APPROACHING THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION

Abstract

April 29, 2007 will mark the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and it is also the deadline specified in the treaty for completing the destruction of all declared stockpiles of chemical weapons, most of which are owned by the United States and Russia. Unfortunately, it is already clear that neither country will meet the deadline. Although the delay in chemical weapons destruction is a serious problem, in other respects the treaty's bill of health is better than that of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. This viewpoint reviews the current status of CWC implementation and looks forward to what might be accomplished at the Second Review Conference in April 2008.

Keywords:

• Chemical Weapons Convention
• Nonproliferation
• Chemical Weapons
• Disarmament

Notes

1. United States Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty website, <www.cwc.gov/cwc_treaty_article_02.html>.