africa and the chemical weapons convention

7/28/2019 Africa and the Chemical Weapons Convention

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N o l S t o t t

Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Security

Studies (South Africa)

Africa and the Chemical

Weapons Convention(April 2013)

Abstract

With 188 states parties, the Chemical WeaponsConvention (CWC) is one of the most successfulinternational treaties and the 3rd Five-Year Re-view Conference of the Convention is scheduledfor April 2013. The near-universalisation of theCWC in Africa is a testament to the continentscommitment to ensuring that the misuse of dan-gerous chemicals does not happen either inAfrica, or anywhere else in the world. Thereare, however, still challenges. As the Organisa-tion for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons(OPCW) shifts its focus away from chemicalweapons disarmament to one that concentrates

on non-proliferation and internationalco-operation and assistance, adjustments to themandate, programmes and approaches given tothe OPCW by its Member States will need to bemade. As a way to improve effective nationalimplementation of the CWC in Africa, therebycreating the essential conditions for providingreliable non-proliferation assurances, andaddressing new challenges faced by States Par-ties of the Convention, this paper proposes anumber of recommendations for the OPCW1.

1. A shorter version of this article was published in theNon-Proliferation Monthly Special Issue on the CWC 3rdReview Conference (2013/11).


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IntroductionAngola, Somalia and Egypt and now South Su-dan, which in July 2011 became the 193rd mem-ber state of the United Nations (UN), are amongonly eight countries that are not party to theChemical Weapons Convention (CWC). With 188states parties, the Convention is one of the most

successful international treaties and with the 3rdFive-Year Review Conference of the Conventionscheduled for April 2013, the time for these Afri-can States to become States Parties is long over-due. Angola, Egypt, Somalia and South Sudanlike the Democratic Peoples Republic of Koreaand the Syrian Arab Republic, have not evensigned the Treaty. Israel and Burma have signedbut not ratified. During the 17th session of theConference of State Parties to the CWC held inNovember 2012, UN Secretary General BanKi-moon stated that if a world free of chemicalweapons is to be fully realised, it is crucial thatthese eight states join without delay. Membersof the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) reiteratedthis by calling for the total eradication of allchemical weapons throughout the world in-cluding the stocks held by the United States,Russia and Libya - all of whom have had theirdeadlines to fulfill their commitments to neverunder any circumstances Develop, produce,otherwise acquire, stockpile or retain chemicalweapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly,chemical weapons to anyone (Article 1, para-graph 1) extended.

In some senses one can understand why Somaliaand Egypt have delayed their accession. Somaliahas no real functioning government, which,along with the current internal situation, meansthat CWC accession in the near future isunlikely. Somalia is party to a limited number ofinternational criminal, human rights, humani-tarian and refugee law treaties, and to no con-ventions covering arms control issues. Egyptinsists on linking the issue of nuclear weapons in

the Middle East with chemical weapons; holdingthat Israel, which has a policy of nuclear ambi-guity, should first join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclearweapon state. It maintains that this linkage is anecessary component of its support for a Wea-pons of Mass Destruction-Free Zone in the Mid-dle East.2

Angola, however a member of NAM that hasno confirmed history of chemical weapons pos-session and use, no serious external threat to itssecurity since the ending of the decades-longcivil war in 2002 and a relatively small chemical

industry - should be able to announce its acces-sion at the 3rd Five-Year Review Conference, akey focus of which will be on all states fulfillingthe CWCs core objectives and on developingstrategies to prevent the re-emergence or futureuse of these weapons. Importantly, the threeAfrica non-parties (and particularly Angola)

accession at this time will reinforce the AfricanUnions (AU) calls for a Chemical Weapons-FreeZone in Africa something it has been pushingfor since at least 20043 and which was streng-thened in 2006 with the signing of a Memoran-dum of Understanding between the AU and theOPCW that underscores their continuing co-operation in the Conventions implementation.

