with regard to Schedule 1 declarations and notifications
As we are working with toxic compounds listed in Schedule 1 of the CWC, and as the Toxic Substances Laboratory is declared as "Other Schedule 1 Facility for protective purposes" to the OPCW, we must fulfil some declaration and notification requirements. Thus, after the "Initial Declaration for Existing Facilities" made in 1997, each activity involving tiny quantities of Schedule 1 chemicals was declared to the OPCW once a year in the "Annual Declaration of Schedule 1 activities and facilities during the Previous Year". In this declaration, the type and all the quantities of stocked chemicals, as well as the newly prepared, the consumed and the transferred compounds were reported. Furthermore, the purposes of these activities should be specified in detail, and the exact receiver of the chemicals should be made known.
Each year, the "Annual Declaration of Projected Activities and the Anticipated Production of declared Schedule 1 Facilities" should be sent to the OPCW. We report the type and quantity of the compounds we would like to synthesise in the following year. The anticipated period and the purpose of the production should be reported too.
- OPCW inspectors at work
In addition to these declaration requirements, the Toxic Substances Laboratory is routinely inspected once a year by a team of OPCW inspectors. These systematic verifications by on-site inspections ascertain that our declarations of Schedule 1 chemicals produced, processed and consumed are correct, and that our laboratory is not used for illicit purposes.
Table: Declaration and notification of requirements and their deadlines for submission
| TYPE | DEADLINE |
|---|---|
| Annual Declaration of Schedule 1 activities and facilities during the Previous Year | Year End + 90 days |
| Annual Declaration of Schedule 1 transfers to/from the State Party during the Previous Year. | Year End + 90 days |
| Annual Declaration of Projected Activities and the Anticipated Production of declared Schedule 1 Facilities | Year End - 90 days |
| Notification of Transfers of Schedule 1 Chemicals to/from the State Party | Reception/Supply - 30 days |