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Presented by Mr Muhammad Kazi, Senior Coordination and Planning Officer,to the Biological Weapons Convention: Meeting of States Parties 2010
Palais des Nations, Geneva 6-10 December 2010
Assistance Response under Chemical Weapons Convention
This presentation contains !
Fundamental Provisions & Participation
History of Chemical Weapons
CBRN Threats Classification
Overview of Assistance and Protection under Article X of the CWC
OPCW Preparedness, Capacity-building, & Challenges Ahead
On 13 January 1993 the Chemical Weapons Convention was opened for signature in Paris. The signatory states approved a resolution to set up a “Preparatory Commission” for the future Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The inaugural session of the Preparatory Commission was held on 8 February 1993, in The Hague, the Netherlands, the seat of the future Organisation.
Steps towards chemical disarmament
The Preparatory Commission immediately established a Provisional Technical Secretariat to assist its work, and to prepare for the eventual Secretariat of the OPCW. The Preparatory Commission stayed in existence from 1993 until shortly after the Convention entered into force on 29 April 1997.
The implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) established pursuant to Article VIII of the CWC.
The OPCW CONFERENCE OF THE STATES PARTIES
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT
Chemical Weapons Convention features
First disarmament and non-proliferation agreement with global application, banning an entire category of weapons of mass destruction under strict international control
Comprehensive verification system
A complex exercise:Arms Control & Disarmament - CW issuesNon-proliferation / Confidence Building
Measures - Chemical Industry issuesAssistance and Protection Economic and Technological Development
States Parties undertake to
declare and destroy all their chemical weapons (CW) and CW production facilities under strict international verification
ensure that toxic chemicals and their precursors are only used for legitimate purposes (national implementation measures, declarations and international verification)
provide assistance and protection through the OPCW in case of use of CW against a State Party
facilitate international cooperation in the peaceful application of chemistry for permitted purposes
CWC prohibitions
developing, producing, otherwise acquiring, stockpiling or retaining CW, or transferring directly or indirectly CW to anyone
using CW
engaging in any military preparations to use CW
assisting, encouraging or inducing anyone, in any way, in any activity prohibited to a State Party under the Convention
use of riot control agents as a method of warfare
Status of participation in the CWC about 95% of the global population and landmass
98% of the worldwide chemical industry
all 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council, and vast majority of states with CWC declarable activities and facilities
7 chemical weapons possessors
12 possessors of former CWPFs
10 OCW and 3 ACW possessors
As at 3 December 2010
188 States Parties
2 Signatory States
5 Non-signatory States
Only 7 States Not Party
History of chemical weapons
431-404 BCUse of arsenic smoke during the Peloponnesian war.673 ADFirst use of "Greek Fire" at the siege of Constantinople.
Although chemicals had been used as tools of war for thousands of years—e.g. poisoned arrows, boiling tar, arsenic smoke and noxious fumes, etc.—modern chemical warfare has its genesis on the battlefields of World War I.
World War I, 1915Gas attack, Western Front (World War I).
The first large-scale attack with chlorine gas occurred 22 April 1915 at Ypres, or Ieper, in Belgium. The use of several different types of chemical weapons, including mustard gas (yperite), resulted in 90,000 deaths and over one million casualties during the war. By the end of World War I, 124,000 tonnes of chemical agent had been expended.
World War I
chemical weapons used during the war in the 1980.
Around 100,000 soldiers and civilians were affected by chemical weapons during the 1980-88 war
Iran-Iraq War (1980-88)
chemical weapon victim Eighteen-month-old child suffering from respiratory
problems
The Bhopal disaster (also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy) is the world's worst industrial catastrophe. It occurred on the night of December 2–3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Deaths confirmed related to the gas release
Bhopal disaster 1984
A leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals from the plant resulted in the exposure of several thousands of people.
The two most recent examples of the use of chemical weapons were the sarin poisoning incident in Matsumoto, a Japanese residential community, in 1994, and the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, both perpetrated by the Aum Shinrikyu doomsday cult.
The OPCW did not yet exist in 1995. If the Organisation had existed, Japan could have requested its assistance. After the OPCW was established in 1997, the Organisation was able to verify that the building and the equipment used by the terrorists to produce those chemical weapons were completely destroyed.