At the signing ceremony, the then African UnionCommission Chairperson, Alpha Oumar Konar,stated that co-operation with the OPCW was im-portant for the African Unions goal of establish-ing a chemical weapons-free zone in Africa andin fostering the peaceful uses of chemistry. TheOPCWs work in Africa includes the followingactivities:

Support for, and fostering of, internationalcooperation in the peaceful use of chemis-try;

Building African capacity for national im-plementation of the Convention as a whole;

Assisting the effective functioning of Na-tional Authorities, including the control of

imports and exports of Scheduled Chemi-cals;

Enhancing understanding of the rights andobligations of States Parties;

Enhancing understanding of the verifica-tion regimes of the CWC; and,

Facilitating co-operation and enhancing thecapacity of African States Parties in thearea of assistance and protection againstthe use or threat of use of chemical wea-pons.4

Adherence to the CWC thus provides concretebenefits for all OPCW Member States. Not onlydoes the OPCW support programmes to enhanceMember States national capacity infrastructureand regulatory framework to implement theConvention, but they also strengthen measuresto protect civilian populations against chemical

2. See: Noel Stott, Time for Angola to Ratify the ChemicalWeapons Convention,ISS Today, 5 December 2012.

3. Workshop on the Universality and the Implementationof the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), conducted

jointly by the Government of the Federal Republic ofEthiopia and the Organisation for the Prohibition ofChemical Weapons (OPCW) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 20

to 22 April 2004.4. Noel Stott, Enhancing the Role of the OPCW in Build-ing Africas Capacity to Prevent the Misuse of ToxicChemicals, Africas Policy Imperatives, Issue 6: May2011.


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weapons. The Convention eliminates a commonthreat, enhances mutual trust and mandates theOPCW to deliver concrete support, assistanceand protection to all Member States threatenedby a chemical attack, or who actually suffer suchan attack. Perhaps, in the African context, moreimportantly, the OPCW also facilitates

co-operation amongst States Parties to promotethe peaceful uses of chemistry.5 As such theseprogrammes yield direct economic benefits to acontinent struggling with socio-economic devel-opment.

Africa and the OPCWAfrica is a major stakeholder in the Organisationfor the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons(OPCW): African States Parties to the ChemicalWeapons Convention are actively involved in the

work of the OPCWs policy-making organs andsubsidiary bodies and have in the past beenelected chairs or vice-chairs of Conferences ofthe States Parties. The Executive Council alwayshas nine African States as members representingthe African region and thus they are able to in-fluence policy decisions enabling the OPCW tofunction effectively. African States are also in-cluded on the OPCWs subsidiary bodies, inclu-ding the Advisory Body on Administrative andFinancial Matters, the Confidentiality Commis-sion and the Scientific Advisory Board. The con-

tribution of the African States Parties is also re-flected in the large number of senior posts in theTechnical Secretariat that are held by nationalsfrom the region.6

In 2007, the OPCW Director-General proposedthe development of a Programme to StrengthenCooperation with Africa on the Chemical Weap-ons Convention. The Programme would:

Respond to the particular needs of AfricanStates Parties;

Contribute to the effective and non-

discriminatory implementation of the Con-vention;

Be supported by Regular Budget and Vol-untary Contribution from Member States/European Union and in kind contributionsmostly in Developing Countries.

Over the years the Programme has expanded inboth quantity and in its scope of support and hasfurther enabled African actors to participate intraining courses and workshops on the continent

on topics that are of direct relevance to them.7The OPCW, in co-operation with States Partiesfrom the region, co-hosts events in Africa ran-ging from regional meetings of CWC NationalAuthorities to sub-regional training workshopsfor customs officials.

As of 31/12/2011, the region of Africa has gainedfrom the OPCWs international co-operationprogrammes in the following ways (global fi-gures in brackets):

130 analytical chemists trained (of 315)

112 Associate Programme participants (of265)

610 Conference Support participants (of1,966)

68 interns (of 115)

56 conferences (of 239)

48 laboratories (of 92)

153 research projects (of 437)

30 transfers of used and functional equip-ment (of 73)

In total, 1207 individual and facility benefi-ciaries (of 3,502)8

Recent and forthcoming OPCW events in Africa9include Analytical Chemistry courses in Tunisiaand in South Africa.

