Chemical Weapons Convention
Thomas Newberg
Chemical Weapons Convention Historically chemical weapons are rarely seen in combat but when they are they are used to great effect, killing thousands and injuring many more. Chemical weapons were first used in combat in May 1915 when the Germans released chlorine gas against the French in the Battle of Ypres. Over the course of WWI new chemical agents were developed including cyanide, phosgene and mustard gas. The Geneva Protocol of 1925 condemned chemical weapons but states that if a state used chemical weapons retaliation in kind was acceptable. The treaty also did nothing to stem the production and stockpiling of chemical weapons. Since 1925 the use of chemical weapons has been confirmed in such wars as the Italian-Ethiopian War, Iran-Iraq War and perhaps most infamously was Saddam Hussein’s ethnic cleansing of the Kurds in 1987.
In the past there have been efforts to curb chemical weapons proliferations such as the 1976 US and Soviet Conference on the Committee on Disarmament. However it wasn’t until the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) that any significant progress had been made regarding chemical weapons proliferation. The CWC established a legally binding standard that all states that ratified would agree never to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, transfer or retain chemical weapons or aid anyone to do so. States also agreed never to use chemical weapons and never retaliate with chemical weapons. States that have ratified must declare in writing all stockpiles, production facilities and chemical industrial facilities that could be used to a chemical weapons program and any remaining stockpiles or facilities still in place must be destroyed by April 2012. The CWC went into effect in April 1995 and so far 188 states have ratified it including countries with large chemical industries. The CWC was largely based off of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC); however unlike the BWC the CWC has a verification mechanism. The CWC
Chemical Weapons Convention Historically chemical weapons are rarely seen in combat but when they are they are used to great effect, killing thousands and injuring many more. Chemical weapons were first used in combat in May 1915 when the Germans released chlorine gas against the French in the Battle of Ypres. Over the course of WWI new chemical agents were developed including cyanide, phosgene and mustard gas. The Geneva Protocol of 1925 condemned chemical weapons but states that if a state used chemical weapons retaliation in kind was acceptable. The treaty also did nothing to stem the production and stockpiling of chemical weapons. Since 1925 the use of chemical weapons has been confirmed in such wars as the Italian-Ethiopian War, Iran-Iraq War and perhaps most infamously was Saddam Hussein’s ethnic cleansing of the Kurds in 1987.
In the past there have been efforts to curb chemical weapons proliferations such as the 1976 US and Soviet Conference on the Committee on Disarmament. However it wasn’t until the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) that any significant progress had been made regarding chemical weapons proliferation. The CWC established a legally binding standard that all states that ratified would agree never to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, transfer or retain chemical weapons or aid anyone to do so. States also agreed never to use chemical weapons and never retaliate with chemical weapons. States that have ratified must declare in writing all stockpiles, production facilities and chemical industrial facilities that could be used to a chemical weapons program and any remaining stockpiles or facilities still in place must be destroyed by April 2012. The CWC went into effect in April 1995 and so far 188 states have ratified it including countries with large chemical industries. The CWC was largely based off of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC); however unlike the BWC the CWC has a verification mechanism. The CWC
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