Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

HISTORY AND PRESENT STATUS

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) bans an entire category of weapons of mass destruction, (chemical weapons) and establishes a strict and universally applied international control mechanism. The Convention also regulates the production, processing and consumption of chemicals that possess properties of chemical warfare agents or which can be converted into or used to produce chemical weapons agents. Most of the latter chemicals are "dual use", meaning that they also have legitimate commercial uses. The Convention also regulates the production and transfer of riot-control agents and requires State Parties to declare the possession and transfer of such agents on an annual basis.

On 13 September 1995, South Africa became the 37th state to ratify the CWC, thereby becoming a State Party. Following the deposit of the 65th instrument of ratification by Hungary on 31 October 1996, the Convention entered into force on 29 April 1997, and is legally enforced in South Africa by the Non-Proliferation Council which acts as South Africa's National Authority in terms of the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act.

OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND COOPERATING ORGANISATIONS

Department of Trade and Industry
Non-Proliferation Council

RELEVANT TREATIES/PROTOCOLS ETC.

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Convention (OPCW).

GENERAL COMMENTS

South Africa chaired the Preparatory Commission (PrepCom) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which is based in The Hague for the period August 1995 to February 1996. During this time the South African Ambassador in The Hague led delegations to Washington and Moscow to encourage the US and the Russian Federation as the largest declared possessors of chemical weapons to ratify the Convention expeditiously.

Due to its large chemical industry, South Africa remains one of nine African countries to be a member of the Executive Council of the OPCW. This Council is the executive organ of the OPCW and is established to promote the effective implementation of, and compliance with, the Convention.

The South African Government has since its inauguration in May 1994, committed itself to a policy of non- proliferation, disarmament and arms control which covers all weapons of mass destruction and extends to its concerns relating to the proliferation of conventional weapons. This policy forms an integral part of its commitment to democracy, human rights, sustainable development, social justice and environmental protection.

A primary goal of South Africa's policy is to reinforce and promote South Africa as a responsible producer, possessor and trader of defence-related products and advanced technologies in the nuclear, biological, chemical and missile fields. South Africa, in so doing, promotes the benefits which non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control hold for international peace and security, particularly to countries in Africa and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).