The OPCWs implementation support pro-

gramme includes assisting States Parties to meettheir obligations under Article VII of the Con-vention: establishing National Authorities foreffective liaison with the OPCW; taking the ne-cessary steps to enact legislation, including penallegislation, and adopt administrative measuresto implement the Convention; identifying de-clarable chemical industry and trade activities;and submitting accurate declarations. In addi-tion, the OPCW has also focused on the areas ofcustoms officials and port authorities and theimplementation of the requirements of the

transfers regime, licensing, and the training ofNational Authority personnel as national inspec-tion escorts. All this has resulted in: 49 of the 51States Parties having National Authorities; 26submitting Art. VII(5) reports; 12 having legisla-tion covering all key areas and 4 undertakingArticle XII(2e) reviews.10

5. http://www.opcw.org


7. Nol Stott, Enhancing the Role of the OPCW in BuildingAfricas Capacity to Prevent the Misuse of Toxic Chemi-cals,Africas Policy Imperatives, Issue 6: May 2011.


9. See the OPCW website for details of events hosted ordue to be hosted in Africa, http://www.opcw.org

10. National Implementation Update, OPCW Today, Vol. 1No. 2 August 2012.
http://www.opcw.org/about-opcw/executive-council/http://www.opcw.org/http://www.opcw.org/http://www.opcw.org/http://www.opcw.org/http://www.opcw.org/http://www.opcw.org/http://www.opcw.org/http://www.opcw.org/http://www.opcw.org/about-opcw/executive-council/


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The Importance of National Legis-lationThe near-universalisation of the CWC in Africa isa testament to the continents commitment toensuring that the misuse of dangerous chemicalsdoes not happen either in Africa, or anywhereelse in the world. While it remains important topromote accession in the remaining three statesnot yet party to the Convention, effective imple-mentation of the CWC in the existing AfricanStates Parties continues to be an ongoing chal-lenge. In particular, the fact that only 22 percentof African States Parties have implementinglegislation covering all key areas of the CWC is ofmajor concern. The CWC contains detailed im-plementation provisions explicitly requiringStates Parties to adopt as criminal offencesactivities that violate the treaty and to extend

these measures to offences committed by theircitizens outside of their territory. National lawsare also necessary to establish and operate theNational Authority required under the CWC.

Given the resource constraints that most Africancountries operate under, it may be useful forAfrican States Parties to consider an integratedapproach to the regulation of WMD issues ingeneral. A useful model of the latter is SouthAfricas Non-proliferation of Weapons of MassDestruction Act (Act No. 87 of 1983) and itsinterdepartmental structure - the South African

Non-Proliferation Council for Weapons of MassDestruction (NPC) which administers the Actand controls the transfer (export/import/transit/re-export) of dual-use technology, mate-rials and goods. While it may be true that each ofthe major treaties relating to nuclear, biologicaland chemical weapons have different require-ments for national implementation measures, itdoes not follow that states need to adopt a sepa-rate and dedicated legal instrument for each.

Such an approach would make it easier for Statesto implement related treaties such as the NPTand BTWC and indeed UNSC Resolution 1540thus making the best use of limited resources to,for example, effectively control dual-use nuclear,biological and chemical materials. This approachwould also prevent a collage of export control,customs and criminal legislation in a particularcountry. In addition, it may make it possible forStates, through appended regulations, to makeprovision for new technological developmentsand risks in the field and new UNSC resolutionscovering non-proliferation issues that may arisein the future.

Importantly, the adoption of the necessary legis-lation by African States will demonstrate theirfull compliance and build confidence that the

assistance they receive in the development ofadvanced chemical technologies will be usedonly for peaceful purposes.

