Chemical Weapons Convention,1993

v It is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons.

v  It is called as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.

v The agreement is administered by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is an independent organization based in the Hague, in the Netherlands.

v At present 189 of the 196 states recognized by the United Nations are party to the CWC.

v  Myanmar and Israel have signed but not yet ratified the treaty

v  Angola, North Korea, Egypt, South Sudan and Syria have not signed the treaty.

v As of January 2013, around 78% of the (declared) stockpile of chemical weapons has thus been destroyed.

Key features of the Treaty

v Prohibition of production and use of chemical weapons.

v Destruction (or monitored conversion to other functions) of chemical weapons production facilities.

v Destruction of all chemical weapons (including chemical weapons abandoned outside the state parties territory).

v Assistance between State Parties and the OPCW in the case of use of chemical weapons

v An OPCW inspection regime for the production of chemicals which might be converted to chemical weapons.

v International cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry in relevant areas.