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Chemical Weapons

  • Russia Revises Chemical Arms Deadline
    Arms Control Today
    July 2, 2010

    Russia has said that it will not meet the Chemical Weapons Convention’s April 2012 deadline for destroying its stockpile of chemical weapons, the head of the convention’s implementing body said June 29.
  • No time for complacency: tackling challenges to the Chemical Weapons Convention
    ACA Events
    June 11, 2010

    Remarks by ACA International Representative Oliver Meier, June 8, 2010 during a "Perspectives from NGOs" panel at a conference on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
  • Interview with OPCW Director-General Rogelio Pfirter
    Interviews
    February 12, 2010

    Interviewed by Oliver Meier
  • OPCW Chiefs Ponder Chemical Arms Deadlines
    Arms Control Today
    January 14, 2010

    A possible failure by Russia and the United States to meet a 2012 deadline set by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) for the destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles does not call into question the commitment of states-parties to the eventual elimination of chemical weapons, the current and future chiefs of the treaty’s implementing body said in December.

    Rogelio Pfirter of Argentina, outgoing director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and his designated successor, Ahmet Üzümcü of Turkey, made the comments during and just after the organization’s annual meeting in Geneva Nov. 30-Dec. 4.
  • OPCW Chooses New Director-General
    Arms Control Today
    November 5, 2009

    The Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) last month chose Ahmet Üzümcü of Turkey to succeed Rogelio Pfirter as the organization’s director-general.
  • Race Is On for New Head of OPCW
    Arms Control Today
    September 4, 2009

    Seeking to avoid the rifts that marked its 2002 election of a director-general, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) member states are aiming to choose a new head at a meeting next month. (Continue)
  • Russia, U.S. Lag on Chemical Arms Deadline
    Arms Control Today
    July 2, 2009

    The likely failure of Russia and the United States, the holders of the world's largest stockpiles of chemical weapons, to meet a key treaty deadline for destroying their stocks is prompting varying responses from experts. In recent public statements and interviews, officials involved in the process emphasized the progress and commitment of the two countries, while independent experts expressed concern about the effect of the missed deadline on the nonproliferation regime. (Continue)
  • CW Destruction Site Begins Operation
    Arms Control Today
    March 31, 2009

    On March 5, the chemical weapons destruction plant at Shchuch'ye in Russia began operating. The plant is a key component of Russia's push to destroy its entire stockpile of agents by 2012, as mandated by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Other facilities at Gorny, Kambarka, Leonidovka, and Maradykovsky have already destroyed around 30 percent of Russia's total stockpile of chemical agents, which, at more than 40,000 tons, is the world's largest. (Continue)
  • States Approve OPCW Budget, Not Report
    Arms Control Today
    January 16, 2009

    A Dec. 2-5 meeting in The Hague of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) states-parties failed to adopt a consensus final report but agreed on a budget for 2009 and modest measures to reform the treaty's verification system.

    The 126 state-parties participating in the conference approved a 74.5 million euro (about $105 million) budget for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is implementing the 1993 convention. This marks the fourth consecutive year that the OPCW will have a zero nominal growth budget. (Continue)
  • U.S., Russia Step Up Chemical Weapons Destruction
    Arms Control Today
    December 4, 2008

    Russia and the United States have announced measures to step up destruction of their chemical weapons stockpiles. The Department of Defense plans to speed up construction of the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. The two facilities are key to meeting the congressionally mandated destruction deadline of 2017. The fiscal year 2009 defense budget provides $427.5 million to the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program, an increase of $20 million from last year. Three U.S. destruction facilities have already completed their task, with four more in Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon, and Utah expected to conclude between 2015 and 2017. Nonetheless, this plan would lead to U.S. chemical weapons stockpiles continuing to exist well beyond the 2012 destruction deadline for all chemical weapons mandated by the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The United States is a CWC state-party. (Continue)