ARMS CONTROL

WEAPONS TREATY GROUP MEETS
First review conference of 1997 pact will assess how well convention works

LOIS EMBER

Delegates from 151 member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will meet in The Hague this week and next to assess how well the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention is working. The treaty calls for a review conference every five years, and this is the first to be held.

Pfirter OPCW PHOTO

With the threat of terrorists using weapons of mass destruction looming large, keeping the treaty on track toward the total elimination of chemical weapons (CW) and the fostering of peaceful uses of chemistry is imperative today. "The need to rely upon the strength of the convention and the firm resolve of the states' parties has never been greater," OPCW Director-General Rogelio Pfirter says.

With Pfirter's words in mind, delegates will take up "the timely destruction of all declared CWs, ensure that all states' parties have implemented legislation to make any breach of the convention a crime, and consider more resource-efficient means to stem the proliferation of CWs," OPCW spokesman Peter Kaiser says.

Delegates will assess the status of declared CW stockpiles and consider ways to enhance verification of their elimination. Over the next few years, Kaiser says, inspectors will be increasingly challenged because "as the rate of destruction accelerates, inspectors will have to do more with the same resources."

Verifying industry's compliance with the treaty will also demand delegates' attention. Debate will likely focus on the best way to use scarce resources. Some think that if, over time, a facility is determined to be in compliance, resources should be reallocated to other declared sites that haven't yet been inspected.

	DESTRUCTION Sarin nerve gas in these artillery shells stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Ky., will be neutralized to harmless compounds. ARMY PHOTO

Representatives from the International Council of Chemical Associations, which includes the American Chemistry Council, will attend the conference. ACC's Marybeth Kelliher, senior manager of international trade, says it "offers an opportunity for industry and government alike to share insights, ideas, and lessons learned on the convention's implementation."

Among those insights is that advances in science and technology can both help and hinder treaty enforcement. Christopher K. Murphy of the National Research Council will be offering the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry's findings and recommendations.

Murphy will address an open forum set aside for nongovernmental organizations. Other speakers, representing the Federation of American Scientists and the International Committee of the Red Cross, will discuss the use of incapacitants in warfare and law enforcement. The treaty's provision on the use of toxic chemicals for law enforcement is very fuzzy and contentious.

Michael L. Moodie, president of the Chemical & Biological Arms Control Institute, hopes the conference will "tackle the big political issues relating to treaty implementation." But, he warns, delegates may "get ensnared in bureaucratic and technical details" and lose sight of "the significance of this conference for the future of the treaty and for arms control more generally."

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