Chemical Weapons Convention: Issues for Congress

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-eight of the 174 signatories have ratified the Convention. On April 24, 1997, the Senate passed the CWC resolution of ratification S.Res. 75, 105th Congress by a vote of 74-26. President Clinton signed the resolution and the United States became the 75th nation to ratify the Convention. The CWC bans the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons by member 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 Conventions implementation. Chemical Weapons Convention implementing legislation P.L. 105-277 provides the statutory authority for domestic compliance with the Conventions provisions. It sets criminal and civil penalties for the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer, possession, or use of chemical weapons. It also establishes the following 1 procedures for seizure, forfeiture, and destruction of contraband chemical weapons 2 statutory authority for recordkeeping and reporting requirements relevant to the CWC 3 various restrictions on certain chemicals, depending on their likelihood of being used to produce chemical weapons and 4 a protective regime for confidential business information gathered from private corporations.