Encyclopedia > Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an agency of the United Nations. Its mission is to promote membership of the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty and to check, through its inspectors, that members are obeying the provisions of the convention . It was established in 1997. In January, 2002 one hundred and forty-five states had ratified or acceded to the convention.
The current agreement is administered by the Organization for the Prohibition of ChemicalWeapons (OPCW), which is often mistaken for being part of the UN, although it is independent of it.
The convention is administered by the Organization for the Prohibition of ChemicalWeapons (OPCW), which conducts inspection of military and industrial plants in all of the member nations as well as working with stockpile countries.
Examples of these substances are phosgene, which has been used as a chemicalweapon but which is also a precursor in the manufacture of many legitimate organic compounds and triethanolamine, used in the manufacture of nitrogen mustard but also commonly used in toiletries and detergents.
The related event at the time was the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its official pretext of Iraq's possesion of weapons of mass destruction, which were taken to include chemicalweapons.
The OPCW was known to have been actively pursuing its mandate by negotiating with Iraq's leaders for their cooperation with the ChemicalWeapons Convention, and this would have included inspections that could have verified their compliance with disarmament obligations, and jeapardized the case for war.
Feeds |
Contact