Chemical Weapons Convention: Issues for Congress
Abstract
More than 100 years of international efforts to ban chemical weapons culminated January 13, 1993, in the signing of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The Convention entered into force April 29, 1997. One hundred forty-three of the 171 signatories have ratified the Convention. On April 24, 1997, the Senate passed the CWC resolution of ratification (S.Res. 75) by a vote of 74-26. President Clinton signed the resolution and the United States became the 75th nation to ratify the Convention. Russia and Iran were the most recent nations to have ratified the CWC. The CWC bans the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons by members signatories. It also requires the destruction of all chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities. The Convention provides the most extensive and intrusive verification regime of any arms control treaty, extending its coverage to not only governmental but also civilian facilities. The Convention also requires export controls and reporting requirements on chemicals that can be used as warfare agents and their precursors. The CWC establishes the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to oversee the Convention s implementation. Chemical Weapons Convention implementing legislation, as S. 610, passed the Senate unanimously on May 23, 1997. This legislation, which was an amendment in the nature of a substitute reported from the Judiciary Committee, provides the statutory authority for domestic compliance with the Convention s provisions. It sets criminal and civil penalties for the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer, possession, or use of chemical weapons.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 13, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA477879
Entities
People
- S. R. Bowman
Organizations
- Library of Congress