Chemical terrorism in Japan
CBRN THREATS
WMD TERRORISM
WMD PROLIFERATION
CHEMICAL
BILOGICAL
RADIOLOGICAL
NUCLEAR
WAR ACTIONS
CBRN RELEASE OTHER THAN ATTACK
WMDUSAGE
CLASSIC WEAPONS ON
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY FACILITIES
DANGEROUS GOODS STORAGE FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
MILITARY NON-MILITARY
TOXINS
INC
IDEN
TAL
AC
CID
ENTA
LCBRN THREATS CLASSIFICATION
• Possibility• Intensity• Exposure time
Indirectly
Directly • Individuals• Groups• Organizations
•Ideological•Military•Political•Religious
CHEMICALTHREATS
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
USAGE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY FACILITIES
DANGEROUS GOODS STORAGE FACILITIES
CW TERRORISM
CW PROLIFERATION
CHEMICAL
ChemicalWeaponsChemicalWeapons
ChemicalIndustrialAccidents
ChemicalIndustrialAccidents
ChemicalTerrorismChemicalTerrorism
Overview of Assistance and Protection
Capacity building for Member States in the area of protection
Protection network, data bank
Investigations of alleged use
Emergency assistance
Coordination and delivery of assistance pledged by Member States
Voluntary fund
19
Assistance Response System (ARS)
Director-General
OPCW
Assistance Coordination
Group
Investigation of Alleged Use &
Assistance Coordination and Assessment Team
Assistance and Protection Branch
Support Staff:- Operation & Planning Branch
- Media and Public Affairs
- Health & Safety
- Administration
- Policy Making Organs
-- International Cooperation & Assistance
Support Staff:- Divisions liaisons Officer
- Field operations Officer
- State Party liaison Officer
- OPCW Rijswijk equipment storeProtection
NetworkQualified Experts
Assistance Response System
ARS provides 24 hours coverage
Role & functions of the ARS:
- Asses & evaluate request of assistance
- Dispatch team to conduct an Investigation of Alleged Use
- Dispatch delivery of assistance in case of use of chemical weapons
- Coordination of delivery of assistance at Headquarters level
Assistance Response System
Preparation for worst case scenario
Gradual response on different scenarios in case of serious threat of use or use of Chemical Weapons
Assistance Response System
OPCW Headquarters Resources
- limited stockpile - ACAT + IAU- Qualified Experts
States Parties stockpiles and resources
Assistance Response System
Assistance Coordination & Assessment Team (ACAT) Tasks:
Conduct on-site assessment of CW related assistance needs
Support the requested SP in the coordination and management of the receipt of assistance
Provide expert advice to Local Emergency Management Authorities (LEMA) and agencies on-site on consequence management measures related to CW
Cooperation with other international organisations UN OCHA, BWC/ISU, WHO, etc.
Assistance Response System
Investigation of Alleged Use Main Task:
Collecting evidence to provide foundation for further action
Assistance Response System
Modular approach in mobilisation of resources
21 pallets, packed, labelled and ready for delivery
Total: 1158 masks, 1280 gloves, 30 protection covers, 2058 canisters, decontamination powder, detection paper, drinking bottles, carry cases and backpacks
Assistance Response System
Offers of Assistance
Voluntary Fund44 States Parties contributed € 1,399,775.00
Bilateral Agreements1 State Party signed Agreement with the OPCW
Unilateral Offers of Assistance44 States Parties made Unilateral Offers such as:
- Protective, detection, decontamination equipments - Medical antidotes and treatments- Technical expert advice on protective measures
Response to a request for assistance in case of use or serious threat of use of CW
11 National Assistance Teams
1 International Organization
4 Regional Teams
69 Observers from MS
5 International Organisations, as Observers
More than 500 participants
Assistance Response System
Cooperation with other International Organizations
UN-OCHA
NATO/EADRCC
EU
UNODA
WFP
CTBTO
BWC/ISU
Regional Arms Control Verification and Implementation Assistance Centre
UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament & Development in Latin America & the Caribbean
- National Capacity-building Programmes
- Regional/sub-regional Capacity-building Programmes
- International Assistance & Protection Programmes
Capacity-building against Chemical Weapons
Since 2004, over 1500 First Responders are Trained from Member States
- Every year, the OPCW provides training courses, seminars, and workshops to train Experts to respond to attacks with chemical weapons, and to save lives.
- These courses also show Experts how to detect chemical weapons, and practical training to learn knowledge in other means of protection against chemical weapons
Capacity-building against Chemical Weapons
- Olympics games, Greece (2003-2004)
- Asian Games, Qatar (2004-2008)
- Cricket World Cup, Trinidad & Tobago (2007)
- APEC / EU- Latin America Summit, Peru (2008)
- Pan - American Games, Mexico (2010-2011)
Capacity-building against Chemical Weapons
Challenges Ahead !!!
Timely delivery of assistance
To avoid duplication of efforts & resources cooperation /coordination with relevant organisations
Geographic distribution of offers of assistance
Strategic airlifting capacities
Compatibility of assistance offers related to protection
Voluntary fund requirements for emergency???
Selected bibliography
Basic Facts on Chemical Disarmament, OPCW, 2010
Chemical Weapons Ban: Facts and Figures, OPCW, 2010
“The OPCW” in International Encyclopaedia of Law: Intergovernmental Organisations, Kluwer Law International, 2000
Website: www.opcw.org
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