Involving other StakeholdersAlthough the OPCW has achieved a great deal in

Africa and beyond, it cannot continue to do thisalone. Other stakeholders of the established Na-tional Authorities, such as the chemical industry,customs authorities and other governmentalstakeholders, regional and sub-regional bodies,as well as civil society must work collaborativelyto ensure that the practical aspects of the Con-vention are implemented appropriately. Thisco-operation should also include a tailor-madeapproach to implementing the CWC, and otherrelated WMD conventions in Africa.

Importantly for Africa is the impact that conven-

tions such as the CWC have on socio-economicdevelopment. Benefits of being a States Partyincludes the right to participate in, the fullestpossible exchange of chemicals, equipment andscientific and technical information relating tothe development and application of chemistryfor purposes not prohibited under the Conven-tion. Therefore, engagement on this issue inAfrica must include (or even predominantly fo-cus on) both the developmental benefits as wellas the security dimensions of OPCW member-ship. Implementing the CWC does not solely

pertain to security keeping chemicals out ofthe hands of unauthorised state and non-stateactors. Technical assistance, co-operation, andthe transfer of technology are probably mostrelevant to a continent that struggles with chal-lenges such as poverty, unemployment and un-der-development.

RecommendationsAs the OPCW shifts its focus away from chemicalweapons disarmament to one that concentrates

on non-proliferation and international co-operation and assistance, adjustments to themandate, programmes and approaches given tothe OPCW by its Member States will need to bemade11 As a way to improve effective nationalimplementation of the CWC in Africa, therebycreating the essential conditions for providingreliable non-proliferation assurances, and ad-dressing new challenges faced by States Partiesof the Convention, such as the potential use of

11. See: Amelia Broodryk, Is there a role for civil society

in the evolution of the OPCW? Academics, NGOs andStates Parties: conflict or complementary?, presentationto a Wilton Park Conference: Chemical Weapons Conven-tion: Third Review Conference and beyond, 15 17 Octo-

ber 2012.


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toxic industrial chemicals (for example, by non-State actors), the following recommendationsare proposed for the OPCW:

1. To follow the example of a recent Africaninitiative to establish a Forum of NuclearRegulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA). TheFNRBA sees itself as assisting States to up-grade their legislation and regulatory frame-works, to promote education training andmanaging the recent increase in uraniummining on the African continent. The workof the FNRBA complements that of the In-ternational Atomic Energy Agencys (IAEA)Nuclear Security Programme in Africa. Asimilar African initiative with a mandate onthe CWC and the chemical industry, in co-operation with the OPCW, could be createdin order to sustain and maintain a networkfor information exchange among diplomats,scientific communities, academic institu-tions, chemical-industry associations,NGOs, and regional and international insti-tutions.

2. The African Union, which, as describedabove, has a Memorandum of Understan-ding on Cooperation with the OPCWs Tech-

nical Secretariat, should be lobbied to take amore proactive role in strengthening StatesParties capacities against the misuse oftoxic chemicals and in finding the appro-priate balance between security and devel-opment.

3. The OPCW should assist African States inexamining current examples of generalWMD control legislation that covers theConvention on the Prohibition of the Deve-lopment, Production and Stockpiling of Bac-teriological and Toxin Weapons and theirDestruction (BTWC), the Treaty on theNonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons(NPT) as well as the CWC.

4. Given that the role of both the OPCW andAfrican civil society is to promote interna-tional peace and security through disarma-

ment and non-proliferation the complemen-tary nature of our activities should be recog-nized and both should embark on mutuallyreinforcing actions in, for example, promot-ing awareness and universality of the CWCin Africa and lobbying for the enactment of

domestic laws.

The authors opinions do not necessari-

ly reflect those of the Institute for Secu-

rity Studies, its Council, its Trustees orany funder or sponsor of the ISS.

Author

Nol Stott, Senior Research Fellow, Africa'sDevelopment and the Threat of Weapons ofMass Destruction Project, Institute for SecurityStudies, Pretoria, South Africa.

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